With the festive period upon us, and months of the winter season ahead, many travellers will be looking to enjoy the ultimate quintessential winter experience, one of twinkling fairy lights, ice skating rinks, Christmas trees and festive markets. New research has revealed that the favourite city for a city experience throughout Europe, Canada, and the US is London, with the capital of the United Kingdom coming out on top as the most hashtagged winter destination on TikTok. The study looked at cities with the most desirable hashtags on TikTok, including #WinterInNewYork and #LondonChristmasMarkets, with 70 million seasonal hashtags posted to the platform.
Coming out on top, England’s capital has almost 71 million winter-related hashtags on social media. For example, #LondonChristmasMarket has 10.9 million mentions on TikTok, and the “Big Smoke” has countless places to visit, from ‘Borough Market at Christmas‘ to ‘Christmas in Covent Garden’.
Coming in second place is the inimitable New York City, with 69 million hashtags on Instagram and TikTok. New Year’s Eve is the most popular hashtag relating to winter in New York; #NYENewYork has 6.4 million hashtags, and #NewYorkNYE has 1.3 million hashtags on the social media platform.
Manchester, one of the UK’s most happening cities, was crowned the third-best winter city, with 25 million hashtags relating to winter. Manchester is filled with winter activities for those in the Northwest of England, home to the first Christmas Market in the U.K. that attracts more than nine million visitors yearly, with 13.3 million hashtags for #ManchesterChristmasMarket and 11.3 million hashtags for #ManchesterChristmasMarkets.
In fourth place, is Edinburgh, the enchanting capital of Scotland with 24.1 million hashtags relating to winter on TikTo – including 3.7 million hashtags for #EdinburghWinter. Scotland’s capital also has 12.8 million hashtags for #EdinburghChristmasMarket – which attracts over 2.4 million people annually – and 2.2 million hashtags for #ChristmasMarketsEdinburgh.
Paris is the fifth best city to visit for a winter experience, with 21.1 million winter hashtags. France’s capital city is filled with activities, from drinking authentic Parisian hot chocolate to seeing the world-famous Eiffel Tower while snow falls from the sky. New Year’s Eve celebrations are quintessential in Paris, with #ParisNYE having 9.9 million hashtags and #NYEParis having 2.2 million hashtags on TikTok.
In sixth place is Vienna. Austria’s capital has 12.8 million seasonal hashtags on TikTok, including 88,200 hashtags for #WinterInVienna. One winter experience that stands out is its iconic Christmas markets, with many stalls filled with seasonal food, drinks and trinkets. #ViennaChristmasMarkets has 9.9 million hashtags alongside 1.6 million for #ChristmasMarketVienna.
Berlin is the seventh-best winter city. In total, there are 1.2 million seasonal hashtags on TikTok, including 4.6 million for #BerlinWinter. Berlin’s Christmas, bursting with mouth-watering Stollen and Silesian Bratwurst, is booming with tourists and residents eager for a winter experience. On TikTok alone, there are 3.7 million hashtags for #BerlinChristmasMarkets and 1.2 million for #ChristmasMarketBerlin.
In eighth place is Belfast. Nestled between picturesque mountains and Belfast Lough, its very own Christmas markets never disappoint with everything from fluffy Dutch pancakes to warming Irish coffee on offer. Ireland’s capital has 4.4 million hashtags for #BelfastChristmasMarkets and 1.5 million hashtags for #ChristmasMarketBelfast.
Vancouver – surrounded by breathtaking mountains that turn into the perfect skiing slopes in the wintertime – is the ninth best city for a winter experience on TikTok, with 7.5 million winter hashtags. And Poland’s Krakow rounds out the top ten best winter experiences on TikTok with 7 million seasonal hashtags.
