Event: Netherlands

Fluweelengrot Christmas Market

When:	16 Nov - 22 Dec 2007 (annual)
Where:	Fluweelengrot
Costs:	€3.75; 4-11 yrs €1.75; under 4s free
Opening Hours:	Mon-Fri 12pm-8pm; Sat 10am-9pm; Sun 10am-8pm; Sat 22 Dec 10pm-6pm

Christmas markets often look the same from one town to the next, but not in Valkenburg - the markets here take place underneath the town's ruined castle.

Cosy market stalls sell Christmas articles and traditional Dutch handicraft items in the old marlstone quarry workings that have honeycombed the earth since Roman times. Murals, lighting and a troupe of actors depicting the inhabitants of the castle and caves in olden days transform the Fluweelengrot (velvet cave) into a Santa's Grotto.

Valkenburg is a pretty little town which grew up around its namesake castle, now a romantic ruin. At the centre of the marlstone hills which gave the area many of its yellow-toned monumental buildings, the town has been polishing itself up in recent years, with the Holland Casino and Thermae health spa providing modern distractions to go with the interesting recreational possibilities of the landscape, which include caving and even underground mountain bike tours.