IMAGINE Christmas shopping while strolling around drinking hot cherry punch and munching on a mustard-drenched bratwurst.

Browsing for hand made gifts, sampling delicious local produce and listening to traditional music while the trees above twinkle with a thousand brightly lit lights.

It may seem like a fairytale but when you visit Vienna, that dreamlike sense is never far away.

Just a two and half hour flight away, you are transported to what seems like a magical land of Mozart, museums and metres of beer.

Each year the Austrian capital plays host to one of the largest Christmas markets in Europe which attracts more than three million visitors. And with 140 stalls selling everything from Christmas candies to crafts and hand made toys it is easy to see why.

With a hot punch stand on every corner ready to refill your souvenir Vienna Christmas Market mug with the tasty and warming toddy, shopping for the family has never been such fun and seems a million miles away from the often crass commercialism of your normal festive retailing.

The Austrians have a much more traditional sense of Christmas, often spurning the ubiquitous red suited Santa image in favour of the more traditional St Nick and nativity images.

The market is located in the Rathausplatz in front of the impressive city hall, the windows of which are lit to display the advent days left until the big occasion.

In fact, the architecture throughout the capital is impressive, not least the imposing site of St Stephen's Cathedral which dominates the city centre and is well worth a visit if you tire of shopping.

Take an afternoon stroll around the innere-stadt (inner city) and you can enjoy the narrow cobbled streets, beautiful arcades and hidden alleyways, and of course the numerous coffee shops where sampling the choccie fest that is Sachertorte is a must.

Easy to explore, Vienna has a first-rate public transport system including the clean and efficient U-Bahn underground and a frequent tram service although you can tour many of the major sights on foot or even on a fiaker (horse-drawn carriage) as this is a compact and friendly city.

To add further to the fairytale element of our trip we took in a classical concert featuring the music of Mozart and Strauss performed by the Vienna Resident Orchestra with songers from the state opera and ballet.

Although not known for our love of classical music the concert was housed in the atmospheric Palais Auersperg, where Mozart performed at the age of seven and was a breathtaking experience.

If you prefer the more modern of life's amusements however then it's worth heading out of the city centre to Bar Centimetre, located a short tram ride away to the north of the centre.

Here, they sell Austrian beer by the metre, delivered in an impressive glass tube with its own tap and the most divine if unmanagable portions of Vienna Schnitzel with relaxed and informal camaraderie.

While gloves and scarves are essentials for a chilly weekend jaunt to Vienna at this time of year, you can be sure the welcome you'll receive is as warming as the Christmas punch.

Claire flew to Vienna on the new Easyjet service from Luton which launched this month. For more details visit www.easyjet.com.