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There's also a model of the castle ruins on display at Durnstein Abbey. On an included Panoramic tour of Budapest with Viking, you can take in fantastic views of Szechenyi Bridge from Buda Hill, in Buda's sublime Castle District. If it's your first time on the Danube take a look at Viking's eight day sailings. They cover many of the main highlights and provide the ideal excuse to come back for more. Admire Vienna’s architecture and discover the city’s classical music heritage. Stroll the medieval, UNESCO-listed city’s streets and learn about Regensburg’s history.
Relax at Budapest's Thermal Baths
A highlight is the 900-year-old Stone Bridge, with its striking 16 arches crossing the Danube to the old town. Here, the spiky 13th-century Regensburg Cathedral, with its twin spires poking above terracotta rooftops, is home to the oldest boys' choir in the world, the Regensburger Domspatzen. This glowing retreat has an extraordinary ceiling fresco by Paul Troger from 1739 above the monumental imperial staircase -- it's one of the largest staircases of its kind in the world. Along the way it shadows centuries-old storybook villages that appear unchanged by time and cuts through sophisticated world capitals, like Vienna and Budapest. The all-new eight-day Danube Christmas Delights cruise between Budapest and Passau includes a day in Vienna where beautiful squares are transformed into Christmas markets. After buying unique handmade gifts and decorations there’s the option to visit Vienna's famous four-legged residents with a behind-the-scenes tour to see the Lipizzaner stallions at the Spanish Riding School.
Christmas on the Danube
Spend two days in Vienna, and celebrate the city’s musical heritage at a concert featuring works by Mozart and Strauss. With medieval towns, grand cities and stunning scenery, this 8-day journey on the “Blue Danube” is one you are sure to love. Your Danube River cruise will be filled with memorable experiences unique to the region. Included walking tours are a great way to discover popular landmarks and learn about the history and heritage of the cities and towns on your itinerary.
Highlights of Danube River Cruises
You'll sail to Regensburg through the picture-postcard landscapes of the UNESCO-listed Wachau Valley and stop overnight in the magnificent Austrian capital Vienna. There, you're likely to hear that famous "Blue Danube" Strauss waltz played at one of Viking's visits to an atmospheric concert hall. Along the way you'll have the chance to learn how to make tasty Austrian dumplings or cycle along flat paths beside the sparkling river. Your ship may organize special events, such as bringing dancers onboard to perform the Viennese Waltz while in Austria or hosting a lecture on Bavarian beer by a local expert in Germany. Your cruise will also feature regional cuisine - think river-caught fish, local produce in season, fruit from the surrounding orchards, and German, Austrian, and Hungarian wines. When it comes to European river cruising, the Danube is unequivocally a popular choice, as it traverses through multiple countries, offering a variety of landscapes, cultures and a wealth of history.
Viking River Cruises
Don't miss the chance to try some gingerbread and steaming mulled wine. You pay a deposit for the Christmas mug and can keep it as a neat souvenir. Viking's itinerary starts in the grand Hungarian capital of Budapest, divided in half by the river.
Then 2 months or so before the trip, when they sent me my air travel itinerary and I saw that our flights included 2 layovers and was basically almost 30 hours of travel, I called Viking immediately. I told them that that much travel is too much for my husband with limited mobility. So they were able to find and rebook us flights with only 1 layover, for a total of about only 15 hours of travel. If you did get free onboard credits and want to use it for optional excursions., you should NOT book optional excursions BEFORE your trip.
Visit the place where monks work and worship on an exclusive Privileged Access Viking shore excursion. Savour a glass of sparkling apricot wine -- on of the region's delicious delicacies -- before enjoying a private viewing of the abbey. Made up of a tapestry of verdant forests, terraced vineyards and Renaissance castles, Austria's wine country is unfathomably beautiful. Situated between Melk and Krems, this swathe of the Danube runs for around 18 miles and witnessing it is one of the best things to do on a river cruise. You could soak in the views as you sail the river, capturing landmarks on camera, including the 12th-century Aggstein Castle, perched on a hilltop, with the sprawling Hinterhaus ruins on the opposite side.
Like I said, we’re big coffee fans and from the previous presentation, we learned that Café Landtmann, which has been around since 1873, is a classic Viennese coffee house where Freud used to hang out. Instead, we took a cab to Café Landtmann and truly relaxed, enjoyed some Viennese coffee and cakes. Our guide talked less about history and more about the dire economic situation of the city. However, I’d say a balance between that and art, culture and history would have been nice because the tone of this part of the tour was very angry and somber. The main reason I went on a Viking River Cruise is because I wanted to go somewhere without doing all the planning.
During our tour, it was actually raining, so the views were a bit dramatic. It was a bit cozy actually so I enjoyed a nap to and from Salzburg. From there, we did a walking tour of the Old Town and the Mirabell Gardens where we saw filming locations from The Sound of Music. We made our way to the Domplatz before our lunch in Austria’s oldest restaurant, entertained with the music from the movie by classically trained singers. We joined the Panoramic Vienna tour, and that was a great way to get oriented with the city. I really prefer exploring cities on my own so I managed my expectations here for sure.
10 Things You Should Know Before Your First European River Cruise - InsideHook
10 Things You Should Know Before Your First European River Cruise.
Posted: Sat, 16 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Discover the delights of Vienna as you browse the museums or enjoy a Viennese pastry. Stroll the picturesque lanes and squares of Győr, admiring its wealth of historic buildings. Discover the delights of Vienna and browse the museums or enjoy a Viennese pastry. Admire Vienna’s architecture, linger at a café or visit the Hapsburgs’ Schönbrunn Palace. Sail the picturesque Wachau Valley, a UNESCO Site, and admire views of hillside vineyards. Admire the patrician houses in the Old Town and see Passau’s ornately decorated cathedral.
It’s an abbey at the top of the hill and oh so magnificent views of the Wachau Valley. I don’t know about you but when I see Karine Hagen (Viking’s SVP and the founder’s daughter) in the ads visiting locals and talking to monks, that’s sort of what I imagined for all the shore excursions. Well, not quite, so I would say this excursion is the only one and the closest to that image - privileged access with that extra experience you see on Viking ads. Online, on MyVikingJourney.com, with your booking number, you’ll have your Viking account.
I couldn’t tell if they have extras in case you forget them during the tours as everyone was ready for it. Viking offers a Privileged Access shore excursion to the Alma Deutscher Mozart & Strauss performance, which takes place at the exquisite Wiener Konzerthaus. Viking offers a Heurigen Dinner shore excursion where you can sample all the best wines and foods this region has to offer. Made popular in the late 18th century, the waltz swept across Europe from Vienna, reaching palatial ballrooms from Linz to London. On a Viking European river cruise you will discover so much more than on a tiring land-based tour of the same length. Only packing and unpacking once, your longship is a relaxing floating home as you move seamlessly from place to place.
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