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The inclusions on most of the river cruises are similar but can vary in scope, such as which drinks are included or cost extra, and how many complimentary shore excursions you can choose from. Viking offers Danube Christmas Delights river cruises from late November through mid-December in 2024 and 2025. If you want to enjoy a glass or two of seasonal cheer with your holiday shopping, Dusseldorf is a great river cruise Christmas market pick. Christmas market stops include Nuremberg, where travelers can taste bratwurst and dark beers. The itinerary also offers time to explore medieval towns like Miltenberg, in Germany, and enjoy wines in Austria.
Honorable Mentions: Great Christmas Markets in Europe to Try If Time Permits
The last day in Germany is spent in Cologne, where you can visit the beautiful Christmas markets that dot the city landscape, as well as lace up some skates to glide around an open-air ice rink. The cruise ends in Amsterdam, where you can choose to visit the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt House Museum or the Van Gogh Museum, along with taking a scenic canal cruise through the city. In Rüdesheim, you can choose to take part in a coffee and hot chocolate tasting, marvel at one of the largest mechanical music box collections in the world, enjoy a wine tasting or explore the city on your own. The evening is spent sailing through the Rhine Gorge as you pass 30 castles along the shore.
What we love about Christmas Markets in Hamburg and Bruges
5 Unforgettable Seasonal and Themed European River Cruises - Travel Market Report
5 Unforgettable Seasonal and Themed European River Cruises.
Posted: Mon, 07 Aug 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Many people consider Budapest, the only Hungarian city where the holiday cruises stop, home to Europe’s most beautiful Christmas markets. The biggest, in Vörösmarty Square in the heart of the city, runs longer than many, starting in early November and ending on Jan. 1, rather than on Christmas Eve or a day or two before. Its free daily concerts featuring a wide range of music, including Hungarian folk music, are an added plus. “It’s just gorgeous,” says Mary Kate Beard, 77, of Guntersville, Alabama, who took a holiday cruise along the Rhine from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland, and wouldn’t hesitate to do another one. “It was like being in a fairy land every night,” she says of the brightly decorated towns, giant Christmas trees and festive atmosphere across the markets. Europe’s oldest Christmas markets date back to the 1400s and 1500s, with Dresden, Germany, and Strasbourg, France, each claiming the oldest.
Grand Europe Christmas Markets (Crystal Cruises)
7 Cruise Lines Offering Festive Christmas Cruises in 2023 - Travel + Leisure
7 Cruise Lines Offering Festive Christmas Cruises in 2023.
Posted: Wed, 15 Nov 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
A Christmas market cruises can get you into the winter spirit, provide a relaxing getaway, and offer opportunities for getting one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family. Explore Cologne’s seasonal holiday markets and shop for colorful gifts, arts and crafts. They're often located outside some of the country’s most historic buildings and stately palaces, such as Vienna’s imperial Schönbrunn Palace.
AARP's Guide to Europe’s Christmas Market Cruises
I particularly like the setting as there are countless little bridges over small canals. On top, the Bruges Christmas market comes with a skating rink on the medieval town square. Southampton is one of the largest harbors for cruise ships in the United Kingdom. The best way to unite the best of both (Christmas) worlds is by a European Christmas market cruise taking you to both French and German Christmas markets. The most important Christmas markets in France are located in Alsace, the border region to Germany.
The seven-night cruise visits Belgium and the Netherlands, with port days in iconic cities like Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp. The river cruise starts in Paris, where you can spend the day exploring the city, seeing the Christmas markets in Montmartre or Saint Germain or shopping for high-end gifts along the Champs-Élysées before the 5 p.m. Here, we list the eight best Christmas markets river cruises to take in 2024, along with tips to get the most out of each sailing and highlights not to miss.
Bonus: Memphis to New Orleans Holiday Christmas Markets Cruise (American Queen Steamboat Company)
Together, we crafted a river cruise experience that was ahead of its time and inspired by the destinations we explore. Hundreds of Christmas trees and thousands of lights give Bruges its “Winter Glow” during the festive season. The whole city is dressed up and transformed into a winter wonderland where you can find over 500 trees (some of them metres high) and 41 streets and squares decked to the halls.
