An affordable Christmas break in Europe

With plenty of Christmas markets dotted all over Europe, a budget winter break in one of the continent's enchanting cities is a great way of avoiding the Christmas shopping rush.

One of the best places to head to get into Switzerland's Christmas spirit is Basel.

Located in the north of the country, Basel's traditional Christmas market takes centre stage at the Markplatz from the end of November, selling roast chestnuts, home-made sweets, and local gifts, foods and drinks.

Basel's well preserved old town also shines with its Christmas decorations, with lots of lights covering trees, the facades of the buildings and the shops.

As well as having plenty of Christmas spirit, there are also 30 museums dotted across the town, giving holidaymakers a chance to get some culture, or find an arty family member a special gift.

Flights to Basel from London Luton, London Stansted and Liverpool are available with Easyjet and start from £17.99 each way including taxes.

If you are looking for more of a city-break and are serious about your shopping then Switzerland's capital Geneva also has its own festive market.

Reputed to be the country's best, Geneva's large Christmas market, held at Place de la Fusterie, is filled with wooden huts selling colourful trinkets, wooden toys and traditional gingerbread.

Also look out for festive St Nicholas pastries, hand-made chocolates and hot spiced wine called Gluehwein.

With the Alps surrounding the city, Geneva is also excellent if you want to ski the slopes, as well as go shopping in its sophisticated department stores, or just take in the parks and promenades by the rivers and lake.

Easyjet fly to Geneva from London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Bristol, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Belfast, Liverpool and Nottingham East Midlands from £20.99 each-way including taxes.

For more information on Switzerland see www.myswitzerland.com

For a livelier and more raucous Christmas market experience, the old European city of Budapest offers holidaymakers a very different prospect.

Only running for the last six years, the month-long market is held in the Pest side of the city at Vorosmarty Square and has more than 100 stalls.

As well as selling traditional handicrafts the market also doubles up as a festival with regular outdoor shows and concerts, including a puppet theatre, folk bands and dancing.

The market's cakes, pastries and hot drinks are also well worth trying - honey cake, pastry horns, strudels, mulled wine and barbecued meat are all available.

Easyjet fly to Budapest from London Gatwick, London Luton, Bristol and Newcastle for starting from £17.99 each-way including taxes.

For more information on Budapest see www.budapestinfo.hu

If you are willing to spend a bit more, then Copenhagen's famous Tivoli amusement park hosts sixty stalls selling wooden toys, traditional Danish porcelain and plenty of deliciously sweet festive food.

The park also has a brightly-lit ice rink, with decorated with hundreds of thousands of lights.

Flights from London Stansted to Copenhagen are available from Easyjet for £20.99 each way including taxes.

For more information about Denmark see www.visitdenmark.com

For more information on flights to all these destinations see www.easyjet.com XXX