BRUSSELS

It’s as if Brussels were designed with Christmas in mind, its architects intent on creating a city that comes into its own just as afternoons darken and there’s an excuse to festoon buildings in white lights.

Don’t be surprised if you fall for their master plan: Brussels is the Miss World of wintry cities, with the Grand’Place — a market square edged with glorious guildhalls — its winning feature. On November 27, the city transforms into Christmasland, with an ice rink on the site of the old fish market and a spectacular ferris wheel lit by 18,000 bulbs.

Shoppers tend to hone in on Belgian lace and chocolate, but Brussels is also a brilliant place to buy toys (particularly traditional ones) and up-and-coming fashion labels for hard-to-please teens.

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Where to stay: in the heart of department-store territory, and seconds from the Grand’Place, the Metropole (00 32-2 217 2300, metropolehotel.com; doubles from £121, room-only) is the purists’ choice. It’s traditional (to a fault, some might say), but if you want the prettiest hotel come Christmas, this is it. Or try the White Hotel (02 644 2929, thewhitehotel.be; doubles from £67, B&B), a trendily spartan boutique joint on Avenue Louise, where the designer boutiques congregate.

Where to eat: Le Fourneau, on Place Sainte-Catherine (02 513 1002; evanrestaurants.be), has its chefs cooking tapas-sized dishes at the oven (fourneau) in front of diners. Considered by many to be the best place in town for moules frites, Au Vieux Bruxelles (02 503 3111, auvieuxbruxelles.com), on Rue St Boniface, southwest of the centre, has dished them up since 1882, on standard-issue chequered tablecloths in a beautiful bistro setting.

Where to shop: lose hours on Place du Jeu de Balle, home to Brussels’s biggest flea market since 1614. It’s on every day and is a good starting point for exploring the Marolles — once a working-class district, now increasingly gentrified. Buy vintage Belgian beer glasses for cool friends (£3.50) and lace doilies for granny (£18).

Michael George, concierge at the Metropole hotel, recommends Rubbrecht, off the Grand’Place, for new lace (handkerchiefs £4.50). “We send guests there as it’s family-run and has been around for ever,” he says. “If you are more interested in Belgian designers, try Rue Antoine Dansaert.” Here, Stijl (02 512 0313) stocks them all, including Raf Simons (men’s jumpers from £160). On the same street, Christa Reniers (02 510 0660, christareniers.com) is a jewellery line not stocked in the UK (silver earrings from £112). Serneel’s (02 538 3066), on Avenue Louise, is a magical toy shop, worth visiting even if you don’t have kids.

Getting there: leave London St Pancras on the Eurostar (0870 518 6186, eurostar.com; from £59 return) and you’ll arrive in Brussels less than two hours later. Or fly from more than 20 UK airports, as well as Dublin and Shannon, with Brussels Airlines (brusselsairlines.com), BMI (0844 848 4888, flybmi.com) or Flybe (0871 700 2000, flybe.com).

MILAN

If you want to fill your camera memory card, bear in mind that Milan is no Florence or Rome, but if you want to fill your case with presents your relatives will squabble over, there’s no better city. Milan is also great for post-shopping diversions.

The cafe scene is buzzing — Cova, on Via Montenapoleone, is a must-do, with mink-cuffed dowagers scandalising over other people’s hairdos — and the bars froth over with atmosphere. Between 7pm and 9pm, drinkers get free nibbles with any drink. It’s properly cold there, too, with average December temperatures five degrees lower than in the UK.

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