Think about crusing down one in every of Europe’s iconic rivers as picturesque villages, castles and landscapes move you by, all whereas twinkling lights from close by Christmas markets dance on the water. Whereas this would possibly sound like a fairy story, it may be a actuality on a Christmas market river cruise.
From late November via December yearly, most river cruise corporations with Europe-based ships take excited passengers to idyllic cities to study Christmas traditions, store at native Christmas markets and check out tasty seasonal treats.
These river cruises solely run seasonally whereas the markets are open, so they have a tendency to e book up rapidly with passengers starting from older adults to all varieties of households on the lookout for a winter vacation full of festive enjoyable.
Right here, we record the eight greatest Christmas markets river cruises to soak up 2024 and 2025, together with tricks to get essentially the most out of every crusing and highlights to not miss.
Finest for brief cruises: Riverside Luxurious Cruises’ Christmas on the Danube
Should you’re on the lookout for a brief crusing to tack onto the start or finish of a visit, Riverside Luxurious Cruises provides a number of three- and four-night Danube River itineraries into and out of Vienna, Austria. The vast majority of the road’s four-night Dreaming of Christmas on the Danube sailings is spent in Austria, with port days in Vienna, Krems, Mauthausen and Linz earlier than a last day in Passau, Germany.
In Vienna, you possibly can go to one of many metropolis’s 100-plus museums or the enduring Opera Home earlier than heading to the Christmas marketplace for a glass of mulled wine and procuring. For these concerned about wine, Krems is a must-see vacation spot recognized for among the greatest wines within the nation. Mauthausen brings a sobering cease; it was house to Austria’s largest focus camp in World Warfare II. Linz is understood for its historic previous city and principal sq., in addition to its jammy deal with, the Linzer torte.
In Passau, you should definitely discover the Christmas market, however do not miss St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Its spectacular organ is the most important cathedral organ on this planet, with nearly 18,000 pipes.
Every Riverside Luxurious Cruises ship is all-suite and comes with butler service. Vessels additionally characteristic an indoor pool and a Jacuzzi to be used earlier than or after journeys ashore.
Associated: Finest river cruises in Europe
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Riverside Luxurious Cruises’ Dreaming of Christmas on the Danube cruises depart in late November and December in 2024 and 2025. Fares begin at $1,732 per particular person, primarily based on double occupancy.
Your cruise fare contains all meals, one tour per vacation spot, gratuities, Wi-Fi, butler service and transfers. Alcoholic drinks are solely included with the Premium All-Inclusive Package deal, which you’ll be able to choose at reserving.
Finest for Francophiles: CroisiEurope’s Christmas within the Seine Valley
France is understood for among the most photogenic Christmas markets in Europe, and you’ve got the prospect to see a few of them on a five-night Christmas within the Seine Valley river cruise with CroisiEurope Cruises. These shorter cruises are nice if you would like to spend a couple of days in Paris earlier than stepping onto the cruise ship and crusing to 3 different lovely cities.
The river cruise begins in Paris, the place you possibly can spend the day exploring the town, seeing the Christmas markets in Montmartre or Saint-Germain or searching for high-end items alongside the Champs-Elysees earlier than the 5 p.m. all-aboard time.
Day two will convey you to Rouen, the place you might be invited to affix Christmas Eve dinner and midnight Mass. You will additionally get to see extra of Rouen on day 4 with a guided tour. You probably have free time, you should definitely cease in at La Couronne, the oldest working restaurant in France and the place that impressed Julia Youngster to begin cooking.
Spend Christmas Day in Honfleur, one of many cutest cities on the voyage. Make sure to get the city’s specialty, a steaming bowl of moules frites (mussels with fries), for Christmas lunch. After three days of touring smaller cities, you will return to Paris, the place the Eiffel Tower is seen from the banks of the Seine.
CroisiEurope’s Christmas within the Seine Valley cruise departs Dec. 23 in 2024 and 2025. Fares begin at $1,560 per particular person, primarily based on double occupancy.
Your entire meals and most drinks, free Wi-Fi, all onboard actions and port charges are included in the price of the cruise. Headsets are additionally included for excursions should you select to go along with the group for excursions moderately than venturing off by yourself.
