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Travel back through centuries as you walk along cobblestone streets through grand cities and historic towns bedecked with twinkling Christmas trees and lined with wooden huts gleaming with handcrafted treasures. Iconic Christmas Markets are plentiful and are on full display for your pleasure. Budapest’s Vörösmarty Square, where all products sold in the market are guaranteed as traditionally handmade; Vienna with its impressive Christmas Markets that seem to majestically appear around every corner; Nuremberg’s festive Christkindlesmarkt, the largest and oldest Christmas Market in Germany; Regensburg’s Christmas Market at Thurn and Taxis Castle, considered one of Bavaria’s most beautiful and romantic; and Prague with its renowned Christmas Markets in the Old Town square; —along with many others throughout your journey—are yours to explore. Sparkling lights; the festive sounds of children dressed as angels singing carols; enticing smells of hot-mulled wine, roasted chestnuts, sausages and sweet treats of every kind; and timeless wonders are a feast for all your senses.
Iconic Christmas Markets Cruise – 8 Days
Day 1: Embarkation – Budapest, Hungary
- Board the ship in Budapest and begin your Christmas Markets cruise. (D)
Day 2: Budapest
- Explore Buda Castle and Heroes’ Square.
- Visit the Great Market Hall and Vörösmarty Square Christmas Market. (B,L,D)
Day 3: Vienna, Austria
- Tour Vienna’s Imperial Palace, Opera House, and historic center.
- Visit Rathaus Christmas Market or take a guided bike ride.
- Enjoy Schönbrunn Palace and Vienna by Night Christmas Markets. (B,L,D)
Day 4: Melk, Austria
- Tour the Melk Abbey, a Baroque monastery.
- Optional bike ride around Melk. (B,L,D)
Day 5: Passau, Germany
- Walk through the 2,000-year-old city and visit St. Stephen’s.
- Explore Passau Christmas Market or take a full-day Salzburg excursion.
- Optional Danube bike tour. (B,L,D)
Day 6: Regensburg, Germany
- Tour the Old Town and Christmas Market.
- Enjoy Bavarian food tastings or bike to Walhalla.
- Visit Thurn and Taxis Christmas Market. (B,L,D)
Day 7: Nuremberg, Germany
- Cruise the Main-Danube Canal.
- Explore WWII sites, Imperial Castle, and city ramparts.
- Visit Christkindlesmarkt, one of the world’s largest Christmas markets.
- Optional Franconian food tour. (B,L,D)
Day 8: Nuremberg – Disembarkation
- Disembark and transfer for your flight home. (B)
