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Enjoy beautiful scenic views while cruising along these grand rivers through the vineyard-rich Wachau Valley and the castle-clad hills of the Rhine River Valley. Along the way, visit towns right out of fairytales—tiny Miltenberg with its crooked streets and leaning houses; Rothenburg with its charming core of gothic churches and gabled houses; Bamberg, an architectural gem boasting Renaissance palaces, baroque houses, and a unique frescoed Town Hall;

Linz, designated by the European Union as a 2009 European Capital of Culture; and Nuremberg, an archetypical German medieval city encircled by mighty defensive walls. Indulge your passion for awe-inspiring art and architecture, and for places where history is still an essential part of daily life.

Who will enjoy this cruise: Those seeking history and architecture will encounter fascinating Roman ruins, medieval towns, baroque castles, and ultramodern buildings. And story lovers will delight in the myths and legends found along the way.

Cruise Highlights include:

12-night cruise in a riverview stateroom on the stunning River Countess or the luxurious River Duchess

All meals onboard

Complimentary fine wine during dinner, bottled water in your stateroom, and 24-hour specialty coffee

11 shore excursions, fully hosted by English-speaking guides State-of-the-art Quietvox portable audio headset system on all shore excursions

Complimentary use of bicycles

Exciting onboard entertainment and insightful lectures Captain’s Welcome & Farewell Dinners

An experienced Cruise Manager and attentive, all English-speaking staff

All transfers on arrival and departure days 

Amsterdam to Vienna - 14 days 

DAY 1: Depart Home Gateway City to Amsterdam

DAY 2: Amsterdam (embark) Arrive in Amsterdam where you’ll be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the ship. (D)

DAY 3: Amsterdam Featured Excursion: City tour including Rijksmuseum visit Your panoramic tour takes you past Mint Tower, Dam Square, the Royal Palace, Museum Square, and across many canals. Visit the renowned Rijksmuseum, with priceless works of art by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch Masters of the Golden Age. (BB, L, Captain’s Welcome Dinner)

DAY 4: Cologne Featured Excursion: Cologne walking tour and cathedral visit Today's tour takes you through the narrow streets of Old Town as you make your way to the magnificent Cologne Cathedral. Inside this UNESCO World Heritage Site, the earthly remains of the Biblical Three Kings of the Magi are believed to lay at rest. (BB, L, D)

DAY 5: Boppard, Cruising Romantic Rhine, Rüdesheim Featured Excursion: Siegfried’s Museum Irresistible Optional Tour: Rüdesheim Dinner and entertainment During the morning, you’ll enjoy leisure time in charming Boppard.

In the afternoon, you’ll sail along one of the most beautiful sections of the Rhine with its vine-filled slopes, and its 40 castles strung like pearls on the river’s ledges. This section of the river is so spectacular that it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later in the day you’ll reach Rüdesheim, where you’ll visit famous Siegfried’s Museum, showcasing one of the world’s best collections of mechanical musical instruments. (BB, L, D)

DAY 6: Rüdesheim, Frankfurt Featured Excursion: Frankfurt city tour

DAY 7: Miltenberg - Featured Excursion: Miltenberg walking tour Your adventures along this breathtakingly beautiful section of the river begin with a visit to Miltenberg, a medieval town with crooked streets and leaning houses that are right out of the pages of a German fairy tale. Your walking tour takes you right into Old Town with its cobblestone streets and timber-frame houses. (BB, L, D)

DAY 8: Würzburg (Rothenburg) Featured Excursion: Full-day tour of Rothenburg Travel to Rothenburg, the best preserved medieval town in Germany. With half-timbered houses and imposing fortifications, the townscape is still much as it was in the Middle Ages. (BB, D)

DAY 9: Bamberg Featured Excursion: Bamberg walking tour Arrive in the historical Franconian city of Bamberg. Our guided walking tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site showcases the imperial cathedral, the Old Town Hall, the old fisherman’s houses of “Little Venice” and the New Palace with its baroque garden. (BB, L, D)

DAY 10: Nuremberg Featured Excursion: Nuremberg city tour Today’s tour takes you through Nuremberg, an archetypal German medieval city encircled by mighty defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Discover the sights of Nuremberg and its World War II history during your panoramic tour and then explore the walled Old Town on foot. (BB, L, D)

DAY 11: Regensburg Featured Excursion: Regensburg walking tour An unspoiled gem and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Regensburg is a friendly town with quaint cobblestone streets, medieval alleys and historic Roman remains.

On your walking tour, you’ll see the Cathedral of St. Peter, with magnificent stained glass windows dating from the 14th century, and the town’s famous 12th-century Stone Bridge. (BB, L, D)

DAY 12: Linz Featured Excursion: Linz walking tour Irresistible Optional Tour: Full-day excursion to Salzburg The Danube serves as a dividing line between the modern city of Linz and its old “soul.” You’ll visit Linz’s Old Church built in the 1670s by the Jesuits, and you’ll be guided through the pedestrian zone, Alter Market, and the impressive Main Square. (BB, L, D)

DAY 13: Scenic Cruising Wachau Valley, Vienna Featured Excursion: Vienna city tour Irresistible Optional Tour: Vienna concert Today as we depart Linz, cruise through the heart of the picturesque, vineyard-rich Wachau Valley, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its abruptly rising hills, and nestling baroque villages.

Vienna’s compact historic city center is an exciting array of cafés and grand palaces, culminating at the magnificent gothic cathedral. Your city tour will take you along the stately Ringstrasse to the most beloved architectural wonder in all of Vienna, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where Mozart was married in 1782. (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)

DAY 14: Vienna (disembark), transfer to airport Disembark the ship and transfer to Vienna Airport for your flight home.