The Beautiful Blue Danube Cruise

Local departure by coach or Home Connect service to our overnight hotel in Belgium.

Our journey continues south via a visit to Wurzburg. See the historic town bridge and market square, with the backdrop of the hilltop Marienberg Fortress and surrounding vineyards. We continue to our overnight hotel in the Regensburg area.

We drive to Passau, where we enjoy some time to explore the 'Three River City' before continuing to Linz where we board our cruise ship, the MV Esmeralda for our seven-night cruise.

We cruise eastwards along the Danube past Melk and enjoy the changing scenery as we see Durnstein, a popular winegrowing town. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Wachau Valley. Stretching for over 20 miles, the Wachau Valley is found along the Austrian part of the Danube River, cruising between Krems and Melk. This valley is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, for its architecture, settlements and agricultural land, which show how this medieval landscape has evolved harmoniously over time. We arrive in Vienna this evening.

Join us for an optional guided tour of Vienna, allowing us to discover this splendid city for ourselves. Our coach tour will begin as we travel past Vienna’s large park, the Prater, admiring views of the famous Ferris Wheel and then on to the State Opera House, also seeing the Fine Arts and History Museum. We will also see the stunning Hofburg Palace during our city tour, along with the Parliament building, the Town Hall and the Burg Theatre. Making our way to St. Stephen's Cathedral in the city centre, we will disembark our coach and enjoy a walking tour of Vienna. We will stroll along the Graben, one of Vienna’s most famous streets. We return to the ship and set sail early evening, cruising overnight to Budapest.

We arrive in Budapest. Join us on our included guided tour of this historical city, which is actually two cities astride the Danube. Our excursion takes us by coach on a visit to both. On the Pest side, we see St. Stephen’s Basilica, Vajdahunyad Castle and Heroes’ Square, which is dominated by the impressive Millenary Monument, home to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We then cross to Buda and the Castle District, where we find the seven-hundred year-old Matthias Church, one of the jewels of Budapest. We also see the famous Fisherman’s Bastion, which offers great views over the city. The city is home to the largest medicinal bath in Europe (Szechenyi Medicinal Bath) and the third-largest Parliament building in the world, once the largest in the world. The city also contains the third-largest church in Europe (Esztergom Basilica) and the second largest Baroque castle in the world (Godollo).

We leave early evening and cruise through the night to Bratislava.

Join us on our optional guided tour as we discover one of the smallest and most picturesque capitals of Central Europe. See the Slovak Philharmonic Hall, the Slovak National Theatre around the Old Historical Town to the Archbishops Summer Residence. We also see Blumental Church and the bustling commercial street of Obchodna with its many shops, We then head to Bratislava’s imposing Castle and through the garden suburb and onto Vienna Gate and Castle Hill, where we enjoy majestic views of the city before heading to the Old Town. See Archbishop Place, St. Martin Cathedral – the previous Coronation Church of the Hungarian Kings, the Main Square with its Old Town Hall and the Opera House.

Relax on board as we cruise from Bratislava in the early hours of the morning and travel to Dürnstein. It was here that Richard the Lionheart was held captive, imprisoned in Castle Dürnstein by Leopold V Duke of Austria.

Morning arrival in Melk, famous for its magnificent abbey. Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) is a Baroque-era masterpiece, located above the town of Melk on a rocky outcrop overlooking the river Danube. Part palace, part monastery and part opera set, Melk is a magnificent vision thanks greatly to its upward-reaching twin towers. Capped with baroque helmets and cradling a 208-foot-high dome, this abbey is a true Baroque masterpiece. There are many other attractions to visit in Melk including the Old Town with its squares and museums. We then travel on to Linz, arriving late this evening.

We disembark the ship in Linz and head into Germany to our overnight hotel in the Frankfurt/Mainz area.

We head through the Rhine Valley, where we make a stop in Boppard, the ‘pearl of the Rhine’. We continue to the Moselle, where we visit one of the famous vintners and enjoy an optional wine tasting. Continue to Belgium for an overnight stay.

Return home.