Find Your Joy at 6 Festive Stays Around the Globe

Life is for living — and celebrating. And when the festive season approaches, you can join in cultural celebrations around the globe — and make a unique nearby hotel your home base to be close to all the fun.

Maybe you’ll make it to Germany to glug mulled wine under a canopy of twinkling lights at one of the treasured Christmas markets. Or perhaps having your face painted with bones and hollow eyes and having flowers woven into your hair for Day of the Dead in Mexico is more up your alley.

From storied festivals of light in Italy and India to pumpkin mania amid New York’s autumnal backdrop in the Hudson Valley, the world is waiting to welcome you into its festive fold this season.

As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip.

Find Holiday Market Magic in Budapest, Hungary

With towering pines all decked for the season and something warm to drink always at the ready, Budapest’s largest and much-beloved Christmas market takes over Vörösmarty Square in the heart of the city from mid-November until the new year.

Strolling here to browse handmade gifts and sweet Hungarian pastries among the crowds is sure to bring on the holiday glow.

Just a 15-minute walk from the twinkling lights and warm hospitality of Vörösmarty Square, the W Budapest, set inside a 19th-century neo-Renaissance palace, makes for a regal and supremely comfortable place to relax between sightseeing outings. Historic touches and the W brand’s distinct modernity blend seamlessly, whether you’re getting a massage or body wrap under the spa’s vaulted-ceilings, sipping a Negroni in the underground speakeasy, or passing plates of carpaccio and yellowtail sashimi in one of Budapest’s newest gastronomic delights, the hotel’s Nightingale by Beefbar.

See the Light(s) in Florence, Italy

Paris might be the official City of Light, but Italy’s Florence can certainly hold a candle to it — especially during the Green Line Festival (formerly the F-Light Festival), which runs for about a month every winter, from the beginning of December through the first week in January.

The city’s famous medieval bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, dazzles with lights and is a good place to start your walking tour.

After dark, across Florence’s historic heart, you’ll see artistic installations and projections illuminating the city’s most famous buildings and squares, letting the city shine in an entirely new light than the daytime hours allow.

Settle into one of the sumptuous rooms at the classically Florentine The Westin Excelsior, Florence, within a quick stroll of major sights, including the Piazza della Signoria and the Uffizi. The city sprawls beautifully below you from the hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant, SE·STO on Arno, where the views — all glowed up for the holidays — come sweeping in through floor-to-ceiling glass windows.

Good Cheer Awaits in Cologne, Germany

Themed Christmas markets can be found in the various cozy quarters of Cologne from mid-November right up until just before Christmas Day.

But the grandest of them all is the Weihnachtsmarkt am Kölner Dom, which spills onto the plaza and streets surrounding the famous Cologne Cathedral with copious offerings of heart-shaped gingerbread, glühwein (mulled wine) and more.

There’s even a “train” on wheels, the Christmas Market Express, to roll you to some of the other Christmas markets around town.

To the north of the Cologne Cathedral, the playful and stylish Moxy Cologne Muelheim has a fabulous little lounge and bar area, The Now, where you can enjoy a craft cocktail and a board game before getting back to the glühwein-fueled holiday scene.

Glow On at an Indian Festival of Lights in Mumbai, India

Mumbai shines brightest during the annual Diwali celebration, when Lord Ganesh and the Goddess Lakshmi are celebrated as part of India’s most important holiday of the year. The festival’s date is based on the Hindu lunar calendar and falls between roughly mid-October and mid-November.

Candles, fireworks and oil lanterns shine; flowers are offered; and feasts ensue for five consecutive days as Hindus give prayers and puja (homage) to the goddess to invite peace, wealth and prosperity into the Hindu new year. Mumbai’s streets get covered in colored sand that is formed in the shape of lotus blossoms — another sign of welcome to beloved Lakshmi.

Dive fully into the fun — then relax with a stay just outside of the festival’s main hub in Navi Mumbai, a planned city just east of central Mumbai where the Courtyard by Marriott Navi Mumbai has spacious rooms with skyline views, an on-site spa and a sleek outdoor pool for cooling off for a spell.

Spooky Meets Spectacular in New York State

For an all-American fall and Halloween extravaganza that’s hard to top, head to the Hudson Valley from mid-September through late November for an over-the-top walk-through display of hand-carved pumpkins and a backdrop of thousands of synchronized lights.

The Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze has been called “autumn’s answer to a winter wonderland” by the New York Times. And the displays you can look forward to strolling past (and sometimes through!) include a 24-foot spiderweb, life-size dinosaurs and a working carousel.

It’s easy to settle in and stay awhile at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown, with spacious rooms that are perfect for families to kick back in after what’s sure to be a fun and energy-filled time at the festival, just a 30-minute drive north. There’s an onsite spa, too, where you can make time for some wellness in the form of a facial or massage.

Celebrate the Day of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico

Every culture has its way of mourning the dead and honoring ancestors. And if you’re lucky enough to be in Oaxaca over Día de los Muertos — aka Day of the Dead — you’ll bear witness to parades called comparsas that represent the return of the dead, ofrendas (offerings), and lots and lots of skull decorations all over the city that’s considered Mexico and the world’s epicenter of Dia de los Muertos events.

Celebrations play out during all of October and into November, but the most important days fall on November 1 and 2, when spirits are thought to return to visit the living world. That’s when Oaxaca’s main public square, the Zócalo, really bursts to life in honor of the dead with vendors selling all kinds of treats like sugar skulls and the sweet bread called pan de muerto, floral garlands, and other offerings for the people who have passed.

Situated in Oaxaca’s lively, café-lined Jalatlaco neighborhood and painted the most mood-boosting shade of fuchsia, the City Centro by Marriott Oaxaca has rooms decorated in warm and welcoming colors typical of the city. You’ll also find a gorgeous little outdoor pool with views overlooking the Temple of San Matías Jalatlaco, a perfect haven for relaxation between all the celebrations.