10 Christmas Shopping Vacation Destinations

The holidays, especially Christmas can be a magical time of the year. There's still time to turn this year's holiday shopping "chore" into a memorable experience by going somewhere far away and exotic to do all your holiday shopping. Many airlines are offering special deals, and if you go on your journey after Thanksgiving, but before the actual Christmas holiday you can still find some great deals.

Here is a list of 10 great destinations to consider when planning your Christmas holiday shopping vacation:

New York:
The Big Apple may not be on a distant continent, but it's still a haven for shoppers. FAO Schwartz offers a huge selection of toys from near life-size unicorns to a mini-Mercedes for your little tycoon in the making. The best and most luxurious shopping can be found on Fifth Avenue from Rockefeller Center to Central Park. In addition to shopping, you might want to take a break and do a little ice skating at Rockefeller Center or take in a show at Radio City Music Hall to see the famed Radio City Rockettes.

Toronto, Canada:
10,000 Villages Christmas Festival is a marketplace at the Harbourfronte Centre. It's filled with over 130 booths selling goods from all over the world. You'll find stalls with products from Asia, Latina America, Africa, and 32 other countries. Everything sold here is part of the Fair Trade Organization, so you can feel good about shopping here. You'll find toys, home goods, gifts, and other treasures. You'll easily be able to get all your gift shopping done for everyone on your list.

Vienna, Austria:
Here you'll find the Schonbrunn Palace Christmas Market. The market will be in full force from November 21, 2009 to December 26, 2009. You can shop the booths of over 60 participants while taking in all the glorious sights and sounds of the area. This is truly one of the greatest Christmas experiences you'll ever find anywhere in the world. Most of the items found here are Christmas themed. Things like: garland, decorations, hand-made mangers and more.

Prague, Czech Republic:
This city offers holiday shopping at their Christmas Markets. There are three markets all located within a 10 minute walk of each other. The markets are at: Old Town Square, Wenceslas Square, and Havelske Trziste. The Markets will be operating this year from November 28, 2009 to January 1, 2010. Shopping in Prague gives you an opportunity to enjoy not only the beautiful holiday decorations, but also some of the local flavors of the region. You can watch traditional holiday favorites being made and if you have little ones with you on the trip they can pet sheep, goats and even llamas. This shopping adventure is a winter wonderland come to life.

Russia:
The Russian Winter Festival is held in multiple cities throughout Russia, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. The festival is way for all people to celebrate the holidays. It is a blending of beliefs and cultures. There's folk music, food, and dancing. It's a wonderful way to experience the culture and have a lot of fun at the same time. Plus, while you there be sure to visit the local churches in St. Petersburg. They all look like something out of a fairytale with their colorful and numerous domes.

Marrakesh, Morocco:
The Jemaa el Fna. This shopping bazaar is located in the heart of Marrakesh. It's made up of merchants selling their wares, food stalls, snake charmers and magicians. If you enjoy haggling to get the best price for your purchases, here is a great place to hone those skills.

Istanbul, Turkey:
Many people might not think of Turkey as "the" place to spend Christmas. Especially since most of Turkey is Muslim and therefore Christmas isn't a part of their culture. However, there are some Catholics and other Christians in Turkey, so there are some signs of Christmas throughout the area. Plus, this is a shopping vacation, and Istanbul is home to one of the biggest shopping marketplaces on the planet known as the Grand Bazaar. The Grand Bazaar is completely covered and is made up of 58 streets. There are over 4000 shops, and approximately 250,000 to 400,000 people per day visit this vast marketplace. This is truly a shopper's paradise on earth.

Cairo, Egypt:
Here you can visit the marketplace that is credited with inspiring Columbus (at least indirectly) to ultimately discover America. This marketplace is the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. It is Cairo's most important marketplace. You'll find all sorts of treasures from jewelry, to essential oils, to brass and everything in between. This marketplace was started back in 1382. During the Ottoman period it was known as the Turkish Bazaar, but now is mostly known as the "Khan." The other great part about shopping at the Khan is its location. You're going to be in Cairo, so try to fit in a tour of the pyramids to make this truly a once in a lifetime event.

Venice, Italy:
Known for their beautiful Murano glassware and fine lace. Venice is actually quite quiet during the holidays. November and December is not tourist season, and it can be very cold, but isn't that all part of the magic of Christmas? There are many lovely stores throughout the cobbled streets of the city, and the shops are decorated like works of art for the holidays. It is very easy to get lost in this beautiful city. If you find there's something you like and you want time to think about making that final purchase it would serve you well to get the shop's business card. This way when you finally decide to go back you'll be able to find the store again. Shopping in Venice can be very romantic as well, since you'll be near the gondolas of Venice. Be sure to take a break from your shopping to enjoy a relaxing, and romantic gondola ride.

Glasgow, Scotland:
This is another shopper's paradise. Glasgow offers shopping of every imaginable kind all in one city. If you like malls, you'll find them in Glasgow. If you prefer quaint shops and bookstores, you'll find these to your heart's content. Plus, you'll find restaurants, pubs, and more to keep you in the holiday spirit. Glasgow was voted Britain's number one place to shop outside of London.

Now that you know there are other places to shop other than your local mall, you just need to figure which wonderful and exotic location to travel to for your Christmas shopping adventure. Perhaps this could be the start of a new tradition. Each year your Christmas shopping could be done at a different and exotic location. After all, these destinations have been around in many cases for hundreds of years. It's a pretty good bet they won't be going out of business anytime in the near future.