Danube, Main & Rhine Rivers

Arrive in Vienna and transfer to the hotel for a welcome briefing. Spend the day at your leisure exploring this Imperial City. Overnight at the hotel.

The old-world charm of Vienna surrounds you from the moment you arrive in the city. Famous composers like Strauss, Mozart and Beethoven perfected their craft here in the seat of the Hapsburg Empire. The historic center of Vienna is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this town that still exudes the past with horse-drawn carriages, historic palaces and over 200 balls per year. This afternoon, transfer to the MS Amadeus Diamond where you’ll enjoy a Welcome Toast hosted by your captain followed by a delicious welcome dinner in the dining room. Overnight at the dock. BD

In the morning, make your way to Melk and Emmersdorf, where you’ll board a comfortable motorcoach for a tour of the Wachau, a beautiful Austrian valley. The Wachau Valley is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site both for its architecture and its agricultural history and is home to the 900-year-old Benedictine Melk Abbey. The abbey, formerly a palace, displays beautiful baroque architecture and offers fine views of the Danube from its terrace, which Napoleon probably used as a lookout when he used Melk as his headquarters for his campaign against Austria. Continue on to Dürnstein, the most famous wine-growing town of the region, and sample a fine selection of local wines before reboarding in Emmersdorf. Cruise through the narrow and scenic Strudengau portion of the Danube through rolling green hills as you continue on to Aschach. BLD

After breakfast, board your motorcoach for a full-day excursion to Salzburg, the city of music, or stay onboard for a cruise through the picturesque countryside to Passau, Germany. Salzburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Site rich with treasures from baroque architecture to The Sound of Music sights. It’s also the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Tour city highlights including Mirabell Palace where you’ll see the gardens where the von Trapp children sang “Do-Re-Mi” in The Sound of Music and enjoy a concert by the ensemble Leskowitz. BLD

Upon arrival in Regensburg this morning, go ashore for a walking tour of the medieval center of Regensburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site studded with over 1,200 historic buildings. Regensburg once controlled the trade route to the Orient, and it was this wealth that enabled the rich patrician families to build fine architectural monuments such as the princely Palace Thurn and Taxis, which you will tour. Following lunch, board an excursion boat for a trip through the breathtaking Danube Gorge and Weltenburger Enge nature reserve to the Benedictine abbey of Weltenburg. The monastery was founded by Irish or Scottish monks about 620 AD and is the oldest monastery in Bavaria. After a tour of the abbey church you can taste the famous dark beer of Weltenburg, brewed right here. This evening, dine in typical Bavarian style with themed entertainment. BLD

Cruise through the beautiful Altmühl Valley to Nuremberg, the capital of Franconia and historically the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Martin Luther once said about the city, “Nuremberg shines throughout Germany like a sun among the moon and stars,” and during your morning sightseeing tour you’ll appreciate why the city is known for more than its famous history. See the storybook 900-year-old ramparts, the Imperial Castle and the Justice Palace where the War Crimes Tribunal sat in 1946. In the afternoon, you can spend time at leisure or take part in an excursion to the Nazi party rally grounds, an immense site that now serves as a memorial. View the buildings with their immense proportions and take in the permanent exhibition “Fascination and Terror” that looks at the causes, context and consequences of the National Socialist regime. BLD

Another UNESCO World Heritage site, Bamberg offers some 2,300 buildings of historic interest including a Gothic cathedral, Episcopal palaces and a quaint half-timbered old town hall on an island in the River Regnitz. After a guided walking tour you can enjoy a concert of the Bamberger Streichquartett at the New Palace. After lunch your ship will continue up the River Main, giving you a chance to relax on the sundeck and enjoy the scenery. BLD

Early morning cruising past the villages and vineyards of Franconia take you to Würzburg, an important city in the Middle Ages that owes much of its present appearance to the prince-bishops of the Schoenborn family, who erected many wonderful Baroque buildings in the 17th and 18th centuries. Take a morning sightseeing tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site city and see the fabulous Residence palace with its frescoed staircase, Imperial Hall and Hall of Mirrors. In the afternoon, join an excursion to the town of Rothenburg, famous for its well-preserved medieval old town with its towers, city gates and half-timbered gables. Your city walk includes many major points including the Church of St. Jacob and Franciscan Church, both of which feature altars by one of the greatest German sculptors of the Middle Ages. BLD

Wertheim’s old town is dominated by the ruins of a 13th-century castle that was destroyed during the Thirty Years War in the first half of the 17th century. This morning you’ll immerse yourself in the vibrant history and romance of Wertheim as your guide points out places of interest along its medieval streets. This medieval town will charm you with its historic market square, high-gabled half-timbered houses and old town hall. BLD

After passing Frankfurt and Mainz, your ship joins the River Rhine and makes its way to Rüdesheim, a charming old wine town. This upper middle Rhine Valley area is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural, agricultural and historical wealth. After breakfast you may like to go ashore and explore its famous narrow street, the Drosselgasse, lined on both sides with wine taverns. A walking tour of the town includes a visit to Siegfried’s Music Museum where you can see all kinds of mechanical instruments from barrel organs and music boxes to horn gramophones. Later that day your ship departs Rüdesheim headed for Koblenz along the most famous and scenic stretch of the Rhine Valley. Pass hilltop castles, terraced vineyards, attractive riverside villages and the historic Lorelei Rock on your way to Koblenz, where you’ll dine at the Michelin-starred Stromburg gourmet restaurant. BLD

This morning, take a city walk through Koblenz, a 2,000-year-old town filled with cozy lanes, narrow alleyways and abundant cultural monuments. Admire the town’s old quarter, rebuilt after the Second World War, and visit the Emperor Wilhelm Memorial and the Schaengel Fountain at the town hall. After lunch the cruise continues to Bonn, alive with the heritage of Ludwig van Beethoven. After a city tour, take in a concert in the Beethoven Haus, part of a complex that includes a museum, the Beethoven Archives and the Chamber Music Hall. This evening as your ship sails for Cologne, attend the Captain’s Farewell Toast followed by a Farewell Gala Dinner in the dining room. BLD

If time allows, explore Cologne on your own before transferring to the airport for your flight home. B