Premium Danube River Cruise, Germany, Austria and Hungary

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We leave St Pancras International by Eurostar for Brussels, enjoying a light meal and drinks served on board. At Brussels we change trains and continue to Cologne for an overnight stay at the Le Meridien Domhotel, located near the city's Gothic cathedral.

We take the train to Nuremberg, where we board the 5-star ship and enjoy a welcome cocktail and dinner. The ship offers excursions and facilities on board to their guests. 

A guided tour to Nuremberg will make up most of the morning and give you the opportunity to check out the lively Hauptmarkt market square, The Old Town of Nuremberg, several Gothic Churches, including the famous Frauenkirche. We continue our trip by ship and cruise along the Main-Danube Canal. 

The trip continues in Regensburg, where we will stop for a walking tour and have the opportunity to visit St Peter's Church, the greatest Gothic cathedral in Bavaria.

Today's walking tour will take place in Passau, situated on the Austrian border and dominated by the imposing Veste Oberhaus, a castle built in 1219 with great views of the river and the countryside. Afterwards, we cruise on to Linz, where you can explore the historic Old Town after dinner this evening.

The first stop today is Melk, situated in Austria's wine-growing region. We enjoy a guided tour of the Benedictine Abbey, including the Marble Room and the Abbey Church. After lunch in the ship, the visitors will have the chance to enjoy the views from the panoramic windows, while having a tea with pastries in the lounge area. We cruise to Vienna this evening. 

Today's guided tour will take place in the city of Vienna, a city full of magnificent buildings. The visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a free afternoon to explore the city themselves. We continue cruising overnight to Budapest.

Budapest is known as the 'city of two halves'. We will have a guided city tour of the city before our gala farewell dinner on board this evening. During dinner we enjoy a memorable cruise through Budapest, so the visitors have the chance to enjoy the city being illuminated. 

Today the journey back home begins, travelling first to Vienna, where we change trains and continue to Nuremberg. We spend the night at the Hotel Maritim with dinner in the hotel.

We travel from Nuremberg to Cologne by train and there, we change trains to Brussels, where we join the train to London. In this last one, a light meal and drinks will be served.  

More about the trains

Eurostar: The high speed Eurostar trains link St Pancras International in London with Paris, Lille and Brussels. In your dedicated Standard Premier (the highest class of Eurostar travel available for leisure customers) carriage you'll find a less dense seat configuration, meaning the seats are larger and you have ample space to relax and stretch out. As part of the service you'll enjoy complimentary drinks and refreshments, served at your seat by friendly, helpful waiting staff.

Where you’ll stay

Le Meridien Dom Hotel, Cologne: this 5-star hotel enjoys a woderful location between the train station and Cologne's Cathedral, which can be seen from the hotel's terrace (open during the summer months only). Le Meridiem Dom also has a restaurant and a bar. The modern décor rooms come with air conditioning, telephone, television, minibar, safe and a hairdryer.

Maritim Hotel, Nuremberg: near the old town of the city, the 4-star Maritim Hotel is also close to the train station and a short walk away from the National Museum. The hotel offers health and fitness facilities, swimming pool, restaurant and piano bar. Room facilities include minibar, television, telephone, air conditioning, hairdryer and safe.

MS Amalegro & MS Amacerto Cruises: the deluxe 5-star sister ships offer elegant cabins and common spaces, as well as excursions that are included, quality cuisine and wine with dinner. The cabins offer all the comforts of a fine hotel, but also include white-on-white bedding, a sitting area, hairdryer, safe, terry bathrobes, individually controlled airconditioning and ample wardrobe space, as well as in-built entertainment system for music, films, television and internet access. Departures on 27th June and 19th September will be on MS Amacerto.

Customer Comments

"This was our first river cruise holiday, quite a change from previous Great Rain Journeys. Enjoyable as the train journeys there and back were, the river cruise was an eye opener. The ship, the Amalyra, was everything you could wish for, especially the meals. Having been across the Atlantic on the QM2 we weren't quite sure what to expect on this small ship, but I can honestly say that the standard of the food was equal to if not better than that served by Cunard on their liners. And nothing seemed too much trouble for the crew - especially our wine waitress, Kristina, who saw to it that our glasses were always full! As ever on Great Rail Journeys holidays we found lots of good company, which always helps make our holidays so enjoyable. Many thanks for a great holiday." Mr and Mrs Shaw