Where to go in December

Collioure, France

Painterly, Catalan, sun-soaked, small

13°C in December · 12h from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Cadaqués, Catalonia, Spain

White, windswept, artily bohemian

13°C in December · 12h 05m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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Mulhacén, Spain

High, bare, sun-bleached

13°C in December · 12h from Los Angeles · 3 nights

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Calanque d'En-Vau, Cassis, France

White rock, blue water, effortful

13°C in December · 12h 05m from Los Angeles · a day trip from cassis

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Èze, France

Vertical, floral, quietly theatrical

11°C in December · 12h 15m from Los Angeles · a night, or a half-day from nice

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Gordes, Provence, France

Sun-bleached stone, lavender, long lunches

10°C in December · 12h 05m from Los Angeles · 4–7 nights

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Bernina Express, Switzerland to Italy

Slow, engineered, absurdly scenic

9°C in December · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · a full day, or 2–3 nights split along the route

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Varenna, Lake Como, Italy

Steep, quiet, unhurriedly pretty

9°C in December · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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Dalmatia: Hvar, Vis and Korčula, Croatia

Sun-bleached, maritime, unhurried

13°C in December · 12h 45m from Los Angeles · 1-2 weeks

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Sveti Stefan, Montenegro

Postcard-pretty, stony, sun-warmed

12°C in December · 13h 05m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Venice, Italy

Watery, theatrical, quietly melancholy

9°C in December · 12h 20m from Los Angeles · 3 nights

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Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy

Coloured houses, terraced cliffs, salt air

12°C in December · 12h 25m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Kynance Cove, Cornwall, England

Serpentine rock, turquoise water, wind

10°C in December · 10h 50m from Los Angeles · a half-day from anywhere on the lizard

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Torres del Paine, Chile

Wind-scoured, granite, exhilarating

12°C in December · 13h 05m from Los Angeles · 5–7 nights

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Sark, Channel Islands

Quiet, lantern-lit, gloriously old-fashioned

10°C in December · 11h 05m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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Seceda ridgeline, Dolomites, Italy

Airy, pastoral, absurdly photogenic

3°C in December · 12h 15m from Los Angeles · a day trip from val gardena

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Annecy, France

Turquoise water, arcades, mountain air

7°C in December · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 2-3 nights

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Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland

Windswept, sociable, endlessly detouring

8°C in December · 10h 20m from Los Angeles · a week or more

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Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Storybook, walled, quiet after six

5°C in December · 11h 50m from Los Angeles · 2 nights

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Interlaken, Switzerland

Two lakes, three peaks, constant motion

6°C in December · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 4 nights

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Snowdon Mountain Railway, Wales

Steam-hauled, weather-dependent, quietly heroic

8°C in December · 10h 40m from Los Angeles · a day trip from eryri or anglesey

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North Coast 500, Scotland

Wild, windswept, gloriously empty

6°C in December · 10h 15m from Los Angeles · 5–7 nights

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Semmering Railway, Austria

Nineteenth-century, engineered, quietly grand

3°C in December · 12h 20m from Los Angeles · a day trip from vienna

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Ordesa y Monte Perdido, Spain

Vertical, green, properly wild

2°C in December · 11h 50m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Salzburg, Austria

Baroque, musical, alpine and neat

5°C in December · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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The Fairy Pools, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Icy, clear, quietly ferocious

7°C in December · 10h 15m from Los Angeles · a day trip from portree

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Khongoryn Els, Gobi Desert, Mongolia

Vast, dusty, humbling, off-grid

-6°C in December, and dry · 12h 55m from Los Angeles · two nights at the dunes, within a week in the gobi

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Ramsau bei Berchtesgaden, Germany

Quiet, green, alpine and unhurried

4°C in December · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Ben A'an, Trossachs, Scotland

Small hill, enormous view

5°C in December · 10h 25m from Los Angeles · a day trip from glasgow or stirling

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Everest Base Camp, Nepal

Demanding, spiritual, spectacular

-6°C in December, and dry · 15h 40m from Los Angeles · 12-14 days

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Sella Pass, Dolomites, Italy

Pale, jagged, cinematic at dusk

-2°C in December · 12h 15m from Los Angeles · a day trip from val gardena or alta badia

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Maloja Pass, Switzerland

Dramatic, remote, quietly grand

-1°C in December · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · a day trip from st moritz or the wider engadine

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Mount Titlis, Engelberg, Switzerland

Alpine, family-friendly, cheerfully touristy

2°C in December · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 2 nights, or a day trip from lucerne

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The Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway

Windswept, engineered, faintly cinematic

3°C in December · 10h 20m from Los Angeles · a day trip from molde

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Hallstatt, Austria

Vertical, ancient, quietly overwhelmed

1°C in December · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · 1–2 nights

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Cares Gorge, Picos de Europa, Spain

Vertical, green, bracing, unshowy

2°C in December · 11h 20m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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