TRAVEL - GERMAN CHRISTMAS MARKETS

CHRISTMAS CHEER

THREE HOURS DRIVE THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CHANNEL LIES THE AACHEN CHRISTMAS MARKET. JONATHAN CROUCH WENT TO VISIT

If you're one of those rare people who actually enjoys shopping for Christmas, then you've probably always promised yourself that one year, you'd do it rather differently.



New York is usually the first place that springs to mind when it comes to exotic Christmas shopping destinations - but that's really a once-in-a-lifetime thing for the lucky few. What about somewhere a little nearer and a lot less painful in the wallet region?



Before we go on, it's as well to make clear at this point that we're not talking about stocking up on seasonal drinks, smokes or questionably-smelling cheese. You can do all that with a short hop across the channel of course - but you can do a lot more by venturing a little further a field when you get there. We're talking here about somewhere with enough retail variety to make your next Christmas present haul a lot more interesting, both for you and those lined up to receive your gifts.



Finding such a place is not a modern day problem of course. It's something people right across Europe have been battling with for centuries. Hence the emergence of the famous German Christm...