European travel in December without crowds?

Okay normy, you've convinced me, so now London is pretty much out of the picture...

http://map.search.ch/basel(Switzerland) offers everything you want and is close to other large cities that can be reached within hours (Strasbourg, Freiburg, Zürich, Bern). Have a look http://www.basel.ch/en/tourism_leisure/highlights.html Temperatures will be around 0 celsius and wheather is expected to be sunny.

fshgrl: Personally I've always wanted to go to St. Petersburg for the White Nights, skating on canals, drinking vodka under the Northern Lights etc. but I've never done it so I can't tell you what it's like. The "White Nights" refer to the long hours of daylight in the summer, due to the northern latitude of St. Petersburg. In December, it gets dark quite early. It, is true that you can cross the river and canals on the ice, though. In the summer, it is strange to see all the steps that lead from the street directly to the water, but it makes more sense in winter and is somewhat convenient when you wish to cross between two bridges. St. Petersburg is such a great city, WHENEVER you go!

If you're not so into crowds, I'd avoid London anywhere near Christmas. No, just the central West End. It can be cool elsewhere. London is a very, very big city.

I've been to a few places in Europe in late November. In France and Venice (Northern Italy), the big negative was rain. The weather wasn't that bad, maybe in the 50's, but it was grey and overcast all day with frequent showers. It really harshed the vibe. Southern Italy was much nicer, as was Spain.

I have only been to Rome in the summertime, and only for a short period of time, but I didn't particularly enjoy it. I found it dirty, noisy and polluted but it may be different in the wintertime. Berlin is a great city. Highly recommended. This feels kind of self-linkish since I was born and raised here, but how about combining Berlin with a couple of days in Copenhagen, Denmark? Berlin is big and exciting whereas Copenhagen is small and romantic. You could go http://www.visitcopenhagen.dk/tourist/news/copenhagen_christmas/ice_skating_rinks on the rink at Kongens Nytorv Square, do some http://www.royalshopping.com/ at Illums Bolighus or Georg Jensen (most shops will be closed December 24th - 26th) and take a stroll through http://www.tivoli.dk/composite-2450.htm. These things are all within walking distance of each other. http://www.visitcopenhagen.dk/tourist. If you're into architecture you might find http://www.dac.dk/guide/skabeloner/kort.asp?mapID=395&lcid=1033 interesting.

We'll split this up into three periods: Until December 29th: Christmas in Rome is fairly quiet as it's a family holiday and thus most people head home/ out of the city. The actual public holiday dates are the 24th-26th. Don't hang your hopes on a white Christmas unless you head out of the city proper. Though the cold weather here tends to be humid, it's snowed all of twice in the 7 years I've been here, both times melting at just about my eye level (read: 5 ft. off the ground). Museums won't be open for public holidays, and some of the smaller ones might beclosed until after Befana (Jan. 6 - Epiphany). So you might want to figure out which museums would interest you the most and then check their holiday hours. Midnight Mass at the Vatican is a pretty formidable display of pomp. If you're interested in tickets try the info on http://boards.bootsnall.com/groupee/forums/a/tpc/f/307095755/m/84200468216/r/81300478216 bulletin board as trying to find info on the Vatican's website is hobbled by bad navigation and an even shittier search engine. Vatican & its museums will probably be the most crowded thing in Rome around that time, but still better than peak summer season though now that I think about it, maybe it will be a little more crowded because of a new Pope...? Elaborate creches & Christmas stalls with candy coal and befana puppets will be around, most famously in Piazza Navona for the latter & Piazza San Pietro for the former. Roasted chestnut vendors will never be too far away wherever you meander in the center. Some restaraunts will be open for la Vigilia (Christmas Eve) & Christmas. More will be open on the 26th for San Stefano. Traditionally Christmas eve dinner is fish-based & Christmas day is red meat based. I'd ask your accommodations if they know about options in the area because... ...public transportation the 24-25 will be limited. Bus & metro information http://www.atac.roma.it December 29th - January 1st Rome gets busy. Very, very busy. Accomodations will be priced accordingly & I wouldn't risk not reserving ahead of time. New Year's Eve watch out for the fireworks being shot off everywhere (I love it but you might not be so enamoured of dodging firework battles between buildings...) Getting into a club before midnight is insanely expensive, though it will usually include a posh dinner buffet & champagne. Dinner at restaraunts likewise will be very expensive & very elaborate. In both cases reservations will most likely be required. The discos will have a lower price after midnight, but it will still be fairly pricey. Piazza del Popolo is the Roman equivalent to Time's Square in terms of New Years Eve Street parties. I'd like to tell you how it is but every year I'm either visiting the folks or funnily enough never quite make it down there... January 2 - January 8: The http://www.italiansrus.com/articles/befana.htm period. Befana is the 6th which falls on a Friday this year, making a long week-end holiday this year. Accomodation prices will be lower than New Years, but higher than low season/Christmas. By this time Rome is back to pre-December 24 tempo (less tourists, or rather, less international tourists. Italians will hang around after New Years until Befana is over.) Piazza Navona is the place to be early the evening of the 6th for the children's party; afterwards it's the adults' turn to party.

Stay away from Budapest. Everything closes for three days starting Dec. 24th. Prague too. Consider istanbul....

I hope I didn't give the wrong impression. I lived, studied and worked in London for a dozen years and still love the place. Christmas in London can be a lot of fun, but you did give the impression in your question that you weren't enthusiastic about crowds, hence the above.