The holiday season is officially upon us, meaning one thing: cozy nights snuggled up watching festive films and fantasizing about experiencing the Christmas of the movies. As a gift to you, we’ve rounded up 7 real towns that could easily star in a Hallmark Christmas movie.

A thick layer of frost, porches illuminated by fairy lights, fires flickering in the hearths inside – Dorset is destined to star in a Hallmark Christmas movie. Nestled in the hills of Bennington County, and a 10-minute drive from the equally charming town of Manchester, this quiet little Vermont town is home to the country’s oldest marble quarry, and even provided a significant amount of stone for the New York Public Library. But it’s the snow-white clapboard church, rolling hills and cozy inns that provides the perfect backdrop to the most wonderful time of the year.

The picture-postcard town of Rye dates back to medieval times when it was a key trading hub. These days the British town is recognised as a lovely weekend getaway, thanks to its tightly knit streets of antique shops, gift shops and cafés. At the heart of the town you’ll find the star of the show – Mermaid Street – a crooked, cobbled lane where timber-framed houses are given cute names, such as “The House With Two Doors” and “The House Opposite.”

Halfway up the pedestrianized street is Mermaid Inn, a historic pub that dates back to the 13th century. With low wooden beams, a roaring fire and friendly barmen, this is the perfect scenery for two strangers to meet on a cold Christmas night. And speaking of Christmas, events in December include carol concerts in the church, a Santa’s Grotto and live music performances on late-night shopping evenings.

We’re dreaming of a European Christmas, complete with a smattering of snow, an old-world market and traditional caroling. Cue San Candido, an Italian town set up in the Dolomites, close to the border with Austria. This atmospheric commune would make a wonderful setting for a Christmas movie. A chocolate-box market is set up in November, perfect for stocking up on hand-crafted tree ornaments and local delicacies while sing-song chimes out from the Collegiata Church.

Nothing embodies comfort and joy like a Canadian Christmas, and Hallmark producers need look no further than Banff, in Alberta, for their next festive flick. Once a railway community, today the town is a popular base for exploring Banff National Park and the Rocky Mountains.

Christmas events kickoff with the Banff Craft Beer Festival at the end of November before bundled up locals enjoy the illuminations walk, sleigh rides and even an ice bar set up by the fairy-tale-like Fairmont Hotel. It truly is bitingly cold this time of year, meaning Lake Louise freezes over – perfect for donning your ice skates and gliding over the ice before a warming cup of hot cocoa.

The Nordics really know how to do Christmas. Take Sweden, and specifically the town of Åre. Here, Santa’s cottage materializes in the main square and welcomes children to meet Jultomten (Sweden’s Father Christmas) while parents sip mugs of mulled wine. Come nightfall, the town gathers together to set up long communal tables to share in a Julbord – a Christmas smörgåsbord of local sausage, pickled fish and sweet tarts – sometimes with the Northern Lights dancing overhead. This really is the making of movie magic.

The sweet, gingerbread taste of a German Christmas awaits in Washington state. Bavarian-inspired Leavenworth could be the centerpiece of a snow globe, with its old-world Alpine-style buildings, welcoming beer halls and horse-drawn carriages. There’s even a nutcracker museum. Come the holiday season, half a million Christmas lights are switched on around the town and the German-style Christkindlemarkt buzzes with shoppers. Not only that, but Leavenworth is set in the foothills of the Cascades, making the town an excellent gateway for skiing.

Yes, it might have been the inspiration for the town in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast but Colmar, France, hasn’t yet starred in a Christmas movie. Located close to the German border, this well-preserved town has waterways winding around 13th-century half-timbered buildings. A life-size nativity scene is set up outside the town’s church, along with not one, not two, but five Christmas markets; ample scenery for a romantic meet-cute.

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