Best for old-world charm: Uniworld's Belgian Holiday Markets
Several of these Christmas market river cruises start in November, so you can still be home in plenty of time for the holidays. Numerous destinations on river cruises across Europe could hold the title of best European Christmas market, from Germany to Hungary and beyond. These markets typically run from mid-November right up until Christmas, and Europe's river cruises allow you to visit several holiday markets in Europe often in the space of a week or less.
Day 6
The American Queen has Victorian-era features, including antique furnishings and intricate woodwork. Starting in Memphis, the cruise takes guests through towns like Greenville, where the authors of the Muppets grew up, and cities like Vicksburg, with festive holiday shops and décor. From festive onboard activities — like tree trimmings and dessert making — to the mulled wine and fresh gingerbread that will welcome you at each stop, these Christmas market cruises give travelers plenty to be merry about. These historic Advent markets, which are held in several places around the Austrian city of Salzburg, date as far back as the 15th century. Two special highlights are the picturesque hilltop market at Hohensalzburg Fortress and the market in Cathedral Square, which offers more than 95 vendors.
It’s best to pack warm, comfortable clothes for wandering around the cities we visit. We also suggest packing clothes you can wrap up in on deck for those starry night skies at sea. When it comes to dinner on board, you could try something a little extra special for a holiday meal in a chic eatery. Or, if you feel more comfortable in casual dress, you can dress as you would for a meal in a nice restaurant. We suggest packing suitable evening wear, such as smart jeans or trousers and a nice top, open-neck shirts, skirts and dresses. Known as the Capital of Noël, Strasbourg boasts the oldest and largest Christmas Market in France, Christkindelsmärik.
Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Each ship in the Riverside Luxury Cruises fleet is all-suite and comes with butler service. Ships offer an indoor pool and a Jacuzzi to use before or after your trips ashore. While you're at the market, try the rievkoche, a potato pancake traditionally served with applesauce at Christmas, and a glass of local Kolsch beer. While you're there, be sure to sample the chocolate and waffles that the area is famous for.
Day three is split between Vukovar and Novi Sad, where you can explore the historic towns and enjoy the holiday cheer with live music, artisan crafts and delightful bites of food. The cruise then departs for Germany, where you will be able to explore the Christmas markets in Cologne and Rüdensheim on days three and four. Day five is when travelers can enjoy Mainz and see the Gutenberg Museum or travel further on a bus to Heidelberg to explore Heidelberg Castle. In every stop on your Christmas Markets cruise along the Rhine or Danube, you'll enjoy all the magic of your destination's holiday markets, each of which has taken on a distinctive character of its own over the centuries. You'll discover those local traditions… like the hot mulled wine known as glühwein, served in collectible mugs unique to each market… that have caught on to become an indispensable part of the holiday celebration. And on our Rhine Christmas Markets cruise, you'll experience some special holiday magic on an exclusive visit to the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram in Regensburg.
The cruise fare includes premium spirits and wine, access to bikes and walking sticks, fitness classes, Wi-Fi, enrichment lectures, and shore excursions in each port. Onboard gratuities and group transfers to and from the airport are also included. Each year the town of Gengenbach, near Strasbourg, turns its town hall into a giant advent calendar. Twenty-four windows are decorated with a Christmas scene, with a new one revealed each night until Christmas Eve. Excursions to Gengenbach are offered on Basel to Amsterdam festive market sailings.
So where are the best Christmas markets in Europe and how can you get to them on a river cruise? Though most of Avalon Waterways' Christmas-themed cruises for the year have sold out, travelers can still snag a room on this nine-day river cruise from Vienne to Prague on the Danube. The Christmas market in Strasbourg, France, is the oldest one in Europe, dating back to 1570, and this four-day cruise from CroisiEurope takes you into the heart of it. Stops along the way include tasting the bredeles — biscruits that are traditionally baked during the holidays — at the Maison du Pain d'Alsace.
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