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We were able to visit several sites in Budapest including the famous Parliament building on the “Pest” side of the river the day the cruise started. And we toured the area around the famous Buda Castle on the “Buda” side of the river as well. You're able to fly into the city, of course, but I extended the trip beforehand in Munich and Stuttgart, Germany. (Since I had to leave the cruise early I wanted to make the most of my time in Europe.) I flew to Budapest from Munich to start the Christmas river cruise. There’s a charm during the holiday season in Europe unlike any other place I've experienced, which I saw through the lens of a Viking Christmas River Cruise. A magical ambiance fills the region with smiling and laughing patrons, enjoying glühwein and each other’s company in historic squares and small streets in old villages.
Charming Holiday Markets in Passau, Germany on Our Christmas River Cruise
Immerse in the fairytale atmosphere of Vienna’s markets and shop for unique gifts. If you're interested in making plans to head to Europe to kick off your holiday season, check out these top Christmas Markets you can visit on a Viking River cruise. By the time I was back in the town center, the market vendors were opening for business. I opted for an early bratwurst sandwich for lunch before I sadly had to leave the cruise to go to the airport. We arrived to the warmth and glow of the lights inside the ship; isn't it romantic to see the ship this way with string lights twinkling atop reflecting in the river? It was especially nice to see limited yet tasteful holiday decorations – like wreaths with red bows and green garland – adorning the inside of the ship.
Explore the Caves of Grenada
Depending on the river cruise line you book, the onboard attire may range from casual to a little more fancy. During the day on Viking, many people wore jeans or sweatpants and a casual shirt. Evenings brought out the more elevated fashion; women donned cute sweaters and dresses, while men dressed in jeans and nicer tops or sweaters.
Sail Iconic Rivers at Christmas
Iceland’s Majestic Landscapes ocean voyage spends half of the 13-day itinerary exploring the country’s dramatic vistas, villages and cities, with the other half cruising around the fjords of far north Norway. Even without the side shows of the Midnight Sun and the Northern Lights, Norway’s scenery is spectacular. Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is breathtaking to view up close, while Eidfjord is the gateway to Hardangervidda, Europe’s largest mountain plateau. The 15-day Viking Homelands ocean voyage explores Scandinavia by sea, following ancient mariner routes. Gaze at foaming waterfalls that plunge into the fjord’s waters, visit the cosmopolitan cities of Berlin and Copenhagen, and linger longer on overnight calls in Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen.
These New Viking River Cruises Take You To Christmas Markets Across Europe - ABC 10 News San Diego KGTV
These New Viking River Cruises Take You To Christmas Markets Across Europe.
Posted: Tue, 27 Dec 2022 08:00:00 GMT [source]
The Viking 23-day European Sojourn river voyage covers eight countries along the Rhine, Main and Danube. Enjoy a lifetime’s worth of experiences on a single journey through the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Bucharest. For most travellers, the aurora borealis is the world’s most sought-after spectacle in the sky.
Which rivers are the best for a Christmas markets cruise?
And the logistics… how they managed to get 190 passengers off and on the ship each day (sometimes multiple times per day) without a hiccup was astounding. Even though I'm sure plenty of stressful things happen behind the scenes, you would never know it. Everyone was always friendly and professional, and you felt like they really cared about your trip. And, of course, if you skip all the guided tours and just go off on your own, you end up with lots of free time. Many of the places we visited for a couple of hours in the evenings (like Rudesheim and Speyer) were small enough that you could easily wander around the city center and grab a gluhwein in about an hour. River cruising in Europe is great because so many cities are built right ON the large water ways.
If you're thinking about booking a Christmas market river cruise but don't know where to start, we've got you covered. Here, we've answered the most popular questions about Christmas market river cruises and shared our top tips and tricks to get the most out of the trip. How much free time you end up with in each port totally depends on what you decide to do.
Viking Christmas market cruise on the Seine
Sometimes Sailing is a cruise-focused website by Dan and Mikkel Woodruff, a couple passionate about cruising. Passau is also known as the “City of Three Rivers,” because it's where 3 rivers converge. The city center is just steps from where the ship docks, watched over by St. Stephen's Cathedral. The baroque building towers above the town square, where the Christmas markets are. The most famous attraction here was Benediktinerstift Göttweig, an abbey run by a few dozen monks situated on top of the hill. One of the great things about sailing on the Danube between Hungary and Germany is you get to see fairy tale scenes like the image below, of a random castle on the side of the river.
Stomp Grapes in Portugal
On a clear night, these ethereal lights may appear over Norway as faint wisps of green or dramatically dancing ribbons in multiple colours. In Search of The Northern Lights is Viking’s 13-day ocean voyage in the Arctic, sailing between London (Tilbury) and Bergen via the Norwegian fjords. Multiple departures will operate from January to March 2025, regarded as the best time to see the lights. That's just the tip of the iceberg and the appeal of cruising with Viking for a Christmas river cruise.
I also soaked up several mugs of gluhwein (a mulled wine) and pastries along the way, too. One of the best ways to check out the Christmas Markets is via a river cruise. This way, you get a chance to see multiple markets in several cities and villages. The river cruise itineraries along the great rivers like the Rhine and Danube give you the full scope and scale of what the Christmas season is like in Europe. Exploring the Christmas markets of Vienna most near the city center, with mugs of hot glühwein, was in order when we left the candy store. By this time the holiday lights were starting to turn on as daytime turned to night.
The ship continued on to Regensburg, Germany and the Christmas market river cruise ended in Nuremberg. I was pleased to venture to visit another holiday market in front of their city hall, or Rathaus, before we headed back to the ship. My Christmas market favorites were consistently the beautifully illuminated concession stands. We appreciated its clean Scandinavian design, from our stateroom to the river cruise ship's grand staircase, and common areas. The ideal way to start a Rhine Getaway at Christmas is to spend three days in Amsterdam before embarkation.
Warm alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages flow at the markets and the sounds of holiday choirs and music fill the air. So by the time we got back to the ship the first day – after dropping our luggage off in the morning, touring around the city and returning for dinner – it was already dark. Our next day was really the first day I was able to see the ship in sunlight and view its beauty. The lights on their parliament building are particularly spectacular at night; it was great the scene from on the Danube River, aboard the Viking cruise ship.
Given the 190 passengers and the diversity of tastes, Viking has mastered the art of blending great regional food with solid favorites, like the grilled ribeye. Fares/rates are per person, based on double occupancy for select sail and travel dates; are capacity controlled and subject to availability at time booking and may be pulled without notice. In the event of a pricing error, misrepresentation or omission, we reserve the right to adjust the pricing or make any other corrections. Celebrate the holidays with Viking River Cruises and experience the Christmas market lights, hand-carved toys and ornaments, spicy glühwein and aromatic gingerbread.
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