River Cruising

Danube & Rhine

Medieval castles and riverside villages gliding by from your balcony.

Overview

Sailing the Danube & Rhine

River cruising through the Danube and Rhine trades ocean horizons for castle-lined riverbanks and villages you can walk into from the ship. Ports are central, no tender boats and no shuttle buses, and most lines include daily excursions plus wine or beer with dinner. Itineraries range from Budapest to Amsterdam, with dedicated sailings built around the Christmas markets each winter.

Best time to sail: April – December

Where to Sail

The routes within the Danube & Rhine

Two different rivers, two different trips. Here’s how they compare.

The Danube

Grand imperial capitals strung along one river. The most popular river in Europe to sail, and the one built for Christmas market season.

Budapest, HungaryVienna, AustriaBratislava, SlovakiaPassau, GermanyNuremberg, Germany

The Rhine

Castle-lined gorges and canal cities from the Netherlands to Switzerland, often paired with a detour onto the Moselle wine country.

Amsterdam, NetherlandsCologne, GermanyKoblenz (Rhine Gorge)Strasbourg, FranceBasel, Switzerland

Did You Know

Why the Danube & Rhine is worth it

1Budapest's Parliament Building is lit gold along the Danube every night, one of the most photographed views from any river ship's sun deck.

2Cologne Cathedral took over 600 years to finish. Construction started in 1248 and wasn't completed until 1880, and it's still one of the tallest cathedrals in the world.

3The Rhine Gorge near Koblenz has more castles per mile than almost anywhere on Earth, more than 40 of them line just a 40-mile stretch of river.

4Vienna's historic center is so well preserved it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and river ships dock close enough to walk to the Hofburg Palace and St. Stephen's Cathedral.

A Closer Look

What the Danube & Rhine actually looks like

Budapest's Parliament, lit up at night
River ships often dock close enough to see it lit gold from the sun deck, one of the signature views of any Danube sailing.

Marksburg Castle, the Rhine Gorge
The only Rhine Gorge castle never destroyed or rebuilt, one of more than 40 that line this 40-mile stretch of river.

The Hofburg, Vienna
The former imperial palace, now the seat of Austria's president, an easy walk from where Danube ships dock in the city center.

Photos: Florian Fèvre, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Tobi 87, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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