The 8 best Christmas market river cruises for 2024
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Avalon Waterways offers a more affordable way to see the Christmas markets, with cruises starting at $2,167 for six days of traveling from Budapest to Vienna. CroisiEurope cruises are also more affordable and offer closed-loop cruises where you start and end in the same destination, which is not something that most other river cruise lines offer for Christmas market cruises. 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.
Dusseldorf, Germany: Best European Christmas Market for Sampling Local Spirits
If you can, I suggest bringing at least two pairs of outdoor shoes in case your waterproof shoes can't handle the snow or a few days of rain in a row. I brought a pair of fleece-lined Crocs to wear off the ship in a few ports where the weather was warmer with no precipitation. Uniworld cruises are the most expensive, with prices ranging from $3,399 to $7,199 for 8- to 11-day sailings throughout the season. Tauck is also pricier than its competitors, but it's one of the few options that has a family cruise option.
Christmas on the Rhine
Day five is exciting for nature enthusiasts as you sail through The Iron Gates, which is a series of gorges that mark the border between Serbia and Romania.
Best for old-world charm: Uniworld's Belgian Holiday Markets
The cruise continues into the Netherlands at Maastricht, where you can explore the city and its Christmas market, or head to Aachen, Germany, for festive fun. Alternatively, you can visit Valkenburg's underground Christmas market, located inside a cave. The last stop of the cruise is Antwerp, Belgium, where you can enjoy a concert, a beer tasting and time to enjoy the city at your leisure. 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.
Festive Season: Cruising to Europe's Best Christmas Markets - Luxury Travel Advisor
Festive Season: Cruising to Europe's Best Christmas Markets.
Posted: Mon, 24 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
These extensions include a hotel stay, and some include a few meals and a guided tour, plus transfers from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the ship. Even if your Christmas market river cruise does have an overnight stay in the embarkation city with tours the next day, it's still best to arrive a day early. Travel days from the United States to Europe can be unpredictable, with delays and missed connections, so you should give yourself plenty of time to get to the ship so you don't miss it. Because of the short season for Christmas market river cruises, getting a deal can prove to be a challenge.
A huge Christmas tree forms the centerpiece of the market and it's well worth climbing the 509 steps to the top of the cathedral tower to get a panoramic view of the city and riverscape. 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. Imagine sailing down one of Europe's iconic rivers as picturesque villages, castles and landscapes pass you by, all while twinkling lights from nearby Christmas markets dance on the water. While this might sound like a fairytale, it can be a reality on a Christmas market river cruise. Picking a river for your cruise can be a challenge, especially if you're not familiar with the destinations on the itinerary.
Fares include Wi-Fi, wellness activities, daily entertainment and cultural performances, all meals, drinks at lunch and dinner plus a daily cocktail hour, excursions in each destination and access to knowledgeable guides. AmaWaterways' Gems of Southeast Europe departs on multiple dates between late November and late December in 2024 (2025 dates run mid-November to mid-December). What really makes Adventures by Disney stand out is the Adventure Guides, Disney-trained leaders who are experts in each destination.
Old World Europe – Rhine River cruises
Alternatively, on the Rhine, destinations of interest include Amsterdam; Cologne, Germany; Mannheim, Germany; and Strasbourg, France. I was most impressed by Vienna, which had two, but the one near City Hall is the one that makes most of the viral TikTok videos and Instagram reels. The City Hall Christmas market is the larger of the two in the city center and is more photogenic. They are about a 10-minute walk from each other and have different foods to try and souvenirs to buy.
On the Danube Christmas Markets tour, you can bike from Weissenkirchen to Melk, passing picturesque villages and vineyards. Another highlight of the cruise is Krems, where the group will visit Göttweig Abbey and get exclusive access to the chapel in the inner courtyard to see the nativity scene. In Vienna, Austria, the whole city comes alive with lights and a festive spirit. One thing not to miss here is the extra-charge excursion to a local winery, where you will celebrate the year's harvest and vintage. Each ship in the Riverside Luxury Cruises fleet is all-suite and comes with butler service.
For those interested in wine, Krems is a must-see destination known for some of the best wines in the country. Before departing from Passau, be sure to explore the Christmas market as well as St. Stephen's Cathedral to see the impressive organ, which is the biggest cathedral organ in the world with almost 18,000 pipes. While many of the vendors will take credit cards or Apple Pay, others only want cash. The best way to know the times of each market you're visiting is to do a quick internet search close to the time of your river cruise. Put the name of the city and the words "Christmas Market hours" into your preferred online search tool to get the operational hours for each market. Depending on the river cruise line you book, the onboard attire may range from casual to a little more fancy.
The more desirable balcony and suite rooms often sell out first, followed by rooms with only upper windows. The best way to ensure you get the type of cabin and sailing date that you want is to book early. Call us, or call your travel advisor, to book your preferred departure date today – and explore our beautiful brochures to find your inspiration for your next journey. Day two will bring you to Rouen, where you are invited to join Christmas Eve dinner and midnight mass. If you have free time, be sure to stop in at La Couronne, the oldest operating restaurant in France and the place that inspired Julia Child to start cooking. Most of the larger markets, like the ones in Bratislava and Budapest, have live music playing from a bandstand that you can enjoy.
Nuremberg's other claim to fame is its pork sausages -- much smaller than typical German sausages or wurst -- which are sold in portions of six to a dozen. In Budapest, you'll spend two days exploring the city at places like Castle Hill and the Grand Market Hall before shopping and dining at the Christmas market in front of St. Stephen's Basilica. Then in Bratislava, Slovakia, the group will attend an organ concert and shopping at the Old Town Christmas market. Day four brings the group to Mannheim, Germany, where you can enjoy a funicular ride to Heidelberg Castle or tour the town of Baden-Baden where the Christmas market is not to be missed.
Then in Vienna, the City Hall Christmas market had an ice skating rink that was popular with families and couples. Drinking at Christmas markets around Europe normally means getting a hot glass of glühwein, which is mulled wine made with red wine, spices and fruit. The drink is normally served in cute mugs that you can keep as a fun and cheap souvenir. If you don't want to keep your mug, you can return it and get back a euro or two. Before you cruise, make a list of regional foods you wish to try in each market.
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