One of the best things about this time of year is coming across cosy winter hangouts! To help find some new ones, we caught up with a style insider from each of our favourite cities – London, New York, Berlin and Chicago - and asked them about their hot spots. Get your pen and notepad at the ready - there are plenty of lovely sounding places to scribble down and hopefully visit one day. Ready to plan you next mini-break? So are we.

Celestine Cooney, the super cool Fashion Director of the bi-annual Twin magazine...

My perfect winter day in London would involve an early morning walk in Epping forest with friends and dogs, flasks of strong sugary tea and a picnic of bacon sandwiches on brioche bread. Then a delicious lunch of lamb hamburgers on Broadway Market accompanied by a can of beer sitting on the kerb watching the world go by followed by a really good movie in Richmix cinema and dinner at Brawn on Columbia Road.

My favourite thing about where I live is my house and all the lovely places around it. Delicious places to eat, Bella Vita and La Bouche on Broadway market. Good Pubs Like the Royal Oak on Columbia Road and The Shacklewell Arms on Shacklewell Lane.

If you’ve never been to London before, make sure you check out Violet Café on Wilton way in East London.

My favourite winter foodie treat is mashed potato with loads of butter and salt, peas and gravy.

The best place to people watch in London is I go to punk gigs in Camden and it’s the best people-watching you can get anywhere in the world!

Natalie Suarez, the LA-born model who blogs about her life in New York on Natalie Off Duty...

I love New York at Christmas because of its high energy. I love the close proximity of the people and how everything is here in one place; music, fashion and art. The creativity here is amazing!

The best places to shop for Christmas presents in New York are around Soho. Broadway has some of the best stores and then you can easily walk to the streets off Broadway and find smaller boutiques. My favourites are Oak and Amarchord.

The best way to get into the Christmas spirit in New York city is by taking a late night stroll through the streets in a giant scarf and just looking at the pretty lights. I love visiting the shop windows where everything is sparkling! The city glows at night.

The best thing to eat in New York is in Chinatown. I love Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant on Grand Street, and I love the Indian restaurants on 6th.

My perfect winter New York day would have to include brunch out with my closest friends in the village (I love breakfast food), walking to the local parks, and relaxing. I also love cycling and like to bike around the city’s parks.

Emma Arnold, the oh-so-chic street style photographer behind Tres Awesome...

My perfect day in Chicago would involve brunch with friends at Hot Chocolate in Bucktown, street style photography in Wicker Park, and dinner at Next.

My favourite winter foodie treat is a fresh croissant with Prosciutto from Hendrickx Belgian Bread Crafter on Oak street

My favourite place to eat in Chicago is Sun Wah Chinese BBQ.

My ultimate night-time hang out is The Matchbox. It’s a tiny sliver of a bar at just 460 square feet! My go-to is the Lime Ginger Gimlet, finished with powder sugar.

Kathi Kauder, the Berlin-based Fashion Editor of I Love You magazine...

The best hangout in Berlin this Christmas is tobogganing in Mauerpark, hot waffles in Kauf dich glucklich and drinks in Kreuzberg.

The best place to go Christmas shopping is Manufactum. I love that place - you can find all sorts of things made with traditional manufacturing methods and materials. If you are looking for designer clothing there is a very nice store in Mitte called Yuu which sells last season’s samples for amazing prices.

If you do one thing in Berlin this Christmas go to the service in Berliner Dom on 24th December. I’ve never been there – I’m always with my family outside the city – but friends have told me that the atmosphere is so lovely.

To see what Celestine, Natalie, Emma and Kathi would love from Topshop this Christmas, take a look at our feature on Topshop.com! And if you have any perfect winter hotspots where you live, be sure to let us know...

If you happen to be in New York this winter, you should definitely check out the Carsten Höller Experience exhibition at the New Museum until January 15th. The German born artist has created a series of works that blur the boundaries between play and art, most notably by installing a huge slide right in the middle of the exhibition space.

Anyone who remembers the massive slides Höller installed in London's Tate Modern will know that this is not your ordinary art exhibition. Höller's art is not made to be observed, it only really comes alive when people are interacting with it. As you ride the enormous slide around the building, you get flashes of the other works through the glass panels on the way down, making this possibly the most fun way to catch an exhibition ever.

Other highlights include a massive mirrored carousel, an aquarium that you can stick your head into to see the fish, and the ominously named Giant Psycho Tank, which is a sensory deprivation pool. Each is designed to install particular feelings in the viewer. Take the lobby which has been transformed into an Alice in Wonderland inspired garden full of giant mushrooms as well as the brightly coloured alligators dotted around the building.

All these weird and wonderful installations will make you feel like you're in a strange dream world and we love that Höller's work is so interactive. Apparently Miuccia Prada has one of the slides in her office, which is making us daydream about having one in Topshop HQ. That would be one seriously fun way to get around the office.

It was love at first sight when we came across these pictures of amazing sequin graffiti in Reykjavik, Iceland. They are the work of Danish artist Theresa Himmer, who lived in Iceland between 2005 and 2009 and made the installations as a critique of the damage being done to the environment over there.

The installations represent the Icelandic countryside, for example, the red and orange dripping down a wall is lava, while the silver capped building is a snowy mountain. Despite brightening up their environment, these shimmery designs are more than just a visual treat. The very fact that they are made of artificial materials is a reminder that the natural world is being destroyed in the never-ending quest for natural resources.

Theresa purposely chose to put her gorgeous designs in run-down urban areas, making them pop-out even more against their dull backdrops. We love the idea of bringing some sparkle to the streets and making people aware of the damage being done to the environment at the same time. You?

As soon as we enter October we can’t help but let our minds wander to thoughts of Halloween. If you are based in LA, or happen to be taking a trip there before the 31st of October, make sure you pop the Tim Burton Retrospective at the top of your to-do list. 

Although Burton’s loved most for his now signature, eerie directing style, he also works as an artist, illustrator, photographer, and writer. Celebrating all of his talents, this 700 piece exhibition features personal and never before seen work, alongside models, storyboards, puppets, and costumes from his most iconic films. One of our favourites, Edward Scissorhands, even has it’s own dedicated topiary!

All of this accompanied by music composed specially for the exhibition by Burton's long-time collaborator Danny Elfman, we couldn’t think of a better place to visit in the run up to Halloween.

The doors of our brand new Chicago store are now open!

We had four fun-filled days of instore treats planned, as well as a whole shop-full of new season style for you to get your hands on. Did you go down to the opening? Let us know which pieces you picked up!

Photos by Darkroom Demons