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• coinjock

  
   

  December 17, 2010 1:32:06 AM CET

  Has anyone yet been to the Christmas Caves in Valkenburg? I have seen a few things written up about them, but when I ask any of my Dutch neighbors, etc - half have never heard of them, and the other half have never been.
  
  I don't live anywhere near that part of the country, but if the feed back is decent, maybe we will make a day trip out of it.
  
  
• irishangel

  

  • 670 posts
   

  December 17, 2010 1:47:02 AM CET

  
  

  coinjock (Dec 17 2010, 12:32 AM) said: > original post
  Has anyone yet been to the Christmas Caves in Valkenburg? I have seen a few things written up about them, but when I ask any of my Dutch neighbors, etc - half have never heard of them, and the other half have never been.
  
  I don't live anywhere near that part of the country, but if the feed back is decent, maybe we will make a day trip out of it.

  
  
  
  I'm heading there on monday!!! will let you know
• osita

  

  • 2285 posts
   

  December 17, 2010 8:40:23 AM CET

  
  

  coinjock (Dec 17 2010, 12:32 AM) said: > original post
  Has anyone yet been to the Christmas Caves in Valkenburg? I have seen a few things written up about them, but when I ask any of my Dutch neighbors, etc - half have never heard of them, and the other half have never been.
  
  I don't live anywhere near that part of the country, but if the feed back is decent, maybe we will make a day trip out of it.

  
  
  
  Yes, we went a couple of years ago. It's beautiful, but it can get crowded so choose your time carefully. The whole cave is themed, so kids can 'discover' a story as they walk through, like a grotto. It's very beautiful. The whole town is geared up for tourists.
• ldyparadox99

  

  • 314 posts
   

  December 17, 2010 6:56:51 PM CET

  We went 2 years ago. Honestly, it's the best kerstmarkt I've been to so far and I try to hit a different one every year. There's 2 different markets, one that's more handcrafted goods and the other is more commercial.
  
  As Osita said, they get crowded. Especially when some very unsocial people decide taking a double stroller through is a wonderful and great idea.
  
  I went to the Dusseldorf market this past Friday and my husband was saying we should have gone to valkenburg again since Dusseldorf was a bust.
• filippijns

  
   

  December 25, 2010 12:23:37 AM CET

  the fluweelengrot kerstmarkt you mean. i was there last weekend and honestly, the ancient cave is beautiful - lots of history about it but the christmas martket inside the cave? AWFUL. its like a bazaar or something. i should have gone to beverwijk bazaar instead if i am only seeing the same items on sale. but this christmas market is one of a kind in the world, so go there, at least for once in your life.
  
  the christmas market in aachen is much better, they were selling real locally produced products, food, gourmet stuf, handcrafts, etc.
  
  
• papasutra

  

  • 786 posts
   

  December 26, 2010 1:09:37 PM CET

  Ehhh...I recommend the cave tour of Sint Pietersberg in Maastricht and then a boot ride on the Maas.
  
  Or take the boat trip from Maastricht to Liege for the day.
  
  But if you decide to go to Valkenburg, a nice place to eat afterwards is...http://www.la-casa.nl/
• melintir

  
   

  February 2, 2011 12:35:27 AM CET

  i didn't go there during christmas, but biking in the cave in valkenburg was really cool, they have certain part of the cave where you can rent a bike and all the safety gear