Winter Destinations

Dec 4

Toronto

Get your passports ready! For less than $100 each way on Flair Airlines you can visit a city consistently voted one of the best in the world. Toronto offers big-city holidays at its finest. From ice skating in Nathan Phillips Square to the Winter Market in the Distillery Village neighborhood, your family is sure to get in a festive mood. Other must-see attractions are the CN Tower, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Bata Shoe Museum. The week after Christmas is Boxing Week, the Canadian equivalent of Black Friday, where shopping is the main event. And St. Lawrence Market is the perfect place to shop and eat. Plan enough time for a day trip to Niagara Falls to enjoy their Winter Festival of Lights which offers 3 million lights, fireworks, and a Hot Chocolate Trail.

Asheville

For many Central Floridians, The Biltmore is an annual Christmas Pilgrimage. The largest home in the United States, built by George Vanderbilt in the 1890s, is a great holiday trip for the whole family. The audio tour for kids is narrated by Vanderbilt’s St. Bernard: Cedric. Hatley Pointe (formerly Wolf Ridge) and Cataloochee ski resorts are perfect spots to learn to ski and snowboard and don’t miss Tube World where the only skill necessary is to hold on tight! For Mom and Dad, Asheville also offers romantic inn’s, cozy restaurants and world-class spas.

Park City (Provo, UT)

If you want to take winter sporting up a notch, fly into Provo, Utah, and head to Park City. The ski resort is the largest in the country and was the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although pricey, you can now experience riding in a bobsled at Utah Olympic Park. If you are looking for a snowy adventure in the wilderness, try fat tire Mountain biking, Snowmobiling, or Dog Sledding. Or just take a stroll through this quintessential mining town exploring historic buildings, museums, art galleries, and top-notch restaurants.

Chicago (Rockford, IL)

Looking for an alternative to NYC, try the Windy City. Like Manhattan, Christmas lights, ice skating, and elaborate department store windows are annual favorites, but Chicago also boasts some incredible markets like the authentic German Christkindlmarket. Bundle up and walk the river, shop along the Magnificent Mile, or join the 2-Hour Ghosts and Gangsters walking tour. Chicago also has some of the country’s best museums including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Science and Industry where the exhibit “Pompeii” runs through January.