11 Day Munich, Salzburg & Pearls Of The Danube

Welcome to Munich! On arrival to Munich Airport, your transfer will take you to your centrally located hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure for you to become acquainted with this wonderful city.

Check-in & Arrival Information:

Hotel check in is at 2pm. Should you arrive earlier, hotel staff will do all possible to check you in as soon as possible. If your room is not available before check-in time, you are welcome to leave your luggage in storage and explore the surrounding area.

If this is your first time in Munich, you may want to arrive a day or two earlier and explore the city in depth. We can help you arrange extra accommodation.

After breakfast, join a guided tour to the Bavarian countryside and visit two of Germany’s highlight castles in one day. The Neuschwanstein Castle and Linderhof Royal Palace and village are among the top sights to see outside of Munich, and it's easy to see why. Explore Neuschwanstein, the castle that inspired the famous Disney Castle and King Ludwig II's most impressive creation.

Enjoy a delicious breakfast and a free morning in town before being transfered to the train station in time to catch your train to Linz. The train journey takes between 3 to 4 hours. German trains are modern and comfortable so have your favorite book at hand or simply sit back and watch the country side go by. Once at Linz train station, please take your own taxi or Uber to your cruise port which is located 3kms away on Doktor Erst Koref Promenade, next to the Lentos Museum. A taxi or Uber from the train station will cost you approximately EUR 7-10.

You are welcome to board the ship by 6:00 p.m. We will depart for Vienna at 6:30 p.m. at the latest. After comfortably settling into your cabin, you'll be introduced to the crew at a welcome cocktail.

We'll arrive in Vienna early in the morning and have free time to join either of two activities below. Both activities take place in the morning, so you can only choose one.

Optional Tour - Guided tour of Vienna and Schoenbrunn Palace. EUR 73 (booked on tour)

You will begin the tour by taking the famous Ring to reach Schoenbrunn Palace. The "Ring" was one of the personal projects of Emperor Franz Joseph. In 1857, he decided to take down the ramparts that enclosed the city center and had this boulevard built lined with fine buildings. Along the Ring you will admire this architectural showcase of the old Austro-Hungarian monarchy, including: the State Opera; the Hofburg Palace; the Natural History Museum; the City Hall; the Burgtheater and more.

When you arrive at Schoenbrunn Palace, you will be guided through the numerous rooms of the Hapsburgs' summer residence, which bear witness to the splendor of the Court at the time of Maria Theresa. You will also have some time to wander through the Palace gardens.

You will then return to the coach, which will take you to the city center to enjoy some free time in the area around St Stephen's Cathedral. You will then return to the coach, which will take you back to the boat, via the Ring.

Optional Tour - The high art of Viennese living: music & Viennese cafes. EUR 66 (booked on tour)

Our guide will meet us at the ship, where we'll set off on foot for the subway station to discover the high art of Viennese living. We'll stroll through the city and visit back stage in the Konzerthaus concert hall, which has the Vienna Symphony, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Wiener Singakademie and Klangforum Wien in residence. We'll tour the prominent institution that features about 750 events per year with our guide who will explain the hall's history. We'll head back stage where we might be able to catch a glimpse of a performer or two! After our tour, relax in one of the local cafés and enjoy a steaming cup of Vienna Coffee and a delicious pastry. After our tour, we'll return to the ship on the subway.

In the afternoon, you may want to join the below optional activity.

Optional Tour - Guided tour of the Hofburg, Residency of the Habsburgs and Sisi museum.

Departure by coach with your local guide. You will discover the Hofburg, which is also known for having been during 600 years the "Winter Residency" of the Habsburgs. Over the course of their reign, they turned this small 13th century fortress into a colossal and beautiful palace. The different buildings today mostly house museums and the gardens, dotted with monuments, have become the Volksgarten and the Burggarten.

