Which European city is best for a Christmas market trip?

Simon Calder answers your questions on European Christmas markets, travel safety in southeast Asia, BA hand luggage and food entitlements due to a flight diversion

Wenceslas Square’s Christmas market transforms the heart of Prague (Simon Calder)

Q I am thinking of a short Christmas market trip. I’m considering Vienna and Warsaw. What do you think?

Russell J

A I am sure both would be rewarding, but as central Europe locations for December neither is at the top of my list. The Austrian and Polish capitals are great city break destinations, but I prefer them in spring when they are brighter and more beautiful.

Another central European capital, though, has a special claim for Christmas: Prague, where Wenceslas Square is dominated by a big tree (brightly lit all in blue when I was there). I find the Christmas market transforms the heart of the Czech capital: Wenceslas Square is normally fairly utilitarian, yet it really comes to life when wooden chalets are brought in – dispensing local crafts as stocking-fillers, as well as supplying the local mulled wine, svařák, along with hearty fare. Prices are well below those in Vienna, too.

Poland is all-round good value, but I would choose somewhere other than Warsaw: I am heading for Krakow from 18 to 21 December. The outbound flights are annoyingly expensive, but once in situ prices are well below those in western Europe. Like Prague, Krakow has many facets, including a strong Jewish tradition, to give a different dimension to your travels there.

Closer to home, consider Lille – particularly if you are in southeast England, and can easily make the journey by ferry or Eurotunnel with a car. The Christmas market is centred on Place Rihour, one of three interlocking squares in the heart of the capital of French Flanders. Lille has good-value accommodation, and if you bring a vehicle you will be able to load up with plenty of wine and beer for your Christmas celebrations at home. If you prefer to travel by train, Lille is just 80 minutes on Eurostar from London St Pancras – a viable day trip for some.

One more thought, not too far away: Bruges, where the Christmas market will continue to infuse two of the squares through to 7 January 2024. Rooms are less expensive if you travel across at the start of the new year.

Read more: Best Christmas markets in Europe

The average death toll on Thailand’s roads is four times higher than in the UK (Simon Calder)

Q Are there any particular travel safety issues to be alert to in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand?

William McQ

A In each of those countries, my risk register is topped by road safety. In a typical year in the UK, the average death toll on the road is 25 fatalities per million inhabitants. In southeast Asia, the danger is far worse. The most recent corresponding figure I have for Thailand is 362; even when riders and passengers of motorscooters and tuk-tuks are taken out of the figures, it is still around 100 – four times higher than the UK. The risks in Cambodia and Vietnam are similarly alarming. While the risks for professionally driven buses are lower, I will always opt for trains where they are available. For longer journeys where rail is not feasible, I prefer to fly.

Next in line: accidents at sea, particularly when swimming. The Foreign Office warns for Thailand: “People have drowned in strong riptides. You should follow warning signs, especially red flags, and only swim from approved beaches.”

Protection against tropical diseases is also critical. My go-to source is the Public Health Scotland travel medicine website – fitfortravel.nhs.uk – which provides advice on all the recommended jabs. I do everything I can to avoid mosquito bites: these unpleasant insects spread malaria and other diseases. Whether or not I take malaria tablets depends on whether I am straying off the tourism trail; Public Health Scotland provides maps of the relative risks.

The risk of assault is well down my risk register, but for female travellers the danger is more significant. The Foreign Office warns: “Violent sexual assaults and unprovoked attacks can happen in tourist areas across Thailand. Attacks are most common during full-moon parties or similar events, and near bars late at night. Drink spiking and drug-assisted sexual assault does happen in tourist areas around Thailand.”

Adventure tourism is common across the region, and I seek the experience of other travellers about the safety protocols followed by operators. Finally, I avoid elephant treks – both because of the personal danger element, and because I don’t want to do anything that encourages exploitation for tourism purposes of these animals.

Due to the airline’s generous hand luggage rules, full flights often don’t have room in the overhead bins for everyone’s bags (British Airways)

Q I am booked to fly tomorrow on British Airways. I have been sent an email saying: “Your flight tomorrow is busy, and we’d like to invite you to check in your hand baggage free of charge.” I’m slightly miffed because I have already paid for a checked bag. It’s an ordinary cabin-sized rollalong case, but I have mobility issues and don’t like dragging everything through the airport. For my future planning: does this happen often, and should I take a chance next time rather than paying upfront?

Name supplied

A The reason British Airways often sends out these invitations is because of its generous hand luggage rules. You and I are allowed to carry two bags – each weighing a maximum of 23kg – through security and onto the plane. If everyone did this, particularly on narrow-bodied Airbus flights, the overhead bins would be overstuffed. So the offer goes out, allowing canny passengers to game the system.

Here’s how. First, never pay for checked baggage until very shortly before departure. If you pay for baggage at the time of booking, and subsequently change plans and give up the flight, you will not get a refund for the luggage. On a round trip, that could mean you’ve wasted £100 (which, in the past, I have done). It is quite sufficient to pay for checked baggage in the last 24 hours before take-off, typically when you check in online: as you go through the process, you can expect an offer to add checked baggage to your booking at what appears to be exactly the same rates as you would pay months ahead.

Wait to check in online until the night before your flight. You may well by then have received the email invitation to check your cabin baggage. Assuming it does, then you need not do anything to avail of the offer besides walking up to any BA check-in desk at the airport. If, though, the offer does not arrive, just pay as normal.

What, you might wonder, are the odds of getting the invitation? Let me put it like this: I cannot remember the last British Airways European flight I took when I was not politely asked if I would like to deposit my cabin baggage free of charge.

Unless the captain is sure that a safe landing is possible, it is more certain to bus the Gibraltar-bound passengers to their destination (AFP/Getty)

Q We booked a British Airways flight from Gibraltar to London Heathrow. But the incoming flight was diverted to Malaga because of high winds at Gibraltar airport. We were given a packet of crisps and some chocolate at Gibraltar, before BA put us on buses up to Malaga. We arrived back at Heathrow five hours late. What are our rights?

Alun R

A Gibraltar airport is one of the most exciting in Europe – and not just because of the walkway across the airfield. The runway extends in each direction into the Mediterranean. To the south, the Rock of Gibraltar provides interesting local meteorological conditions. You can understand why, in the past 10 weeks, British Airways flight BA490 from Heathrow to Gibraltar has been diverted to Malaga no fewer than five times. The air distance between the two airports is just 60 miles, but the road journey is considerably longer and typically takes 90 minutes to two hours.

Depending on weather predictions, the Airbus A320 will sometimes wait on the ground at Malaga and then continue for the short hop to Gibraltar. But unless the captain is sure that a safe landing will be possible, it is more certain (and much cheaper) to bus the Gibraltar-bound passengers to their final destination, and pick up the London-bound contingent for the journey to Malaga.

For the purposes of cash compensation, I am afraid that weather diversions and delays are counted as “extraordinary circumstances” – for which airlines are not liable. With a five-hour delay in arrival, though, a proper meal while you wait looks appropriate. It seems British Airways provided only a snack.

If you ate anyway and can provide a receipt for lunch, then you should be able to claim it back (no alcohol, mind). But otherwise, BA has no further obligation to you.

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