Associated: Finest river cruise traces around the globe
Finest for households: Adventures by Disney’s Rhine River Christmas Markets
Households seeking to discover Christmas markets via Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands will take pleasure in Adventures by Disney’s Rhine River Cruise: Christmas Markets crusing. The eight-day cruise permits children as younger as 5 to affix, although Disney’s advised age is 8 or older.
What actually makes Adventures by Disney stand out is the Journey Guides, Disney-trained leaders who’re specialists in every vacation spot. Every Journey Information travels with the group all through the cruise, so your loved ones actually will get to know them, and so they get to know you. This permits them to make personalised suggestions about actions and meals. As you stroll via every city, they share the historical past, tradition and legends of the vacation spot.
The weeklong journey begins in Basel, Switzerland. You will then go to Breisach, Germany, the house port from which you’ll be able to select to go to Europa Park in Rust, Germany, or head to Colmar, France, which is known for its Christmas markets and the Cheese Museum. You will have the subsequent day to take pleasure in Strasbourg, France, through boat and vacationer prepare rides.
Day 4 brings the group to Mannheim, Germany, the place you possibly can take pleasure in a funicular journey to Heidelberg Citadel or go ice skating at Heidelberg’s Christmas market.
In Rüdesheim, you possibly can participate in a espresso and sizzling chocolate tasting, marvel at one of many largest mechanical music field collections on this planet, take pleasure in a wine tasting or discover the town by yourself. You will spend the night crusing via the Rhine Gorge, passing 30 castles alongside the shore.
The final day in Germany is spent in Cologne, the place you possibly can go to the gorgeous Christmas markets that dot the town panorama, in addition to lace up some skates to glide round an open-air ice rink. The cruise ends in Amsterdam, the place you possibly can go to the Rijksmuseum, the Rembrandt Home Museum or the Van Gogh Museum, together with taking a scenic canal cruise via the town.
Adventures by Disney’s Rhine River Cruise: Christmas Markets cruise departs Dec. 19, 2024. Fares begin at $8,299 per grownup and $7,499 per youngster underneath 11, primarily based on double occupancy. Plan forward for higher charges. Fares for the Dec. 18, 2025, cruise begin at $6,599 per grownup and $5,899 per youngster underneath 11.
Fares for the once-a-year cruise embrace most meals, drinks at lunch and dinner (plus a nightly cocktail hour the place a variety of blended drinks are complimentary), excursions in every port of name, porter service, transportation in port, Wi-Fi, gratuities for onboard workers and Journey Guides, and onboard leisure.
Associated: Are European river cruises proper for households?
Finest for {couples}: Viking’s Danube Christmas Delights
{Couples} seeking to get away for the vacations ought to contemplate Viking‘s Danube Christmas Delights river cruise. The seven-night cruise takes passengers to 4 international locations: Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. The journey combines alternatives to discover the ports of name with lectures and cultural performances on board the ship.
In Budapest, you will spend two days exploring the town at locations like Citadel Hill and the Grand Market Corridor earlier than procuring and eating on the Christmas market in entrance of St. Stephen’s Basilica. Then, in Bratislava, Slovakia, the group will attend an organ live performance and store on the Previous City Christmas market.
In Vienna, the entire metropolis comes alive with lights and a festive spirit. One factor to not miss right here is the extra-charge tour to an area vineyard, the place you’ll rejoice the 12 months’s harvest and classic.
One other spotlight of the cruise is Krems, the place the group will go to Gottweig Abbey and get unique entry to the chapel within the internal courtyard to see the Nativity scene. (The chapel is often closed to guests.) Lastly, in Passau, you possibly can watch an Introduction wreath demonstration or take a flight to see the landmark Neuschwanstein Citadel, which impressed Walt Disney’s Sleeping Magnificence Citadel at Disneyland Park.
Viking provides Danube Christmas Delights river cruises from late November via mid-December in 2024 and 2025. Fares begin at $2,799 per particular person, primarily based on double occupancy.
Fares embrace shore excursions in each port; free Wi-Fi; all meals; beer, wine and tender drinks with lunch and dinner; port taxes and charges; and visits to UNESCO World Heritage Websites. In choose ports, passengers can join non-obligatory excursions which might be an added price. These could possibly be well worth the upcharge, relying on the kind of expertise you need to have.
