---
title: "Editor's Letter: Wish You Were Here, and This Winter You Can Be"
description: "Christmas markets, the first snow on the Alps and slower trips: Marina Nani introduces Magical Destinations, the November 2026 Rich Travel edition."
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
date: 2026-11-06T12:41:54.622Z
updated: 2026-11-06T12:41:54.634Z
canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/editor-s-letter-wish-you-were-here-and-this-winter-you-can-be
image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/rich-travel-november-2026-magical-destinations.webp
categories: Destinations
content_type: Letter from the Editor
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

When did you last send a postcard?

Mine went in the post years ago, from a beach in August, with three words on the back that everyone understood: wish you were here. This month IOLLA has put those same words on the campaign for its Alpine Edit, and the Icy Blue and Dusty Pink frames from that campaign are on our cover. I smiled the moment I read the line. It is the oldest invitation in travel, and it works just as well in winter as it does in summer.

Most of us treat November as a month to stay at home. The evenings close in, the summer colour has faded from your skin and the next holiday feels a long way off. Yet winter gives you things that summer cannot. Christmas markets open in cathedral squares across Europe, the first snow settles on the Alps, and museums with queues round the block in July let you walk straight in.

We have called this edition Magical Destinations, and it is built around those winter escapes. You will find [eight magical places to visit before Christmas](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/magical-christmas-destinations-europe-2026), from the underground market at Valkenburg to the lights of Madeira, and [eight luxury escapes](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/luxury-destinations-before-christmas-2026) that run from the Advent markets of Vienna to the Icehotel in Swedish Lapland. If you would rather stay closer to home, we have the [opening dates for ten UK Christmas markets](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/uk-christmas-markets-2026-dates), from Manchester and York to Edinburgh and Bath, and a guide to [eight underrated Christmas markets in Europe](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/underrated-christmas-markets-europe-2026) that most visitors walk past.

Travel is changing this winter, and a little knowledge saves you money. Ryanair has warned that [European fares could rise by 20% next year](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/ryanair-fares-rise-winter-flight-cuts) as airlines cut winter flights. The European Union has published [its first tourism strategy](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/eu-sustainable-tourism-strategy-explained), which aims to spread visitors across more places and more months. If the Amalfi Coast is on your list, [Naples airport is closed for all of November](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/naples-airport-closed-november-2026), and Salerno puts you closer to the coast anyway.

More of you are also choosing to [swap weekend breaks for longer stays](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/slow-travel-6-ways-to-take-fewer-longer-trips), and I understand why. A week in one place lets you learn the name of the woman at the bakery and find the bench where the light falls best at four o'clock. For the same reason I hope you will read our [ten destinations for the soul](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/destinations-for-the-soul-europe), from Iona to Lake Ohrid, where the point of the journey is to stop.

One story in this edition stayed with me. [Michael Palin, now 83, is unsure whether he will travel abroad again](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/michael-palin-travel-abroad-again) after 37 years of exploring the world for television. The trips you postpone are the ones you remember wanting. If there is a place you have promised yourself for years, this is the winter to book it.

When you go, pack your sunglasses. Fresh snow reflects about 80 per cent of the sun's ultraviolet light, and our cover story on [IOLLA's Alpine Edit](https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/iolla-s-alpine-edit-brings-icy-blue-and-dusty-pink-sunglasses-to-winter-at-85-a-pair) shows you how to choose a winter pair that protects your eyes and still looks like you.

Then send me a postcard. Tell me where you went and what you found there. I would love to read it, and I would love to wish I were there.

Marina Nani Editor-in-Chief