This cosy French city of roughly 66, 000 people in the eastern Alsace region is home to five charming winter fairs, all part of La Magie de Noel (Christmas Magic) market, a tradition that dates back to the late Middle Ages.
By then, England was the first country in the world where the majority of the population would be living in cities (albeit riddled with tuberculosis, for which a winter visit to the Alps in due course became de rigueur).