We will climb up the Emperor's Staircase to reach the Sisi Museum which extends over six rooms that have been equipped to solely center on Elisabeth's private life. Here numerous personal items that once belonged to Elisabeth are used to help illustrate the true personality of the frequently misunderstood Empress. The sensitively designed exhibits are inspired by the monarch's poetry and illustrate how the once light-hearted young girl, Sisi, became a restless, unapproachable and melancholic woman. The more than 300 items on display in the museum include parasols, boxes and gloves which once belonged to Elisabeth, along with a reconstruction of the evening dress worn by 16 year old Sisi in 1854 before she left her home in Munich, and a replica of a section of her imperial railway carriage.

We'll then move on to Imperial Apartments and access the 19 official and private rooms that once belonged to Franz Joseph and Elisabeth. The Imperial Apartments are a reflection of the monarchic splendor. You will get to see the Emperor's Audience Chamber, his Conference Room, and his bedroom before peering through Elizabeth's apartments with her salons, lavatory and bathroom and her dressing and exercise room where Elizabeth spent most of her time. Return to the boat.

This evening join an included guided tour of Vienna by night. This two-thousand-year-old city is a true open-air museum. Vienna embodies Romanticism through its powerful architecture and numerous monuments. We'll take the famous Ring which encircles historic Vienna, on the right bank of the Danube. Our coach will go past a multitude of buildings that were erected under the old Austro-Hungarian monarchy: the Opera, the City Hall, the Hofburg and many official buildings. We will stop at Schwarzenbergplatz with a monument in honor of Johann Strauss. Then, a walk around Albertina quarter will allow us to admire Hofburg Palace, the winter residence of the Habsburgs which today houses the Sisi Museum, as well as the Augustinian Church where Franz Joseph and Sisi's wedding was conducted. Return to the boat by coach.

We'll begin to cruise during the night.

The morning will be spent cruising. In the afternoon, you will join a guided tour of Budapest. First we will head for the hills of Buda by crossing the Elizabeth Bridge and we will go up to the Castle quarter, from where we'll enjoy a fantastic panoramic view of the city. We will walk round the castle quarter and on to the Fisherman's Bastion, built in neo-Roman style in 1902 for the simple pleasure of offering a panoramic view over the city and the Danube. Behind the Bastion, we will find Matthias Church which notably was the venue for the coronation of Emperor Franz Joseph and his wife "Sissi".

Our coach will then take us down to the plains of Pest. There, we will visit Heroes' Square whose central monument depicting Prince Arpad and the chieftains of seven Magyar tribes was built for the millennium of Hungary. We will pass by the famous Szechenyi thermal baths, the zoo - a true piece of architecture - Vajdahunyad Castle and more. We will walk through the famous Andrassy Avenue and pass by St. Stephen's Basilica whose construction began in 1851 and was only completed in 1905. We will walk along the river and see the famous Parliament building overlooking the Danube with its white silhouette in the Byzantine and neo-Gothic styles.

Enjoy an evening of "operetta music” on board.

Today enjoy a free day in Budapest (lunch not included) or join the below optiona tour.

Optional Tour - Full day in the Puszta. EUR 92 (if booked while on tour)

Departure by coach in the company of your guides to Lajosmisze and the Puszta.
Riding aboard a charabanc - a traditional horse-drawn carriage with wooden benches - you'll be amazed by the wonderful landscapes and unusual fauna of the Puszta. In a small part of the Hungarian Steppe, you'll get to observe Racka sheep with their spiral-shaped horns, Mangalica pigs with their curly coats and Hungarian Grey cattle with their long, curved horns, as well as rare species of birds. In the course of your visit, you'll get the chance to attend a traditional horse show while tasting* "palinka" (plum eau-de-vie) and some "pogacsa" (small savory buns) as well as mineral water, sheltered from the sun under a thatched roof. The csikós, the mounted horse-herdsmen of Hungary dressed in traditional blue attire, will invite you to take part in their "games of skill and ability”.

