In pictures: Europe’s most beautiful cities covered in snow this winter

It’s been an exceedingly chilly winter in Europe. For the most part, this has only added to the drabness of lockdown life, but then came the snow. Loads of it.

It’s always a thrill to see a fresh, sparkling layer of the white stuff – especially in places that rarely see snowfall. And over the past month or so, major cities across the continent have been blanketed in piles of it.

In Madrid and Athens, iconic sights like Retiro Park and the Parthenon had a rarely-seen white makeover. In Amsterdam, the canals this week froze over for the first time in three years (and skaters promptly hit the ice), while Londoners have also been setting up their own impromptu skate rinks. All over Europe, snowmen and snowball fights have provided a much-needed dose of wintry joy to millions. (Despite the fact that, yes, harsher winters could well be linked to cataclysmic climate change.)

Need a dose of magic in your day? Here are ten stunning photos of cities across Europe looking a whole lot snowier and even more beautiful than they usually do.

Paris

_{Photograph: Shutterstock}

Amsterdam

_{Photograph: marineke thissen / Shutterstock.com}

Madrid

_{Photograph: Shutterstock}

Milan

_{Photograph: VILTVART / Shutterstock.com}

London

_{Photograph: Shutterstock}

Berlin

_{Photograph: Flickr / abbilder}

Athens

_{Photograph: Flickr / George E. Koronaios}

Copenhagen

_{Photograph: Oliver Foerstner / Shutterstock.com}

Vienna

_{Photograph: Flickr / Ivan Radic}

Prague

_{Photograph: Eva Pruchova / Shutterstock.com}

Want more pretty things to look at? Here are 27 brilliantly colourful places around the world.

And these are officially the world’s most stunning Airbnbs right now.