Floriade and Dutch and Belgian Waterways

Local departure by coach or Home Connect service, then to Belgium for an overnight stay.

We head into Germany and to Cologne, where we spend some free time. Later this afternoon, we join our cruise ship, the A-ROSA AQUA for our seven-night cruise.

Morning finds us in Holland, as we cruise to Hoorn. Join our optional excursion to Edam and Zaanse Schans. Edam is famous around the word for its cheese, but there’s more to see and experience here.

Enjoy a stroll through the town, which is criss-crossed with many little canals, and take in several sights including the Cheese Market. Although there isn’t much cheese sold here nowadays, the old traditions are revived regularly and local cheese is transported to different sellers on sledges, just like in days gone by.

You’ll have a little free time in the town centre before you continue to Zaanse Schans. At this listed open-air museum, you can go back in time and see what life was like in the Netherlands during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Whether you take a guided tour or explore on your own, your route will take you past authentic houses, an historical shipyard, a pewter foundry, a dairy, an old-fashioned grocer’s shop and – above all – windmills.

We arrive in Lelystad on the banks of the Markermeer. Today we include an excursion to the Floriade Expo. From April 2022, Almere will be the stage for the Floriade Expo 2022 International Horticultural Expo for six months: the greenest day out.

Once every 10 years Floriade is the park to enjoy the scent and colour of flowers, plants, vegetables, and fruit.

The Expo offers 40 inspiring country presentations, a spectacular greenhouse complex, a cable car over the Floriade Park, pavilions with sustainable innovations and a vibrant arts and culture programme.

We cruise along the Dutch waterways to later reach Kinderdijk early afternoon. Join our optional excursion to the Gardens of Appeltern. Enjoy an inspirational tour through the beautiful Gardens of Appeltern – Netherland’s largest garden idea park.

A walk through the 23-hectare park is an experience for all your senses. Flowering borders, the most recent garden materials, accessories, plants and furniture provide endless inspiration.

You will return to the ship full of ideas and hopefully able to take even more pleasure from your garden. We cruise overnight into Belgium.

We arrive this morning in Ghent. Spend the day exploring the medieval heart of this architectural gem.

Enjoy breakfast, whilst we are moored in Antwerp. This vibrant Belgian city is a joy to explore.

We head back into the Netherlands to Nijmegen. The Hanseatic city of Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands. Its history goes back to Roman times. The central old town is especially worth a visit.

You will explore the old town during this guided city walk, where you will also see the St. Stevenskerk, the Belvedère, the Latijnse School and the Grote Markt. Around lunchtime we begin our cruise back into Germany.

We disembark in Cologne and return home.