Journey along the Danube to the Rhine

We travel by rail to our overnight hotel in Munich.

We’ll start the day with breakfast, before continuing by rail journey to Passau. Here, we’ll be joined by those who’ve travelled by air and we’ll board our ship. Known as the ‘three rivers city’, Passau is situated where the rivers Danube, Inn and Ilz all meet, so there’s no better place to begin our cruise. This evening, enjoy a relaxing dinner onboard as we set sail towards Vienna.

Arriving in the early afternoon, you have plenty of time to explore Vienna and the option to join a guided tour of the Austrian capital too. The birthplace of classical music is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with more than 150 grand palaces and no fewer than 27 baroque castles. Home to spectacular squares and magnificent monuments, it really is a magical city. 

Today is free for you to explore Vienna further. We leave Vienna this evening and set sail for Esztergom. 

This morning, en route to Budapest, we’ll continue our relaxing cruise along the mighty Danube as we pass by the impressive Esztergom Basilica. Sitting atop Castle Hill, it’s the largest church in Hungary and has a 72-metre-high central dome that can be seen for miles around. Our captain will slow the ship down, as we slowing cruise by, so there’s plenty of opportunity to capture a stunning photograph of the sights from our vantage point on the water. We continue our journey to Budapest, where we arrive just after lunch. Here you can spend the afternoon exploring what many refer to as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. There’s an optional city tour available where you’ll get to take in all the key sights, such as the Royal Palace, Fishermen’s Bastion, the Parliament building and more. Divided into two by the flowing Danube, you’ll experience Castle Hill and the traditional Buda side of the city, as well as the cosmopolitan side of Pest too. We set sail for Bratislava in the evening.

We arrive in Bratislava this afternoon where there’s the opportunity to join our optional excursion to this historic Capital city which is dominated by its castle and unique suspension bridge. We’ll enjoy a walking tour with a local guide and sample ‘Makovka’ which is a sweet white chocolate with poppy seed filling, before sailing to Melk this evening. 

We arrive in the Austrian town of Melk this morning, which is filled with cobbled streets and attractive buildings. It is also overlooked by one of the most splendid monastic houses in Austria – the Benedictine Abbey, which you can visit on our optional excursion. We return to the ship for lunch before we continue our cruise overnight to Linz. 

We spend the whole day cruising from Linz to Passau and then continue overnight to Regensburg. 

We arrive in Regensburg at around lunchtime. Regensburg is located at the northernmost point of the Danube and also at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers. You’ll have the opportunity to join our optional city tour this afternoon, taking in one of the best preserved medieval centres which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This evening, relax onboard as we sail overnight to Nuremberg.

This afternoon, we arrive in Nuremberg, Bavaria’s second largest city after Munich. Here, there’s the opportunity to join our sight-seeing tour. The majority of the city walls still stand and inside you can explore the fascinating juxtaposition of medieval and modern life in an area filled with gothic churches, aristocratic houses, fountains, memorials and romantic corners, all dominated by the Kaiser Castle. Our optional excursion is a great way to make the most of our visit.  This evening we cruise towards Bamberg.

We arrive into the beautiful Bavarian town of Bamberg which is located at the start of the Main-Danube canal. Surrounded by seven hills, it boasts the most intact centre in Germany with the old town listed as a world heritage site because of its authentic medieval appearance. Join our optional tour of the city to enjoy the main sights including the cathedral, Altenburg Castle, the Old Town Hall and the former Benedictine Monastery. This afternoon, we set sail for Würzburg. 

This morning we arrive in the city of Würzburg, which served as the home of powerful prince-bishops for centuries. Join our optional excursion to visit Würzburg Palace, one of the finest pieces of baroque art in the world, its 8th century church and the Fortress Marienberg. This evening enjoy a relaxing evening on board as we set sail for Miltenberg. 

This afternoon, we arrive into historic Miltenberg where there’s free time to explore the pearl of the river Main. Explore the half-timbered houses which fill the Old Market Place or the oldest part of the town which sits between the Main River and the mountain Greinberg. We return to the ship for an evening sailing to Rüdesheim.

This morning we arrive in the quaint wine town of Rüdesheim where you can enjoy many highlights on our optional excursion, including a cable car ride, offering panoramic views across the Rhine valley. We set sail later this afternoon for Cologne.

This morning we bid farewell to our captain and crew and disembark our ship and make our way back to the UK.