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Top 10
Christmas
VaCations
Unique ways to celebrate the
holiday season around the world
by craig moy
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1 | NUREMBERG,
GERMANY 2 | ORLANDO,
FLORIDA 3 | ST. & NEVIS KITTS & LAKE
4 | BANFF
LOUISE, ALBERTA 5 | ROME,
ITALY
nuremberg’s famed
Christmas market
dates to 1628. today, it
attracts millions with
its gothic backdrop
and legendary
gingerbread. sip
mulled wine during the
AMA travel-hosted Go
solo iconic Christmas
Markets river Cruise
(dec. 5–15, 2019).
the Yuletide journey
includes three nights
in Prague and a seven-
night nuremberg-to-
Budapest cruise:
call 1-866-989-6594. the Magic Kingdom
gets way more magical
every december when
Walt disney World
resort is decked
out for Mickey’s Very
Merry Christmas Party.
Festive character
shows and illuminations
fill the stage and sky
four nights a week.
And as an Authorized
disney Vacation
Planner, AMA’s disney
specialists help you
make the most of
your vacation:
AMATravel.ca/Disney. december is truly
hot, hot, hot in st.
Kitts and nevis. the
national Carnival
runs into the new
Year and boasts all
manner of soca and
calypso fun. Christmas
in st. Kitts’ capital,
Basseterre, gives way
to the frenetic J’ouvert
parade (dec. 26)
and the Calypso
Monarch competition
(dec. 29), whose
winners become
instant heroes in the
island nation. A winter wonderland
is a short drive away
when santa Claus
parades down Banff
Avenue under the
festive lights (nov. 17).
Or get your silver
bells a-jingling with
a family sleigh ride at
Lake Louise, followed
by hot chocolate near
a cozy hotel fireplace.
AMA members save up
to 20% and get a $50
dining credit at the
Fairmont Chateau Lake
Louise: AMATravel.ca/
Fairmont. Mediterranean
cities like rome are
intriguing wintertime
destinations—after
the tourist rush,
when seasonal
temperatures in the
italian capital can
still reach the balmy
mid-teens. Christmas
in the largely Catholic
nation means lots of
devotional pageantry,
highlighted by huge
Christmas eve masses
at st. Peter’s Basilica
and the 2,000-year-
old Pantheon.
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Winter 2018
AMA insider
KUznetsOVA/ALAMY
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