Finest for old-world appeal: Uniworld’s Belgian Vacation Markets
Vacationers seeking to discover the entire Previous World historic appeal of Belgium will need to e book Uniworld’s Belgian Vacation Markets cruise. The seven-night cruise visits Belgium and the Netherlands, with port days in iconic cities like Ghent, Bruges and Antwerp.
The cruise is a closed loop, beginning and ending in Brussels. On day one, take time to discover the town by yourself after dropping your baggage off on the ship. On day two, you will have to resolve whether or not to go to Ghent or Bruges, each of which have lovely structure, a Christmas market and provide alternatives to strive native meals.
The cruise continues to Hasselt, the place you possibly can take a guided strolling tour of the town or head to the French-speaking city of Liege, which hosts the oldest Christmas market in Belgium. Day 5 brings you to Maastricht within the Netherlands, the place you possibly can discover the town and its Christmas market or head to Aachen, Germany, for festive enjoyable. Alternatively, you possibly can go to Valkenburg’s underground Christmas market, positioned inside a cave.
The next day in Antwerp, Belgium, you possibly can take pleasure in a live performance, a strolling tour and time to benefit from the metropolis at your leisure. Then it is again to Brussels for a full day within the metropolis, the place you possibly can bask in your favourite vices with metropolis excursions that embrace chocolate tastings or a visit to the Belgian Beer Museum, plus a go to to the Christmas market.
Uniworld provides its Belgian Vacation Markets cruise on 4 departure dates from late November via mid-December 2024 (and three December dates in 2025). Fares begin from $3,999 per particular person in 2024, primarily based on double occupancy, and $3,689 in 2025.
The cruise fare contains premium spirits and wine, entry to bikes and strolling sticks, health lessons, Wi-Fi, enrichment lectures and shore excursions in every port. Onboard gratuities and group transfers to and from the airport are additionally included.
Associated: River cruise packing record: What to pack when touring by riverboat
Finest for solo vacationers: Tauck’s Yuletide Spirit
Solo vacationers seeking to take pleasure in a river cruise with out the effort of a single complement ought to try Tauck’s Christmas market itineraries. On all European river cruises, together with the seven-night Yuletide Spirit: Amsterdam to Brussels cruise, the road waives the one complement on Class 1 river-view cabins.
In case your cruise begins in Amsterdam, you do not have to be on the ship till 4 p.m. so use the morning to stroll round city or get tickets to tour the Anne Frank Home. In your second day in Amsterdam, go to the Rijksmuseum and take a night canal cruise with the group. Foodies will adore it when the cruise heads to Gouda to discover the historical past of the town, plus get a tasting of stroopwafels, that are cookie sandwiches invented within the metropolis.
The midpoint of the cruise will convey you to the choice to go to both Ghent, which is likely one of the oldest cities in Belgium, or Bruges, recognized for its medieval structure and delightful canals. The cruise additionally visits Antwerp, the place you possibly can discover the assorted Christmas markets which might be unfold all through the town. Your journey ends in Brussels, with a complete day to discover the lovable squares and charming markets and check out native fare.
Tauck provides 4 December departures of its Yuletide Spirit: Amsterdam to Brussels cruise in 2024 and 2025, that means the final cruise units sail after Christmas. The 2024 sailings are both totally bought out or have restricted availability; fares for 2025 cruises begin at $4,190 for solo vacationers in a Class 1 room, however the majority of these cabins are booked. Your greatest guess is to attend for Tauck to announce its 2026 departures and e book these widespread river-view rooms as quickly as they grow to be obtainable.
Solo vacationers ought to know that these cabins do not have a balcony and are the smallest on the riverboat at 150 sq. ft, however you possible will not be spending a lot time in your room on this crusing. The cruise fare contains all gratuities, non-public shore excursions, meals, limitless drinks together with premium spirits and primary Wi-Fi, plus airport and prepare transfers.
Finest for an prolonged cruise: Avalon Waterways’ Festive Time on the Romantic Rhine
Vacationers on the lookout for an extended cruise that sails deep into the southern a part of Europe will need to contemplate Avalon Waterways’ Festive Time on the Romantic Rhine river cruise, which incorporates one evening in Lucerne and three nights in Lake Como paired with a weeklong crusing. Should you want a shorter journey, different Festive Time on the Romantic Rhine itineraries do not embrace the land-based post-cruise days.
