Some people think the only cure for the doldrums of winter is sunshine. Far from it. Why not up the ante? Don't suffer snow and ice at home when you can really do winter vacations and ice holidays in style.

From snow villages to pyrotechnic-laced skiing theater to ice hotels built from blocks of the cold stuff, we've created a roundup of the best frozen getaways around the world. With vacation ideas in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, the snowbirder in you can express its inner penguin almost any time of year.

The Harbin Ice Festival, China

Imagine a spectacular amusement park where all the buildings are made of ice. That's the Harbin Ice Festival in China, one of the world's largest winter festivals. Known for its bitter cold, Harbin was once a small fishing town on the banks of the river Songhua that has grown into one of the largest cities in Northeast China. The Manchurian city has a diverse history, mixing Russian and Korean influences.

The festival begins in December and runs through the end of February.

"It was as weird and wonderful as it sounds. Big replicas of famous buildings from around the world. Working restaurants and hotels and shops made of ice," said Tim Harper, a professor at CUNY and editor of the CUNY Journalism Press, who visited the Harbin Ice Festival in 2005.. "All sorts of ice art and games. And thousands of people wandering in couples or small groups, nearly all smiling and eating frozen fruit on a stick."

Icehotel, Sweden

Now in its 23rd incarnation, Sweden's Icehotel is the longest running hotel of its kind in the world, with 50 rooms. There is even a chapel so couples can plan an icy wedding and stay overnight with their guests.

About 140 weddings and 20 christenings take place there, according to spokeswoman Beatrice Karlsson.

Located 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle near the Torne River, the hotel in Jukkasjärvi is the largest in the world made entirely out of natural ice and snow from the Torne River, Karlsson said.

"Also, it is one of the best places in the world to discover the Northern Lights, with offerings like Northern Lights flights and nightly bus excursions ensuring the best possible chances of catching the phenomena during a stay with us."

Rooms are a chic mix of glassy ice furniture, fur throws and ornate ice chandeliers. Even with frozen water as its building blocks, the indoor temperature remains roughly 5 to 7 degrees Celsius, or in the low 40s Fahrenheit.

The Icehotel this season opened on December 7 and will close approximately mid-April.

The Hannibal Festival, Sölden, Austria

Elephants on ice? Sounds crazy, but this festival is based on the ancient invasion of Roman Italy by Carthaginian military leader Hannibal, who marched three-dozen African elephants and some 60,000 soldiers across the Alps about 200 years B.C.

Animal lovers have no need to despair, the elephants are represented by snow grooming machines, and acrobatic skiers perform as warriors.

This year's glacier theater will be held on April 12 and is expected to attract about 7,000 viewers.

"The Hannibal spectacle is unique in the Alps," with more than 500 artists performing on a huge natural stage, said Sarah Ennemoser of the Ötztal Valley tourism office.

"Crazy things are going to happen, from base jumpers, helicopters, artificial avalanches, fireworks, snowcats, monumental music."

The spectacle is held at night, at an altitude of 3,000 meters. If you can't get to the festival, this region of Austria, the Ötztal Valley of Tyrol, near Innsbruck, has some of Europe's best skiing.

Ski by day and dance by night, too, with the Electric Mountain Festival international DJ event, going on through March.

Tierra del Fuego

Many travelers think of South America as sultry, with images of Rio de Janeiro's carnival and the Amazon burned into the mind. The deepest south in South America is anything but, however. A wild, unspoiled region of ice-covered mountains, glaciers and the frozen tundra of endless Patagonia, which stretches between Chile and Argentina.

One of the most comfortable ways to see this region is through Cruceros Australis, a cruise company operating in Southern Chile's Tierra del Fuego and around Cape Horn and the Straight of Magellan, an area Charles Darwin passed through on his famous Beagle voyage. Passengers explore the scenery and the amazing wildlife, from penguins to sea lions to whales, on at least two mini-expeditions a day in zodiacs, returning to the comfort of the ship to socialize over a glass of Chilean wine or scotch served over 40,000-year-old glacier ice.

Ships sail during South America's warm season, running roughly from the end of September through the end of March.

If you can't get to Chile during the warm season, head there during South America's winter to ski at Portillo in the Chilean Andes, about two hours from Santiago.

Polar bear watching, Churchill, Hudson Bay, Manitoba

Who doesn't love polar bears? Truth is, global warming means within the next few decades the world's polar bear population is expected to rapidly plummet. With an environmentally mindful operator, you can see polar bears live in Churchill, on the Hudson Bay in Manitoba Province, Canada.

"I think people are very aware of the fact that it is a shrinking population," and this is driving increasing numbers of tourists to pay visits to the region, said Katherine Foxcraft, the product manager for Fresh Tracks Canada, a travel company that works with Churchill's polar bear specialists.

The best polar bear viewing is generally in October and November, as Hudson Bay begins to freeze and bears take to the ice for hunting. Some outfitters have vehicles with protected viewing platforms to allow photographers to safely take close shots of bears who might even try to climb aboard.