Xmas Markets

MARCHES NÖEL SORT TRÉS BON!

Christmas markets are where the spirt of the season's festivities come to life. The UK hasn't really caught up with Europe on their festive offerings. Fortunately, there's so many great markets in France, Germany and other cities/towns in Europe where Christmas is celebrated, it's worth taking a short trip away to enjoy these foreign delights and see first hand how they measure up to xmas markets in the UK.

Arguably, beside's the fantastic and fun Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, the Brits just don't seem to be able to capture the same 'spirit' of Christmas as our European cousins do - and, in my experience, they certainly can't offer such great value or quality. So at this time of year, it's a great adventure for the family to take the Eurostar, ferry or tunnel and head to one of the Northern French towns like Boulogne for some vin chaud and saussison.

While we do have access to the French food and wine in our supermarkets, it's just not the same as buying it directly from the farmers and their families who work the weekend markets in France. Eating some freshly prepared food, snacking on cured meats and sipping vin chaud/champagne, all for just a few Euros, in a beautiful medieval french town square, really makes such a great start to the holiday period.