Inspire, Christmas Markets on the Rhine ex Basel to Cologne
Cruise Line Tauck
Ship Inspire
Destination EU Rivers
Nights 7
Departure Date 20 Jun 2021
Description 7 Night Cruise sailing from Basel to Cologne aboard Inspire.

Travel along the Rhine for the holiday season, from Basel to Köln aboard ms Inspire, both perfect ways to capture all the magic of Christmas Markets in Germany and France.

Along with all the inclusions that are part of every Tauck river cruise, Tauck's Christmas market experience wows you with special holiday touches like an onboard tree-trimming party... glühwein and other treats aboard the riverboat, decorated in a festive seasonal theme... a traditional European Christmas dinner with all the fixings... special evenings of onboard holiday-themed entertainment... walking in the footsteps of celebrities at the Kurhaus casino in Baden-Baden... a lecture on Alsatian storytelling traditions in Strasbourg... a cookie-making demonstration and a visit to the fanciful Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett in Rüdesheim... a traditional German lunch in Heidelberg and much more!

Highlights of this cruise:

Basel
Basel is located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, in northwest Switzerland on the river Rhine. It is among the most important cultural centres of Switzerland. The city comprises a large number of theatres and many museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the world's oldest art collection accessible to the public.

Basel features a great number of heritage sites of national significance. These include the entire Old Town of Basel as well as churches, monasteries, secular buildings, archaelogical sites and museums. Most of the "old town" attractions in Basel are in a walkable area between the Basel Zoo (just south of the Basel SBB train station) and the Rhine. Since most stores are closed on Sundays, it is a good day to plan to see one of the many museums, which are usually open.

Heidelberg
Heidelberg is a city in south-west Germany. The fifth-largest city in the State of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim, Karlsruhe and Freiburg im Breisgau, Heidelberg lies on the River Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald. Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination due to its romantic and picturesque cityscape.

A major attraction in Heidelberg is the “old town”, located on the south bank of the Neckar. It is dominated by the ruins of the Heidelberg Castle, 80 metres above. The Main Street runs the length of the town and sites of interest include the old stone bridge, the Church of the Holy Spirit, the Karl’s gate and the “The house Zum Ritter Sankt Georg”.

Heidelberg is most famous as the site of the imposing ruins of Heidelberg Castle, a magnificent red sandstone building perched 330 feet above the river and former home of the Palatinate princes until it was partially destroyed by fire in the 17th century.

Cologne
Cologne is situated on the river Rhein in North Rhine-Westphalia and is the fourth largest city in Germany. It is one of the nation's media, tourism and business hotspots.

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom) is the city's most famous monument and the Cologne residents' most respected landmark. It is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. In 1996, it was designated a World Heritage site; it houses the Shrine of the Three Kings that supposedly contains the relics of the Three Magi. Also worth seeing are the city’s twelve Romanesque churches. These buildings are outstanding examples of medieval church architecture. The origins of some of the churches go back as far as Roman times.

Cologne has several museums. The famous Roman-Germanic Museum features art and architecture from the city's distant past; the Museum Ludwig houses one of the most important collections of modern art in Europe, including a Picasso collection matched only by the museums in Barcelona and Paris. The Schnütgen Museum of religious art is housed in St. Cecilia, one of Cologne's Twelve Romanesque churches.
Sailing Dates
  • 06 Dec 2021
  • 20 Jun 2021
Itinerary

Cruise Itinerary

DayDateActivityArriveDepart
1 20/06 Basel, Switzerland
2 21/06 Basel, Switzerland
3 22/06 Strasbourg, France
4 23/06 Baden-Baden, Germany
5 24/06 Heidelberg, Germany
6 25/06 Rudesheim, Germany
7 26/06 Cologne, Germany
8 27/06 Cologne, Germany
All itineraries and ports of call at the discretion of the cruise line subject to local weather conditions and may change without notice.

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