From Nuremberg's medieval towers to Amsterdam's golden canals.
The Rhine is Europe's most storied river: castle-crowned, vineyard-lined, and threaded through the continent's cultural heart. This route connects Nuremberg's half-timbered medieval quarter to Amsterdam's canal-laced elegance, passing through Bamberg's Baroque churches, Würzburg's Residenz palace, the Rhine Gorge with its forty castles in forty miles, and Cologne's twin-spired cathedral. The Gorge is the reason to book a French balcony: it passes in a single afternoon and it passes on one side.
The gateway city. Half-timbered houses, the Imperial Castle, and in December, the most famous Christmas market in the world: the Christkindlesmarkt, running since 1628.
Evening walking tour of the old town and Handwerkerhof artisan quarter
A UNESCO town that survived both wars intact. The Rathaus sits on a bridge over the Regnitz. The smoked beer, Rauchbier, is an acquired taste worth acquiring.
Rauchbier tasting at Schlenkerla, the legendary smoke-beer tavern
The Residenz palace holds the largest ceiling fresco in the world: Tiepolo's masterpiece, suspended above the grand staircase. The Franconian wine country begins at the city gates.
Guided tour of the Residenz followed by Franconian wine tasting on the Alte Mainbrücke
The most dramatic stretch of the Rhine: 40 castles in 40 miles, the Lorelei rock where legend says sirens lured sailors to their fate. The ship slows here. The cameras don't stop.
Open-deck cruising through the UNESCO Rhine Gorge with onboard commentary
The twin spires of the Dom cathedral, 632 years in the making, dominate the skyline from the river. The old town's Brauhaus pubs serve Kölsch in small glasses that keep arriving until you put a coaster on top.
Cathedral tower climb for Rhine panorama, then Kölsch pub crawl in the Altstadt
The canal city that needs no introduction, but deserves one more visit. The ship docks centrally. The Rijksmuseum, the Jordaan, and the brown cafés are all within walking distance.
Private canal boat tour through the Jordaan followed by Indonesian rijsttafel dinner
Send your dates. We will come back with the sailings worth taking, the cabin to ask for, and what we would arrange ashore.