Hot in travel: events around the world this weekend

New York will be reeling from the end of its Thanksgiving celebrations and Black Friday exertions, but Christmas is just round the corner as the opening of Miracle On 9th Street reminds us. The popular Christmas pop-up cocktail bar is back at its lodgings in Alphabet city for the month. Cocktails are Christmas themed and created by cocktail maestro Nico De Soto. The atmosphere is sure to get the yuletide spirit flowing and set you back $14 a cocktail.

Miracle on 9th Street in Alphabet City opens this weekend Image by Miracle on 9th Street

The neon museum in Los Angeles is finally reopening in its permanent residence after a four-year temporary moveable feast aboard a bus. Opening its doors this Friday for a preview show at its new Glendale home, the exhibition bears the tongue-in-cheek title It’s About Time.

Neon sign at the Museum of Neon Art Image by Zemistor / CC BY 2.0

One of the loveliest riverside Christmas markets in London is back, with the Tate Modern Christmas Market opening its little wooden chalets this weekend. A celebration of arts and crafts, it’s one of the more manageable ones in the city albeit not one of the cheapest.

Christmas Market at the Tate Modern Image by Christmas Market Tate Modern

Lopburi Monkey Banquet Festival is one of the most unusual festivals you could hope to find. The event takes place in San Phra Kan shrine, and in Phra Prang Sam Yot shrine, in Thailand, where more than 10,000 people come to watch the monkeys eat. A large and beautiful feast is prepared for the monkeys who are thought to bring good luck and happiness.

The Loqburi Monkey Festival Image by National Geographic / CC BY 2.0

During foliage season the  Japanese garden at Shirokanedai’s Happo-en in Tokyo stays open until 11pm to allow people to watch lighting displays combined with the famous maple trees. There is currently a special illumination show created by lighting designer Masanobu Takeishi. The lighting design combined with the red maple leaves known as momiji and the traditional Japanese lanterns turns the scene into something of a painting.

The Happo en gardens in Tokyo Image by David Prasad / CC BY 2.0