City of lights is even more glimmering for the holidays!

The National Geographic Traveler Says if you want traditional European Christmas markets, head to Paris. The City of Light is getting ever more famous for its holiday markets, and this year the number of wooden market stalls scattered throughout the city seems to be at an all-time high.One of the largest and most well known of the Parisian Christmas markets is at La Défense. If you only have time to visit one market, this should be it. Away from the city center, the traditional wooden chalets provide a stark contrast to the steel and glass of the city's newest office buildings. The juxtaposition makes the market seem even more surreal than the five-foot-wide saucepans full of bratwurst. The market at La Défense is home to dozens of stalls offering everything from winter scarves to Belgian waffles, mulled wine to beaded bracelets. There are plenty of chalets with seating areas where you can rest your legs while enjoying a cup of mulled wine and listening to live music.Another of the biggest (and newest) Parisian Christmas markets is on the Champs-Elysées. The market lines both sides of the street from Place de la Concorde to the roundabout at Avenue Montaigne. It features traditional food vendors, huge outdoor sculptures, and a small children's carnival. Its wooden chalets fly flags from all over the world, while inside the merchants sell a plethora of holiday crafts like handmade silver jewelry and wooden toys.