Another day in Zuid-Limburg

After my visit of the Velvet cave yesterday I went to the old town of Valkenburg to visit the Christmas market and enjoy the Christmas atmosphere even more.

The Christmas spirit in Valkenburg lasts from mid-November to the beginning of January when the old town changes into a 'Kerststad', a Christmas town.

Every small street is decorated and there are many Christmas trees standing around the city.

Let's start the tour! I will also add some information about the city that I didn't mention last time...

Can you see the flags on the right side? It's the flag of the region of Limburg. Its colors are white, blue and gold, and in the flag there is a symbol of the red Limburgian lion with a double tail.

Today, Valkenburg is one of the largest tourist destinations in Limburg. There are thousands of tourists coming to the city every day. This is not surprising when you see how many tourist attractions are here. Valkenburg offers something for everyone.

I must say that Valkenburg is a town with the most restaurants per square meter that I've ever seen. They seem to be attached to each other and apparently it is very difficult to choose where to go.

Well, I didn't have this problem as in entire old town I found only one restaurant with a vegan option (vegan burger). And I was so happy to get something to eat as there are not that many options in The Netherlands yet.

The castle in the middle of the decoration symbolizes the castle that is built on top of the hill overlooking Valkenburg.

There are many tourists coming from The Netherlands as well. These cozy terraces are one of the reasons why Dutch come here. Even in the winter months, you can enjoy your meal outside as those terraces are heated up.

If you want a day or a weekend away in your own country, this is the right place for you.

The tower in the back is called 'De Geulpoort'. It was originally a medieval city gate in the city wall of Valkenbung. The gate was demolished in 1644 and rebuilt in 2014. Today, there is an information office and a machine that makes coins which many people collect.

This Christmas tree was quite big. There are tiny lights on it but you can't see them very well on the photo.

There are many bridges across the river Geul.

One of those bridges has many love locks on the railing. There are not as many as there are on bridges in big cities but it still looks nice.

Look at the moss growing out of the houses!

The Christmas market in the old town is called the Santa's Village. At the beginning of the market stands a lovely carousel. It was early in the morning, so it was empty but I can imagine that there is a queue later in the day.

One of the few stalls that were open so early was the one with warm waffles and olie bollen (fried dessert). These are typical dutch sweets.

The Santa's village is located at the river Geul. I can imagine all the lights glittering in the water in the evening. It must be so pretty!

Close to the Christmas market I noticed these statues. The artwork is called 'Theodoor Dorren wijst touristen de weg'. It means 'Theodoor Dorren shows tourists the way'. It was created in 2011 by Pierre Habets.

You can see that the Geulpoort is newer than other houses. It is so clean in comparison to the rest.

I like the lighting on this photo very much. It was so cold outside but when I was standing in the sun it felt so good.

On the other side of the river is an iron workshop. There are many works outside of the workshop and a few of them are decorated for Christmas. Can you see that one of those guys is fishing?

On the way back to the car I could see the Geulpoort again. It is so bright that you can see it from almost everywhere in the city.

Many roads in this region have changed in the last three years, so the navigation in my car doesn't recognize them. It took me ages to get back to the hotel and at some point I thought I would be driving around forever. Luckily, I got back to the hotel as I was getting hungry again 😊

Thank you for visiting!

Cheers!