Christmas market in Alsace © by blieusong

Europe’s famous festive markets are a great way to infuse a little tradition, magic and authenticity into your Christmas (shopping). Here’s our pick of the best.

One of my favorite recommendations is for a hotel made out of salt. We stayed at the Hotel Luna Salada when we visited Salar de Uyuni, the world's largest salt flat, in Bolivia. There's a good entry over on this blog where mikehowie recounts the experience of walking on the salt flat. He says that "standing on the crisp salt crust, formed millions of years ago, and looking across miles upon miles of brilliant white emptiness, feels like being on another planet." I don't doubt it.