If you're dreaming of a white Christmas, unwrapping your presents with a snowy landscape as the backdrop out your window, you should think beyond heading to Finland or Sweden. In fact, consider Estonia. The capital Tallinn is indeed the snowiest city in Europe with no less than 20.5 days of snow per month.
For European destinations, we usually think of Scandinavia -- and rightly so -- as ideal spots for Christmassy ambiance, punctuated by snowfall. However, after analysis of weather reports compiled since 2009 by World Weather Online to identify the places where it snowed the most in Europe, it appears in fact that the Baltic States get the most days of the white stuff. The Holidu search engine for vacation rentals has scrutinized weather data of 500 cities among the most popular on the old continent. The average number of snow days per month between December and March was then calculated.
And the conclusions show that it's Tallinn, Estonia, that is the destination of choice if you're craving the sound of snow crunching under your snug boots. A little further south, Lithuania is the second option, with its capital Vilnius and its 18.5 days of snow. Another Lithuanian city averages 16 days of snow per month: Kaunas (7th). Meanwhile the Baltic showing in the top 10 is completed by the Latvian capital, Riga (15.5 days) in eighth place.
And in fact, despite common visions of a dream Christmas in Lapland, no Scandinavian destination made it into the top three. Germany snatched third place with a city that isn't even located in the country's north; Erfurt is an hour and a half drive from Leipzig. The medieval city, which will delight history buffs, boasts an average of 17.25 days of snow per month.
But don't worry, Finland still has two locations in the top 10, thanks to Turku (16.75 days) and Helsinki (16.5 days).
France has one spot on this ranking, with Grenoble and its 15.5 days of snow per month on average.
Here are the 10 snowiest cities in Europe:
1. Tallinn, Estonia
2. Vilnius, Lithuania
3. Erfurt, German
4. Turku, Finland
5. Helsinki, Finland
6. Kiev, Ukraine
7. Kaunas, Lithuania
8. Grenoble, France
9. Riga, Latvia
10. Innsbruck, Austria