For the longer 12-night cruise and land-based journey, your journey will start with a three-night, precruise bus tour to Italy’s Lake Como. You’ll be able to take a ship journey across the lake, discover the town by yourself and marvel on the Duomo. You will then have a day within the lovely metropolis of Lucerne. Journey to Mount Pilates, the place you’ll journey 7,000 ft up the mountain in a gondola for unimaginable views earlier than persevering with on to Basel, Switzerland, to board your river ship.
Your first cease will probably be in Germany to go to the Black Forest, the place you possibly can study native traditions and German winemaking. The following day brings the cruise to Strasbourg, France, the place you possibly can tour the La Petite France District and wander via the nice and cozy glow of the Christmas market.
Again in Germany, vacationers can take pleasure in Mainz and see the Gutenberg Museum or journey farther on a bus to Heidelberg to discover Heidelberg Citadel. Peruse the Christmas markets in Cologne and Rudensheim in the course of the days that comply with. The final cease is Amsterdam, the place you possibly can take pleasure in an Amsterdam canal cruise on day two or an non-obligatory tour to Zaanse Schans for scenic views of historic windmills and Dutch homes.
Avalon Waterways provides its Festive Time on the Romantic Rhine cruise Dec. 8, 2024. Costs begin at $4,958 per particular person, primarily based on double occupancy. You will not discover a 2025 possibility, however in 2026, two departures on Nov. 20 and Dec. 4 provide beginning charges of $5,379 per particular person.
Fares embrace meals, drinks throughout meals and comfortable hour, Wi-Fi, a library, excursions, bike leases and a health middle. Gratuity shouldn’t be included for lodge stays and meals in the course of the land portion of your journey.
Finest for distinctive locations: AmaWaterways’ Gems of Southeast Europe
Whereas many river cruises traverse the waters round France, Germany and Austria, AmaWaterways‘ Gems of Southeast Europe itinerary takes friends to Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Romania. The seven-night cruise sails between Budapest and Giurgiu alongside the Danube River.
In case your crusing begins in Budapest, you will have to arrive a day early should you plan to discover the town; the cruise doesn’t provide excursions right here. Your first cease will probably be Mohacs, the place you possibly can benefit from the close by Christmas markets in Pecs or enterprise to Szekszard for a wine tasting. Day three is break up between Vukovar and Novi Unhappy, the place you possibly can discover the historic cities and benefit from the vacation cheer with dwell music, artisan crafts and pleasant bites of meals.
The cruise continues to Belgrade, the place you possibly can wander across the metropolis by yourself, take a hike to Belgrade Fortress or placed on a helmet and take a motorcycle journey round city. Day 5 is thrilling for nature fans as you sail via The Iron Gates, which is a sequence of gorges that mark the border between Serbia and Romania.
The ultimate cease is Rousse, the place you possibly can enterprise farther into Romania to Bucharest, which is named the “Little Paris of the East,” for a metropolis tour and Christmas market.
AmaWaterways’ Gems of Southeast Europe departs on a number of dates between mid-November and late December in 2024 (2025 dates run mid-November to mid-December). Fares begin at $2,723 per particular person, primarily based on double occupancy, in 2024, with 2025 fares beginning at $3,939.
Fares embrace Wi-Fi, wellness actions, each day leisure and cultural performances, all meals, drinks at lunch and dinner, plus a each day cocktail hour, excursions in every vacation spot and entry to educated guides.
Backside line
Should you’ve ever thought of a Christmas market river cruise, now could be the time to lastly cross the expertise off your bucket record. Most of the greatest river cruise manufacturers and tour corporations provide Christmas markets river cruises all through Europe, whether or not you are on the lookout for a family-friendly possibility, solo journey sans single complement or a cruise with distinctive locations.
It is most necessary to decide on a cruise primarily based on which locations you want to go to and which journey dates and itinerary lengths work along with your schedule. However remember to contemplate the cruise line.
The inclusions on a lot of the river cruises are comparable however can fluctuate in scope, reminiscent of which drinks are included or price further and what number of complimentary shore excursions you possibly can select from. You will additionally need to take into consideration the general vibe of your journey and what your expectations are, whether or not you are on the lookout for a luxurious journey with extra upscale ships and better service ranges or a extra inexpensive possibility that emphasizes exploring and discovering your personal adventures.
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