While the celebrated Christmas markets in Germany, Poland and Switzerland always crowd up for the holiday season, there are other well-established European markets slightly further off the beaten track that offer thinner crowds and beautiful locally made products. Eastern Europe in particular is a great place to check out the growing markets, while farther in the west of the continent, the funky holiday Christmas stirred up in Amsterdam is not to be missed.

While Lithuania lies at the heart of the Baltic region – the geographical centre of Europe – few realise that it is also the epicentre of European basketball. This year, for the second time, Lithuania will proudly host the 2011 EuroBasket. It’s a country where the sport is practically a second religion, where athletics in general play a major role in daily life, both past and present.

School is back in session and summer is sadly coming to an end in the northern hemisphere. Luckily many holiday deals are commencing. To help you make a decision about where to go to satisfy any unfulfilled travel cravings, the WHL Group presents here five of its favourite off-season autumn holiday destinations in Antigua & Barbuda, China, Colombia, Lithuania and Tunisia.