European Gems - Amsterdam to Budapest Cruise

Day 1 - Amsterdam

Arrive: Fri 06 December 2024

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.

Day 2 - Amsterdam

Depart: Sat 07 December 2024

Amsterdam is the Netherlands’ capital, known for its artistic heritage, elaborate canal system and narrow houses with gabled facades, legacies of the city’s 17th-century Golden Age. Its Museum District houses the Van Gogh Museum, works by Rembrandt and Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum, and modern art at the Stedelijk. Cycling is key to the city’s character, and there are numerous bike paths.

Day 2 - Utrecht

Arrive: Sat 07 December 2024 / Depart: Sat 07 December 2024

Utrecht is a city in the Netherlands, known for its medieval center. It has tree-lined canals, Christian monuments and a venerable university. The iconic Domtoren, a 14th-century bell tower with city views, stands opposite the Gothic Cathedral of St. Martin on central Domplein square. The Museum Catharijneconvent shows religious art and artifacts in a former monastery

Day 3 - Cologne

Arrive: Sun 08 December 2024 / Depart: Sun 08 December 2024

Eau de Cologne, or simply cologne, is a perfume originating from Cologne, Germany. Originally mixed by Johann Maria Farina in 1709, it has since come to be a generic term for scented formulations

Day 3 - Bruhl

Day 4 - Rhine Gorge

Arrive: Mon 09 December 2024 / Depart: Mon 09 December 2024

The Rhine Gorge is a popular name for the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a 65 km section of the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse in Germany

Day 4 - Rudesheim

Arrive: Mon 09 December 2024 / Depart: Mon 09 December 2024

Rüdesheim am Rhein is a town in the Rhine Valley, Germany. It’s known for winemaking, especially of Riesling wines. In the center, Drosselgasse is a lane lined with shops, taverns and restaurants. Nearby, Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet is a museum of automated musical instruments. Medieval Brömserburg Castle is home to the Rheingau Wine Museum, exhibiting wine paraphernalia from ancient times to the present

Day 5 - Miltenberg

Arrive: Tue 10 December 2024 / Depart: Tue 10 December 2024

Miltenberg is a town in the Regierungsbezirk of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named district and has a population of over 9,000.

Day 6 - Wurzburg

Arrive: Wed 11 December 2024 / Depart: Wed 11 December 2024

Würzburg is a city in Germany's Bavaria region. It's known for lavish baroque and rococo architecture, particularly the 18th-century Residenz palace, with ornate rooms, a huge fresco by Venetian artist Tiepolo and an elaborate staircase. Home to numerous wine bars, cellars and wineries, Würzburg is the center of the Franconian wine country, with its distinctive bocksbeutel (bottles with flattened round shapes).

Day 7 - Bamberg

Arrive: Thu 12 December 2024 / Depart: Thu 12 December 2024

Bamberg is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, laid out over 7 hills where the Regnitz and Main rivers meet. Its old town preserves structures from the 11th to 19th centuries including the muraled Altes Rathaus (town hall), which occupies an island in the Regnitz reached by arched bridges. The Romanesque Bamberg Cathedral, begun in the 11th century, features 4 towers and numerous stone carvings. ?

Day 8 - Nuremberg

Arrive: Fri 13 December 2024 / Depart: Fri 13 December 2024

Nuremberg is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 inhabitants make it the 14th-largest city in Germany

Day 9 - Regensburg

Arrive: Sat 14 December 2024 / Depart: Sat 14 December 2024

Regensburg, a Bavarian city on the Danube River in southeast Germany, is known for its well-preserved medieval core. The 12th-century Stone Bridge, a 310m-long icon with 16 arches, crosses the river to the old town. The 13th-century Regensburg Cathedral, a twin-spired Gothic landmark, is home to the Regensburger Domspatzen choir. Walhalla, a Parthenon replica just east of the city, honors illustrious Germans.

Day 10 - Passau (Munich)

Arrive: Sun 15 December 2024 / Depart: Sun 15 December 2024

Passau, a German city on the Austrian border, lies at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers. Known as the Three Rivers City, it's overlooked by the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century hilltop fortress housing a city museum and observation tower. The old town below is known for its baroque architecture, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, featuring distinctive onion-domed towers and an organ with 17,974 pipes.

Day 11 - Melk

Arrive: Mon 16 December 2024 / Depart: Mon 16 December 2024

Melk is an Austrian town on the River Danube, west of Vienna. It’s known for the 11th-century Melk Abbey, a vast monastery built high above the town. Gold statuary adorns its domed Abbey Church, and the huge library houses medieval manuscripts. The Marmorsaal is a baroque hall with a ceiling fresco and red marble walls. South of Melk, gardens surround Renaissance Schallaburg Castle, which hosts cultural exhibitions.

Day 11 - Durnstein

Arrive: Mon 16 December 2024 / Depart: Mon 16 December 2024

Dürnstein is a small town on the Danube river in the Krems-Land district, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It is one of the most-visited tourist destinations in the Wachau region and also a well-known wine growing area.

Day 12 - Vienna, Austria

Arrive: Tue 17 December 2024

Vienna, Austria’s capital, lies in the country’s east on the Danube River. Its artistic and intellectual legacy was shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud. The city is also known for its Imperial palaces, including Schönbrunn, the Habsburgs’ summer residence. In the MuseumsQuartier district, historic and contemporary buildings display works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and other artists

Day 13 - Vienna, Austria

Depart: Wed 18 December 2024

Vienna, Austria’s capital, lies in the country’s east on the Danube River. Its artistic and intellectual legacy was shaped by residents including Mozart, Beethoven and Sigmund Freud. The city is also known for its Imperial palaces, including Schönbrunn, the Habsburgs’ summer residence. In the MuseumsQuartier district, historic and contemporary buildings display works by Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt and other artists

Day 14 - Budapest

Arrive: Thu 19 December 2024

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube. Its 19th-century Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with flat Pest. A funicular runs up Castle Hill to Buda’s Old Town, where the Budapest History Museum traces city life from Roman times onward. Trinity Square is home to 13th-century Matthias Church and the turrets of the Fishermen’s Bastion, which offer sweeping views.

Day 15 - Budapest

Depart: Fri 20 December 2024

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube. Its 19th-century Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with flat Pest. A funicular runs up Castle Hill to Buda’s Old Town, where the Budapest History Museum traces city life from Roman times onward. Trinity Square is home to 13th-century Matthias Church and the turrets of the Fishermen’s Bastion, which offer sweeping views.