For lunch, you'll be able to taste local specialties served in a "czardas” (a traditional tavern) surrounded by Hungarian musicians. Afterwards, you'll set out for a visit of Kecskemét on foot. Located in the central part of Hungary, the city shelters various Fine Arts institutes. Several of its buildings have given the city its fame. You'll be able to admire the Cifrapalota - a palace in Rococo style ornate with colorful patterns and flowers - that is today home to the Kecskemét Art Gallery, as well as the impressive City Hall, the former Synagogue that was turned into an office building by the Soviets, and more.

Our ship will cruise through the night.

The morning will be spent cruising. In the afternoon, you will join a local guide on a guided tour of Bratislava. Before becoming the capital of independent Slovakia in 1993, Bratislava was first of all the capital of Hungary from 1536 to 1784 under the name of Presburg. It then belonged to Czechoslovakia before becoming the capital of the "Slovak Socialist Republic" as part of Czechoslovakia between 1969 and 1992. Along with your guides, you will begin the visit with a panoramic tour of the city which will take you to Bratislava Castle (outsides), which dates from 1811, after the previous castle burned down, and from where you will enjoy a breathtaking view over the Danube and the city.

The main historical monuments are located in the Old Town and the coach will drop you off at its entrance to continue the visit on foot. You will enter through Michael's Gate, which is the only gate still surviving from the Middle-Ages. Then you will head for the central square surrounded by elegant buildings, some in Art Nouveau style, and dominated by the old Bratislava Town Hall. The tour continues with the Primate's Palace (outsides) completed in 1781 for Archbishop Jozef Bathyany. As you stroll through the streets, you may come across some of the amusing statues that are dotted around the capital. After the guided tour, you will have some free time and will return to the boat on foot or by coach depending on sailing

We'll cruise to Dürnstein. Tonight is our gala evening and dinner.

Enjoy a free time in Dürnstein, the fortified village where Richard the Lionheart was once held prisoner. Afterwards, we'll cruise to Melk by crossing the wonderful Wachau Valley.

In the afternoon you will join a guided tour of the Melk Abbey. Departy the ship by coach in company of your host/hostess towards Melk Abbey. We will meet up with our guides in the inner courtyard to start our visit. The Abbey overlooking the Danube was first built as the Babenberg's fortified castle. It was founded in the 11th century and the current buildings of the Benedictine abbey date from the Baroque era and were designed by architect Jakob Prandtauer.

Melk Abbey now houses a museum in which you'll discover several rooms that have been enhanced thanks to architecture, sound and light as well as the use of various types of media. Computer animations will tell you a story about the construction of the edifices. You will also visit the marble hall, the world famous library and the bedchambers where a number of illustrious visitors have slept.

This evening we'll cruise to Linz.

Enjoy one last buffet breakfast on board before disembarking at 9:00 a.m. Make your way to Linz train station (approximately EUR 10 by taxi or Uber) and board your train to Salzburg. Once in Salzburg, make your way to your accommodation. Your hotel is centrally located and a taxi or Uber will cost you approximately EUR 10.

Today you will join a guided tour to the Salt mines. Make your way to the the tour starting point (approximtely EUR 10 by taxi or UBer). Joined by your local guide you will head south out of the city towards the Salt mines. Before entering the mine you will dress like a miner (protective clothing provided) and then travel by miner’s train into the heart of the mountain.

Once inside this remarkable underground world, the knowledgeable local miner/guide will amaze you with tales of the history of the salt, how it was mined, transported and used. Going down further into the caverns you can use the miners’ slides, great fun for all ages. Then be amazed within the mountain as you travel by raft across a Salt Lake. Finally after touring these enchanting underground labyrinths we return to the outside world on the same train.

At the appropriate time, make your way back to Salzburg train station (approximately EUR 10 by taxy or Uber) and board your train to Munich Airport in time to catch your ongoing flight.