Valkenburg Christmas Market

Holidays by Rail introduces 2011/12 rail-cruise itineraries

Norwich-based specialty travel company Holidays Rail confirmed that it will offer 30 rail cruise holiday travel season 2011/12.

Travelers can choose from a variety of destinations ranging from river cruises along the waterways French and Dutch voyages of the ship more to the sunny islands of the Mediterranean and the Inside Passage of Alaska.

An assortment of fall and winter of 2011 departures are available for colorful destinations including the Greek islands and Ionian and extravagances like a seasonal Minibreaks four-day Christmas market in Liege, Aachen, Valkenburg and Bruges.

In addition to spectacular holidays throughout Europe, Canada and the United States, 2012 rail-cruise itineraries celebrate special events such as Floriade Festival in Amsterdam, one of the best in the world horticultural exhibitions that take place once every ten years, illuminating and celebrating annual harvest Riesling in the valleys of the Rhine and the Moselle.

"With such a variety of destinations and themes, it is a holiday rail cruise to suit every taste and budget travel," said Eric Hutchins, general manager of Travel by rail.

Valkenburg Christmas Markets and Velvet Cave « Christmas Markets

Valkenburg is a delightful little hill town in the Netherlands built around a romantic ruined castle. The Christmas market ‘Fluweelengrot’ takes place in beautifully lit Velvet Cave which runs underneath the town.

This year the caves will be decorated to provide a romantic and fairy-tale interpretation of the theme “Christmas Elves”.

Besides the elves, the cave is hugely atmospheric whch helps revive the ancient and almost forgotten legends and memories of the city of Valkenburg.  A walking tour of the market will lead you through a romantically lit up Christmas Cave with amongst other things impressive mural carvings and sculptures.

The Velvet Cave A labyrinth of mysterious passages situated under the Castle Ruins, the Velvet Cave was created around the year 1050.  The caves are closely connected to the history of the Castle of Valkenburg.  The blocks of marlstone extracted from the cave were used to construct the Castle of Valkenburg as well as other buildings in the area. The extraction of the marlstone resulted in an extensive labyrinth of ancient passages. These secret escape passages, only discovered in 1937, would have originally enabled the knights and their warriors to secretly vanish from the castle in times of war, and attack the enemy from behind.

The Velvet Cave contains numerous mysteries and a treasure of impressive mural carvings, inscriptions, and exceptional sculptures in the soft marlstone walls, as well as a romantic refuge chapel dating back to the French occupation period.  In World War II, during the occupation of the Germans, the cave served as a shelter for Jewish people, locals, and American troops.

Christmas Parade Due to the success of last year’s Christmas extravanganza there will be a Parade again this year.  Floats, dancers and entertainers will follow a routet hrough the fairytale lighted streets of Valkenburg

A special piece of music has been composed for the parade and a new professional central sound system installed. The parades start on the 4th November and run until the 5th January every Wednesday at 19.30 p.m. and every Saturday at 20.00 p.m. through the centre of Valkenburg.

Valkenburg Christmas Markets With Leger Holidays

View other Christmas Market Holidays on www.inspiringholidays.

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