Viking River Cruises, Christmas on the Rhine Amsterdam to Basel, December 6, 2023

Cruising from: Amsterdam, Netherlands;

Departure Date: 6 December, 2023;

Cruise Line: Viking River Cruises;

Cruise Ship: Viking Longship Einar;

Duration: 8 days;

Ports of Call: Amsterdam, Dordrecht, Dusseldorf, Koblenz, Mannheim, Strasbourg, Breisach, Basel;

Day 0 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands. Amsterdam has a rich history and famous Amsterdam residents include the diarist Anne Frank, artists Rembrandt and Van Gogh, and philosopher Baruch Spinoza. Beside many parks, open spaces, and squares throughout the city, Amsterdam is famous for De Wallen, the red-light district. It is an unusual city to explore.

Day 1 Dordrecht, Netherlands

Dordrecht is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. Because of its long and important role in Dutch history, Dordrecht has a rich culture. The medieval city centre is home to over 950 monuments. The city also has 7 historic churches and 6 museums in a relatively small area and hosts around 20 cultural and historical festivals and events every year. There are excellent restaurants to dine in and plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventures in the vast and watery expanse of nearby Biesbosch National Park.

Day 2 Dusseldorf, Germany

Dusseldorf is a university town and a center of art and fashion. This old electoral capital is also a city of wide streets lined by elegant shops, with a ring of parks and gardens encircling its vibrant downtown area. As an important cultural center, Dusseldorf has dozens of museums and in excess of 100 art galleries. Dusseldorf has a well-to-do reputation underpinned by its chic shopping street Konigsallee and the revitalised harbour where the big names in architecture have contributed buildings.

Day 3 Koblenz, Germany

Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle. The main sights are the old castle of Ehrenbreitstein, which dominates the right bank of the wide Rhine, and Fort Konstantin, strategically located in the heart of the old city, with views over both rivers. One of the newer tourist attractions in the city, the Koblenz Cable Car takes visitors on a thrilling aerial journey to Ehrenbreitstein castle

Day 4 Mannheim, Germany

Mannheim is a city in the northwest corner of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg in Germany, at the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar rivers. It is close to Ludwigshafen. Mannheim has an energetic cultural scene and decent shopping in city centre, along with a landmark palace, the Barockschloss Mannheim. Mannheim has fantastic parks and delicious ice creams.

Day 5 Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Strasbourg is the second most popular tourist city in France, after Paris. There are three main attractions: the cathedral, historic quarter of Petite France, with its half-timbered medieval houses and its quays overlooking branches of the river Ill and the Strasbourg Christmas market, the oldest and biggest historic Christmas market in Europe. The old town is a maze of narrow streets and alleys and the reflections of half-timbered houses with sloping roofs, reminiscent of those seen in fairytales

Day 6 Breisach, Germany

Breisach upon Rhine, a town with a long-standing history is where the Black Forest spills into Alsace. Cobbled streets lined with pastel-painted houses are the main characteristic of the town. The museum for municipal history has an impressive collection dating from the Stone Age to the present. The Romanesque St. Stephansmunster,the cathedral in Breisach, has a late Gothic altar by an unknown craftsman and paintings by Martin Schongauer, who is also the eponym of the Gymnasium in the city.

Day 7 Basel, Switzerland

Basel, nestled on the Rhine river, is Switzerland's third-largest town and, partly because of its proximity to France and Germany, has a strong sense of its own identity. Historic landmarks of the city include the large market square with its richly decorated red sandstone town hall and the late Romanesque-Gothic cathedral. The city of culture, for connoisseurs, has the highest concentration of museums in the country. Basel also has a beautiful Old Town, modern architecture, and famous traditional Basel honey cake.