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You’ll join hundreds or thousands of residents in beautifully decorated town squares, all there to enjoy the music, food and shopping that highlights these markets. I took a Christmas Markets cruise on the Danube River with Viking Cruises a few years ago and have been longing to return. I really enjoyed joining fellow visitors and the town residents in soaking up the singing, dancing and decor in the town squares and along the cobblestone streets of great destinations like Nuremburg and Vienna.
Viking's Christmas Market River Cruises
If a French Christmas sounds the most enticing, Viking has also launched a cruise that does an eight-day loop along the Seine. This cruise starts and ends in Paris, with stops at charming markets in French towns along the river. One epic option lasts 12 days and travels from Paris, France, to Zurich, Switzerland.
Romantic Danube River Stop at Krems, Austria
Elliot's mom and I took advantage of just about every minute of time we had off the ship, meaning we were usually only there for meal times and maybe a couple of hours in the evenings. Read on for answers to some of the most frequently-asked questions about sailing on a Christmas market cruise with Viking River Cruises. Admire Vienna’s architecture and discover the city’s classical music heritage.
Stomp Grapes in Portugal
Cruise lines pivot as high water levels on Rhine disrupt Christmas voyages - PAX NEWS
Cruise lines pivot as high water levels on Rhine disrupt Christmas voyages.
Posted: Fri, 15 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Before you cruise, make a list of regional foods you wish to try in each market. Once at the market, look around to see which food stands are popular with locals. Packing for a river cruise in the middle of winter was the most challenging part of the trip for me.
Christmas markets are open from midmorning until between 8 and 10 p.m., but there's not enough to do at each market to fill that entire time. I usually spent about an hour at the smaller markets in places like Passau and Linz and about two to three hours at the larger markets in Vienna and Budapest. In each port, you'll want to be sure there are more activities and attractions to fill the rest of your time in port.
Viking Christmas market cruise on the Seine
To learn more about each port of call and our included as well as optional excursions, click on the individual days below. For most of their cruises, they also offer pre- and post-cruise add-ons that can extend your time in a destination. For the Rhine Getaway, you had a choice of a pre-cruise program in Amsterdam, and post-cruise time in either Basel or Lucerne, Switzerland. The amount of free time varies – for example, we had an entire free day in Cologne, and only about 4-5 hours in the evening in Speyer. The Rhine Getaway cruise sails down the Rhine, the busiest river in all of Europe. Port calls are almost all in Germany and France, and you make at least one stop – sometimes two – per day.
It's also a good idea to know the currency of each destination you're going to. For example, in Hungary, euros are not accepted anywhere, so I exchanged dollars for Hungarian forints to use at the Christmas market. While many of the vendors will take credit cards or Apple Pay, others only want cash.
Picking a river for your cruise can be a challenge, especially if you're not familiar with the destinations on the itinerary. Cruises on the Danube and Rhine are the most popular at this time of year because their ports of call are where most of our Christmas traditions were first created. If you've had visiting the Christmas markets of Europe on your bucket list, a river cruise is a great way to explore multiple markets in one trip. One of the biggest perks of a river cruise versus a land-based trip is that you unpack once, and your accommodations and dining options float with you down the river from town to town. On board the ship, you'll enjoy festive activities like tree-trimming and gingerbread house decorating, and warm drink options will usually include mulled wine.
He has penned articles for Colorado Avid Golfer, Golf Digest, and Golf Magazine. In his travels, he has golfed with royalty, tour professionals, the local duffer, and the occasional goat. On and off the ship is easy as it’s always the second deck, and Viking has some of the best docking locations in each city.
The included maps pinpoint your exact dock location, interesting local landmarks, and markets, so a walking tour on your own is secure. Explore Cologne’s seasonal holiday markets and shop for colorful gifts, arts and crafts. River cruising is becoming so popular – and with popularity comes more and more options catering to all sorts of interests. I loved the Rhine Getaway itinerary because there was a lot to see and explore – I did SO much walking!
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. Middle and Eastern Europe is often colder than Western Europe, the latter of which has a milder winter season. The later in the Christmas market season you travel, the more likely you are to get rain or snow since winter is setting in across the continent. If you're looking for a more active cruise, consider AmaWaterways, where bikes are always available to use in port. On the Danube Christmas Markets tour, you can bike from Weissenkirchen to Melk, passing picturesque villages and vineyards. Next year, you can get all of your holiday shopping done at a charming European market.
Always try to arrive at least a day early for any river cruise, especially if you're flying overseas. For some river cruises, the embarkation port is just that, a place to get on the ship and leave. If you arrive the day your cruise begins, you could miss out on exploring the city.
Enjoy a taste of the local brew, Weihnachtsbier, and stroll the vibrant Drosselgasse. Explore this history-rich city, admiring its iconic Grote Kerk with a carillon of 67 bells. Take a journey along Amsterdam’s network of canals or browse one of the city’s museums.
I met my friend Julie Deily, of The Little Kitchen, in Budapest to board the Viking Atla river cruise ship. Explore charming Vernon; stroll the town’s cobblestone streets and admire its quaint houses. While touring one of the Linz markets, I stumbled upon a small carnival where rides and games were set up for kids to enjoy. 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.
Currency in Hungary is different than the currency you'll need for Austria and Germany. Hungarian Forints are needed in Hungary, and then you'll need Euros for the remainder of the cruise. Credit cards work almost anywhere, especially after the pandemic prompted more cash-only businesses to start accepting cards. When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear.
Examine enormous stalagmites and stalactites, the world’s widest column found in a cave, and a natural amphitheatre used as a concert venue. Sailing roundtrip from Barcelona, this 16-day voyage in seven countries also calls at Seville, Casablanca, Valetta (overnight), Corsica, Rome, Marseilles, Tunis and Algiers, with three non-consecutive days at sea. Formed after an accidental overflow from an adjacent geothermal plant, the original lagoon has been expanded into a dozen steaming, milky-blue pools with a lava wall looming almost four metres above.
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