'I explored Vienna's stunning Christmas markets - it puts the UK to shame'

Year after year I find myself disappointed with the Christmas markets which pop up in every city and town we have. There's a distinct lack of festive nostalgia which leaves me vacant.

This feeling was only made worse when I ventured across the pond to Vienna, Austria, where Christmas becomes its entire personality for the run up to the big day. Everything is bigger, better and more festive - the Viennese don't do things by half.

I visited Vienna for the first time last year in December, when Christmas spirit had infected tourists and locals. This is how they put on a show.

"Rumblings of Christmas cheer are slowly rippling through the country, with shops bringing out their obligatory festive adverts and treats flooding supermarket shelves. Along with all the hubbub over presents, decorations and parties, Christmas markets are slowly popping up to flog extortionate mugs of mulled wine.

"Yet I’ve always found myself disappointed with the lacklustre effort the UK puts into its Christmas markets, and seeing the festivities in Europe puts us to shame. Christmas in Vienna, Austria’s capital, is like Christmas on steroids.

"In one city they host no less than twenty Christmas markets, packed to the brim with locals and tourists alike. The fervour they have for the festive season is unlike any other I’ve experienced, as originally reported in the Mirror Online.

"Last December, I took a trip to visit a friend who’d moved there from the UK, swapping the dreary grey shores of Southampton for one of the best cities to live in. Anyway, back to the Christmas markets.

"Over a three-day period we wandered through only a fraction of Vienna’s market offerings, including the Christkindlmarkt at the Rathaus, Christmas Market at Schönbrunn