CAPTURING the magic of Christmas becomes more of a challenge with teenage girls. Santa Claus is, naturally, a lost cause. The girls are no longer convinced by glitter. All they want for Christmas is (another) mobile phone. They are at the age when they are acutely conscious of fashion, body odour, odd-looking people and chocolate.

To which list I can now add lingerie shops and horse dung, after a weekend in Vienna with my daughter Rhena and her friend Jodie, both rapidly approaching 13.

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I chose the Austrian capital for this pre-Christmas treat because it dresses up prettily. Its splendidly imperial architecture looks as if it has been carved from sugar, you can see most of the centre in a horse and carriage, there's a chance of snow and it is stuffed with Christmas markets.

I was prepared for the girls' fascination with chocolate but I didn't realise their horror of lingerie shops until the first evening's walk through town ("Yuck! Don't look! And there's another! Yuck!").

Happily, there were no outrageous undies in the markets, although maybe we just didn't look sufficiently hard enough. There certainly seemed to be pretty much everything else, particularly in the market outside the Rathaus, the city hall, which looks like a giant Gothic cathedral.

On sale here we found everything from oriental oils to chocolate fountains, from football kits to a candle in the shape of a BlackBerry (the phone, not the fruit).

The Rathaus itself was involved too, its giant windows numbered like an Advent calendar and a werkstatt (production area) on the ground floor where children could make scented soap or cinnamon biscuits. Rhena and Jodie gave me a "We'd rather die" look when I suggested they might want to join in.

The next market, Spittelberg, was far less commercial and more unconventional. Set in the lanes to the south of the centre, it has a more hip and villagey atmosphere and here the girls discovered tassely hats and candles in the shape of kissing snails which they decided they simply must have. Personally I set about trying to ascertain the difference between punsch and gl¼hwein, which took some research but the girls wrinkled up their noses at kinderpunsch, made from hibiscus flowers.

Teenage girls think museums are a bit of a yawn but in the Museums Quarter, just by Spittelberg, they were happy to browse the designer shops and watch the ice-curling rink before walking through the "old-Viennese" Christmas market on Maria-Theresien-Platz where they spotted another chocolate fountain.

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To satisfy the sugar craving I took them into Demel, the downtown chocolatier whose patissiers create amazing paintings out of whirled caramel and iced sugar. From there we went to chill out on soft seats in the opulent former palace, Cafe Central, mulling over a plate of sachertorte, Vienna's chocolate cake. The girls didn't rate it.

What did set their pulses racing was seeing their English teacher across the crowded cafe.

That night we tried a last stab at a market out at Schonbrunn, Vienna's imposing palace built by an empress. It looked fabulous after dark, with a giant Christmas tree surrounded by rustic stalls where I could pursue my gluhwein research.

This turned out to be a delicatessen of a market, a place to graze on farmers' pancakes and potato fritters while listening to the choir singing under the Christmas tree.

On Sunday I'd wanted to see the horses in the Spanish Riding School but I should have realised that 11am is far too early in the morning for teenage girls (besides, it would smell of horse-poo, yuck). So instead, we went for a recreational skate around Vienna's outdoor ice rink, among skaters doing waltzes and quadrilles to strains of Mozart and Strauss.

Then, on our last sally into town before the flight home, we stumbled across the best Christmas market of all. It was on the grass outside the Hofburg, the former imperial residence. On offer were the latest Bentleys and Hummers, a couple of Porsches, a super yacht or two and a jet plane. There were, of course, no prices.

This kind of market attracted tight-skinned Viennese in fur coats, a little past their prime, and disturbingly young, shades-wearing Russians with medallions. The girls were fascinated by the ultra rich but they were scathing when I innocently pointed out the absence of chocolate fountains. Did I not realise, they said, when you're really loaded one of the first things you do is have a chocolate fountain at home?

GETTING THERE

Cities Direct (01242 536900/citiesdirect.co.uk) offers two nights at the five-star Ring Hotel, Vienna from £489pp (two sharing), B&B. Price includes return British Airways (ba.com) flights from Heathrow to Vienna. For December midweek departures.
Vienna tourism: vienna.info

Austrian National Tourist Office: 0845 101 1818/ austria.info