There are few things more representative of Christmas time than a big, bauble-laden, ribbon-entwined, twinkling Christmas tree.
By now, you’ve likely got your year-end schedule full with festive feasting, family get-togethers, gift-giving, turkey roasting and even a bit of carolling, but there’s just something about a bright, shiny Christmas tree that makes you stop in your tracks and marvel at it for a little while.
All over the globe, there are Christmas tree displays springing up yearly that are bigger, brighter, and more awe-inspiring than the last. If you’re travelling this holiday season, here are some of the most enchanting, extraordinary Christmas trees in the world that will spark a sense of wonder in even the frostiest of hearts.
Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
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Visitors headed to Rio De Janeiro during December should be sure to not miss the largest floating Christmas tree in the world lighting up the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. The immense tree stands at 230 feet tall, and is dressed in over 900,000 LED lights. The festivities begin at the beginning of the month, where the lighting ceremony is accompanied by fireworks and music, proving yet again that no city knows how to celebrate like Rio does.
Galeries Lafayette, Paris, France
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Every Christmas since 1976, the Dome in Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann is transformed into a festive spectacle that dazzles every visitor, each year topping the next in grandeur. The main attraction is the giant Christmas tree, which is decorated this year with beloved toys while an astronaut suited Santa circles around the dome. Also in this holiday showcase is a set of animated window displays on Boulevard Haussmann, filled with toys that come to life in a light show every half an hour.
Rockefeller Center, New York, USA
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Thanks to its cameos in countless holiday movies, it’s hard for many of us to imagine Christmas in New York City without an image of the Christmas tree and ice rink at Rockefeller Center popping up. The tradition started in 1931 when the building’s construction workers pooled together money to buy a 20-foot balsam fir Christmas tree and decorated it with handmade garlands. Today, the tree remains a holiday NYC staple, though now much taller, bedecked with 50,000 multi-coloured LED lights and topped off with a 408 kg Swarovski crystal star.
Gubbio, Italy
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Since 1981, the medieval town of Gubbio in Italy’s Umbria region has put on an annual Christmas tree display unlike anything else in the world. On the slopes of Mount Ingino, a 650-meters high ‘tree’ facing the town is lit up with thousands of multicoloured lights. Declared the largest Christmas tree in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records, the Mount Ingino Christmas illumination is lit on the first week of December every year with much fanfare and celebration, brightening up the town with festive cheer until the first week of January.
Cologne, Germany
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Set in front of an enormous gothic cathedral, this Nordmann fir Christmas tree stands at 25m, lit up by 50,000 lights. The grand festive sight presides over a lively Christmas market where visitors will find regional food and beer, specialty gifts and a range of music and theatre performances spread out over 150 wooden stalls.
Comercio Square, Lisbon, Portugal
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Erected every year since 2004, this artificial tree made of LED lights holds the Guinness World Record title of Europe’s tallest Christmas tree, having been its at highest at 76 metres in 2007. Accompanying the tree display each Christmas season is the multitude of lights that fill the city’s avenues and squares, illuminating the night with festive enchantment. As a nod to the local culture, the lights are designed and arranged to look like Portuguese filigree.
Vilnius, Lithuania
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Long recognised as a top Christmas destination, Vilnius exceeds expectations each year with a new, unique Christmas tree display. This year’s tree sits at the Cathedral Square at 27 m high, covered with 3,000 artificial branches, 900 m of garlands, and 2,000 m of string lights. Designed by Dominykas Koncevičius, the display also incorporates 96 giant snowflake sculptures that were replicated from real snowflakes.
Winterfest, London, UK
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Part of the winter lights festival at Wembley Park, London, this 25m-tall, immersive walk-through Christmas tree is made up of over 100,000 LED lights. Every year, the tree is a canvas for new and exciting art to be displayed, such as the 2019 version that represented birds in flight, and 2020’s tree that showed movements of the winter night’s sky. This year, the tree’s flashing lights are meant to mirror the rhythm and vibrancy of a bustling city.
Claridges London, UK
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Every year, Londoners and visitors wait with eager anticipation to find out what innovative Christmas tree Claridges in Mayfair will come up with. In 2009, John Galliano for Dior brought a bold interpretation of the classic Christmas tree by creating a tropical version decorated with snow leopards and dragonflies. In 2013, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana brought their Italian heritage to the tree by using hand-blown glass baubles and Sicilian marionettes. Burberry’s Christopher Bailey created a tree made of over 100 gold and silver umbrellas in 2015, and 2020’s tree by McQueens Flowers was an icy, ethereal dreamscape that seemed frozen in time.
Strasbourg, France
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Known as the Capital of Christmas, Strasbourg takes its Christmas trees seriously. More than a seasonal decoration, the tree is a symbol of prized ancestral tradition. So crucial is the Christmas tree that the search for the perfect one begins in March every year. Located at Place Kléber, the Christmas tree is at least 30m tall, weighs between 7 and 9 tonnes, and is implanted with more 180 handpicked branches to give it a fuller look. To do the immense tree justice, this year’s decorations will include 7 kilometres of fairy lights, 300 flashing lights, 40 baubles, and 180 illuminated angels, biscuits, candles, apples and stars.
Four Seasons Madrid, Spain
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To complement the city’s own festive decorations, the Four Seasons hotel in Madrid has dressed its facade in a 25m-high Christmas tree to extend a warm holiday welcome to all who enter through its doors. Created in partnership with London-based creative group Banana Split and the local technical production firm Light Project, the Christmas tree facade leads guests into the lobby where equally elegant holiday decorations and another majestic Christmas tree light up the space.
The London EDITION, UK
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Designed by British artist Ed Curtis, the Christmas tree commanding the lobby of The London EDITION is a 18-foot-tall wonder that combines hand painted, screen and digital artworks. Calling it his ‘art attack fantasy’, Curtis wanted to showcase a sense of fun in this larger-than-life tree, which is decorated with child-like touches such as huge presents, smiley faces, stockings and tinsel that looks like wrapping paper.
Feature Photo: Dieter Jacobi