# valkenburg



## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

we are going to valkenburg chistmas market on the 4thof dec and we are staying here http://www.campingdendriesch.nl/en/index.lp 
we want to visit colonge markets whilst there and was wondering should i leave the motorhome on the site and get train/bus or even a taxi to colonge or just take the motorhome? thanks tommy


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## MikeCo (Jan 26, 2008)

Unless you are lucky you will find that once you are parked up at that site then you will not want to move, the pitch's are not only small but have trees on many of them which make it difficult to get on the pitch.
We stayed there and used the bus to go to Mastricht.
Would not rush to go back though.


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

thanks mikeCo was the market worth the trip? apart from the pitch size was everything else ok?


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## MikeCo (Jan 26, 2008)

As far as the markets are concerned if your local garden centre was in a cave then you will have the same experience and see most of the same items on display.
It was also a long way to travel when you could see almost the same at Lille or Brugge or many other places which are nearer.
I must admit that I would not go back again but that's easy to say once you've been somewhere.
It was very busy though which lends itself to having a good Christmas atmosphere.


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

thanks again MikeCo i think i might split my time there and find some where in colonge for half my time there


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## Boff (May 10, 2005)

Hi,

taking a taxi from Valkenburg to Cologne will cost you an awful lot of money. Two possibilities:

Either take a taxi from the site to Aachen railway station, and from there a regional train to Cologne. Departures every half hour, special regional "Go-as-you-please" tickets available at reasonable price.

Or, take the van and stay on one of the two "Stellplatz" sites that Cologne offers. The one at Haus Vorst is a bit noisy, but easy to reach from the Autobahn and free of charge. And the one at Riehl is more central, but charges 8 EUR per night.

Best Regards,
Gerhard


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

thanks boff ive emailed Riehl Campsite re: pitch availability we are even thinking of staying in colonge instead of valkenburg now we dont fancy the idea of the garden centre ,


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## hilldweller (Mar 8, 2008)

tommytli said:


> thanks boff ive emailed Riehl Campsite re: pitch availability we are even thinking of staying in colonge instead of valkenburg now we dont fancy the idea of the garden centre ,


Birmingham's German market is excellent. And you'll have a lot more money to spend.


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## MikeCo (Jan 26, 2008)

tommytli said:


> thanks boff ive emailed Riehl Campsite re: pitch availability we are even thinking of staying in colonge instead of valkenburg now we dont fancy the idea of the garden centre ,


Please do not take my comments too seriously about Valkenburg being like your local garden centre. In terms of Christmas goods it's probably not far off but it is of course a different atmosphere.
Valkenburg has two markets, both of them are in caves but both are pretty similar once you are inside so perhaps visiting one is enough.
The town itself is simply full of restaurants and at that time of the year tourists which makes it very busy during the day. Most people disapeared at around 5pm though as they were mostly there just for the the day.
I would say that it is still worth going there but for perhaps 2 days only.
We were there for 4 days but one afternoon was spent at Aachen and one full day at Mastricht.
Your earlier idea to spilt your sites seems to be the best.


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

i had seen it in on other forums mikeCo and was already swaying towards colonge the fact tha there are 6 markets and the one set in front of the cathedral look really good im just waiting for the campsite to get back to me before its set in stone


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

well the van will be loaded up today and we will set off to dover ready for the ferry in the morning. we have decided after all we will be splitting our trip up, 2 days in valkenburg http://www.campingdendriesch.nl/en/index.lp and 2 days in cologne http://www.camping-berger-koeln.de/english/camping_berger_platzansicht.html we are just being greedy and want to experance both :lol: after all thats what owning a motorhome is all about :wink:


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## peejay (May 10, 2005)

Hi Tommy;

You probably know this but just in case...

Make sure you follow the advised route that the campsite lists to avoid the Koln pollution zone...

>Advised route to campsite<

>Umweltzone FAQ<

Have a great time!

Pete


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## tommytli (Aug 7, 2008)

well it was nearly 1200 miles round trip and well worth it. valkenburg was good, the top cave market just under the campsite was a bit naff but just a couple of minutes walk into town and there is a much better cave market there really cosy and christmassy and a bar for a drink which is really cosy.
colonge was fantastic the cathedrial(i cant spell lol) where the 1st market is was like some thing ive never seen the market was very busy and expensive it cost 28 euro for 3 hot mulled wine and 1 hot apple juice . there is a tourist train that runs until the markets close that costs 5 euro each so you can experiance some of the other markets.


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