Starting Friday 19 November, the Velvet Cave in Valkenburg aan de Geul once again becomes the unique backdrop to the international VelvetCave Christmas market. True, good old-fashioned sparkling Christmas spirit is guaranteed at this, the 13th edition of the Netherlands' most popular indoor Christmas event!
The Christmas market in the VelvetCave is more than just a Christmas market. A visit here immerses you in a wonderful Christmas atmosphere you can find nowhere else: iconic underground ambiance, a fairy-tale decor, and, of course, stall after stall of Christmas and gift items, from rustic to luxurious. In short, a great experience, with something for everyone.
And all the while, the cave's atmosphere, with its striking wall paintings and sculptures, brings the Christmas spirit and the old, nigh-forgotten Valkenburg legends to life.
Let it take you by surprise!
Theme 2010: Charles Dickens Christmas
It doesn't get any more Christmassy than Charles Dickens, and that's where we're going!
At the Velvet Cave Christmas market, you can get a wealth of ideas for your Christmas decoration and can always find a stylish Christmas gift for your loved ones. Browse the stalls with a wide variety of Christmas items and gifts, set up in quaint niches along a circular route. You'll find something for everyone, in every price class.
The many handmade local and international products are unique, and some are not commercially available: nativity scenes, sculpture groups, Christmas decorations in mouth-blown glass, Christmas wreaths, candles, decorative seasonal and other items for the home, marlstone products and traditional Polish handicrafts, to name but a few. And of course, religious gifts, gifts for kids, delicious treats (Belgian chocolate) and all manner of craft items and curios.
And it wouldn't be a Christmas market without the old-fashioned Dutch poffertjes (mini pancakes) and world-famous Dutch pea soup!
In the middle of the route, you find the charming Winter Wonderland Tavern, where you can rest for a while enjoying a bite to eat and a warming (and heart-warming) glass of Glühwein (German mulled wine).
In short, an unforgettable Christmas outing for visitors of all ages!
Largest commercial Christmas event in the Netherlands
The Christmas market in the VelvetCave is the biggest commercial subterranean Christmas event in the Netherlands. Each year, over 125,000 people from the Netherlands and abroad visit this unique underground Christmas market. All proceeds go towards the Valkenburg Castle Foundation organisers, which allows them to maintain the castle ruin & VelvetCave.
So when you visit the underground revelries, you are also supporting a piece of Limburg.
