December is an exciting month with its Christmas markets, ice rinks, festive lights and shows a plenty.

Here are some events to tempt you this month.

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
Vivian Maier, Street Photographer
A retrospective featuring photographic work from the 1950s to 1980s in both black-and-white and colour, as well as films.  I missed all of the previous exhibitions of her work – I must get to this one!
Foam Photography Museum, till 28 January 2015

Amsterdam Light Festival till 18 Jan 2015.
Illuminated bridges and sculptures.

BARCELONA
World Press Photo Exhibition
An annual exhibition of photojournalism, on until 8 December 8 2014, CCCB, Barcelona

BASEL, Switzerland
Sad Christmas – an exhibition about Christmas in wartime, with a spacial emphasis on World War I.
Museum der Kulturen, Basel, till January 11 2015

BOSTON, Massachusetts
Ice Skating
Wrap up warm and get skating on the Frog Pond in America’s oldest public park.
Boston Common, till mid-March 2015

BRUGES
Christmas Market & Ice Rink, Market Square (Grote Markt) and Simon Stevinplein21 November 2014 to 02 January 2015.  Open: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 10:30 – 22:00 and on Friday and Saturday from 10:30 – 23:00

LONDON, England
Christmas Lights on Oxford Street
The Christmas lights and magnificent shop window displays over the Christmas period.

Claridges Christmas Tree from 19 November
-designed by Dolce & Gabbana for the second year in a row, this 8 metre-high tree brings a magical woodland to life

Hogwarts at in the Snow
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London, until 1 February 2015.  From £30

Barbican Christmas Market
12 – 21 December 2014. Vintage and designer pieces from local traders

MADRID
Photo books: Spain 1905-1977. Fortis y Libros: Espana 1905-1977.  Museo de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid. Till Jan 5 2015

MANCHESTER, England
Christmas Markets
Till 21 December, across town.

MILAN
Oh Bej! Oh Bej! Christmas market
7 – 11 December
The tradition dates all the way back to 1510 when a religious figure arrived in town with presents for all the children. When they opened them they shouted “Oh Bej! Oh Bej!”, “How beautiful! How beautiful!” The market will have several hundred stalls selling toys, trinkets, clothes, food and drink. In addition, there will be bands performing live.

Christmas market at Lazzate
The market in this small village outside Milan is always a firm favourite for atmosphere as much as shopping. Many of the stalls are housed in tiny wooden chalets that wouldn’t be out of place in Santa’s grotto. The town is a bit of a foodie mecca too, hosting a few of its own festivals throughout the year, so be sure to include lunch or dinner in your plans.
10 – 11 December 2014.

PARIS
Garry Winogrand
The first retrospective of Winogrand’s work in around 25 years.  I visited in November and can’t recommend this highly enough – book ahead if you can, as the queues are long!
Till 8 February 2015, Jeu de Paume, Paris.  Entrance 10€

STOCKHOLM

Skansen’s Christmas market – the Open Air Museum at Skansen in Stockholm, hosts one of the biggest Christmas markets in Sweden, dating back to 1903.   It is held at weekends throughout December until Christmas Eve (the only day Skansen is closed). You’ll be able to shop for Swedish craft products, traditional Christmas ornaments made of straw, hand-dipped candles, sweets (including polkagris, oversized red and white striped peppermint sticks), Christmas fare such as smoked sausage, eel, salmon, pepparkakor (gingersnaps), glögg (mulled wine) and saffron buns.  You can soak up the Christmas atmosphere in the historic houses and framsteads, attend an Advent concert at the Seglora Church and join in the dancing around the Christmas tree.
Adults SEK 140, children SEK 60.

Luciadagen (Lucia Day)
Among the best-known of Sweden’s festivals, Lucia is celebrated on 13 December, on what was the longest night of the year in the old Swedish calendar. The Lutheran Swedes adopted the Sicilian St Lucia because Lucia is connected with lux, the Latin for light.
All over Sweden, a procession of singers, dressed in white, full-length chemises with red ribbons around their waists, are led by a woman dressed as Lucia, with a crown of lit candles on her head.You can see the concerts and parades in churches arouns Stockholm and also at Skansen – this year the parade will be as it would have appeared in the 1920s.