5 Most Popular Rivers for European River Cruises

European river cruises are wildly popular with baby boomer travelers.

While ocean liners can bring travelers access to Europe’s great cities built from ocean ports, a river cruise allows travelers to get to the interior of many countries and explore the fabulous cities built upon the great rivers of Europe.

Budapest, Vienna, Paris, Lyon, and Prague are cities that immediately come to mind.

While many of our clients come with an idea of which river they want to explore, a majority of folks come looking for our recommendations.  Therefore, I thought it might be helpful to write about this important topic.

The 5 Most Popular Rivers for European River Cruises

1. The Rhine – if you want to see castles, the Rhine should be your river of choice.  Most Rhine sailings will sail from Amsterdam to Basil, Switzerland (or vice versa), and the Middle Rhine is chocked full of spectacular castles along the way. Be sure to spend some extra time in Amsterdam or Switzerland, at the beginning and end of your cruise.
2. The Danube – the Danube is an equally popular river for river cruisers.  While the Danube does have castles, some feel that they are not as spectacular as those found on the Rhine.  However, the Danube will bring you the fabulous cities of Budapest and Vienna.  Further, many of our clients will take a pre/post journey up to the magical city of Prague, the City of a Hundred Spires.
3. The Seine – the Seine will bring you Paris, Monet’s home in Giverny, and the sorrowful beaches of Normandy.  This is one of the shorter river journeys, so sailing times are much shorter than other rivers.
4. The Bordeaux Region of France – here, you’ll sail the the Dordogne, the Garonne, and the Gironde as you explore the most famous vineyards in the world.  If you’re a wine lover, this must be on your bucket list.
5. The Rhone – once again, this river offers foodies and wine lovers an absolutely fabulous journey.  Not only will you explore the world-famous Burgundy wine-country, but the city of Lyon is widely held as the culinary capitol of France.

While there are certainly other rivers that deserve your attention (the Doro in Portugal comes to mind), these are the five most popular rivers for European river cruises.

Travel Tip: we highly recommend that you spend a couple of extra days at the front and back of your river cruise, regardless of which river you chose. This will allow you time for airline cancellations (you don’t want to miss your cruise), to allow your body to adjust to the time difference, and most important of all, some relaxing time to explore.  While river cruises bill themselves as relaxing, you’re going to find yourself in a new city nearly everyday.  We find that we really enjoy a couple of days on our own in the front and back of our river cruise experiences.

To explore AmaWaterways, Avalon Waterways, Viking River Cruises, Tauck River Cruises, and the Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection in one convenient spot, CLICK HERE.

We’re Expert River Cruise Planners. Let us Help.

Once you’ve made the decision to give a river cruise serious consideration, give our travel agency a call.  We know the various river cruise lines inside and out, we’ve got first-hand river cruise experience, and through our $15 billion/year Virtuoso Travel Network, we’ve likely got complimentary perks for you on top of the river cruise line’s best offers.

We send 100s of people to Europe each year on river cruises.  We’ve got the expert advise you need.

For more information, or to book your fun European river cruise, call Roaming Boomers Travel Services at (480) 550-1235, or use our convenient online information request (click here) and we’ll reach out to you.

Note: photo courtesy of Viking River Cruises
 
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