Whenever winter’s icy grip begins to take over our hemisphere, it’s easy to bemoan the season as a months-long trudge through gray skies and runny noses. But there’s a beautiful side to winter that often gets overlooked—we’re talking about pristine frozen lakes, the aurora-lit skies of Lapland, and English cottages that put Norman Rockwell paintings to shame.
So the next time you start cursing temperature drops and dreading yet another snow day, we invite you to plan an impromptu trip to explore one of Europe’s best Christmas markets or go skiing in the Swiss Alps—or, at the very least, grab a warm blanket and walk through some winter wonderlands from behind your computer screen.
From Wisconsin to Japan, here are 35 gorgeous winter destinations that are sure to melt your icy heart.
This gallery was originally published in 2016. It has been updated with new information.
