Cruising the Danube: Festive Christmas Markets

Arrive in Vienna, where you are met and transferred to your hotel. Tonight, join your dedicated Resident Tour Director for a welcome dinner.

Visit the Belvedere, seeing the stately palace complex, tranquil gardens and its Christmas market. View works by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. Then, enjoy lunch at a Viennese café before a privately guided tour of the Augarten Porcelain Factory. Transfer to your vessel, with priority embarkation. Settle into your premium cabin or suite with an open-air French or walk-out balcony. Enjoy a welcome cocktail before dinner on board.

Privately tour Schönbrunn Palace, enjoy a demonstration in strudel making and receive a private waltz lesson. After lunch, walk Vienna’s old town with a local guide. Visit the Imperial Treasury at Hofburg Palace and see St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Later, peruse the main Christmas market at the Rathausplatz.

Arrive in Melk, where you visit the Benedictine abbey, perched on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube. Originally constructed as a palace, the abbey boasts soaring gilded towers, an elaborately frescoed church and a vast library of medieval manuscripts. Pause for lunch ashore at a local restaurant in the scenic Wachau Valley. Later, enjoy a private pre-dinner cocktail party in the ship’s Amadeus Club, hosted by your Resident Tour Director, followed by an exclusive Chef’s Highlights dinner.

Arrive in Passau. Take a guided city walk, visiting the Christkindlesmarkt and St. Stephen’s Cathedral for a private tour of its famed organ. Linger over an authentic Bavarian lunch with a glass of wine at a charming restaurant. Then, explore the historic center at leisure.

Walk through Regensburg and visit one of its oldest breweries for a tasting. Tour St. Emmeram’s Palace and stroll its Christmas market. Join the captain for a gala dinner back on board.

Transfer to Nuremberg and privately visit a World War II art bunker, an A&K exclusive. Then, walk through the old town to view its 900-year-old ramparts, Imperial Castle and Palace of Justice. Explore the Christkindlesmarkt, with time to shop or savor homemade gingerbread.

Disembark in Nuremberg and drive to Munich, famous for its beer halls and beer gardens. Take a guided walking tour of its old town. Visit the Frauenkirche cathedral and Marienplatz, with its bustling Christmas market.

Transfer to Munich Airport for your departure.