Some of the short Rhine cruise allow the visitor to see five countries in five days. A Rhine cruise is interspersed with several modern city tours.

Basel is the gateway to the Swiss Rhineland and is Switzerland’s second biggest city. Although it is an old city and retains many medieval and eighteen century landmarks it has a modern museum of fine arts reflecting modern works by Pablo Ruiz Picasso and Salvador Dali. Among landmarks in the old quarter are the Cathedral which has sections that were built in the 9th century, and the Town Hall which dates to the 16th century. Much of the cities steep streets are cobbled and the whole experience of Basel is rather quaint despite the fact that it is now a multi cultural modern city. The first night is then spent cruising to arrive at Breisach in the morning.

 Breisach is the gateway to the Black Forest and area is lush forests set on the areas mountainous landscape, deep meadows, and green fields. Like many German towns Breisach is dominated by the Cathedral of St. Stephanus. The height of this building means that it can be observed from any River Rhine cruise boat. There are many cuckoo clock manufacturers in the area and most Rhine cruise boats allow time to visit a factory within their schedule. Many of the Rhine cruise boats dock overnights and go to the French town of Strasbourg. Today Strasbourg is famous because the Place d’Austerlitz is the European parliament sits once a month. The surrounding countryside is full of vineyards.

Next day brings the Rhine cruise traveller back into Germany albeit by coach  to  Hiedelberg and Rüdesheim. Heidelberg is home to Germany’s oldest university founded in 1386. The dominant feature of Heidelberg is the red sandstone ruined castle which is perched on a hill overlooking the town and the old bridge over the Neckar River.  Even if the visitor does not visit the castle ruins there is plenty to see in Heidelberg. Many tourists stroll around the market place and the old town. Approximately 1,000,000 years ago, the “Heidelberg Man”, was found at Mauer and identified as the earliest evidence of human settlements in Europe.

The next port of call is usually Rüdesheim where many tourists stroll along the Drosselgasse, a pedestrianised street lined with restaurants, bars and shops. One of the attractions of the area is the mechanical music museum.
Cologne is famous for the invention of au de cologne the watered down version of perfume. Cologne’s old town offers a magnificent gothic cathedral to explore, but the modern town boasts a local brewery where it is possible to sample   local beer.

Arnhem in Eastern Netherlands is famous for the airborne museum. In World War II, during Operation Market Garden in September 1944, the British and the Polish Parachute Brigade were given the task of securing the bridge at Arnhem. However they failed and the attempt was dramatised in the 1977 film a Bridge Too Far. Amsterdam with its many canals offers a pretty city to explore, it has more cycle paths than any other city in Europe.

Gouda not surprisingly is home to the eponymous cheese, it is possible to visit a cheese factory and watch the cheese being made. Delft is famous for blue and white pottery and again there are possibilities to visit a working porcelain factory. Dordrecht is a charming Dutch town from which you can explore the windmills at Kinderdijk.
Bruges is an old medieval city famed for its gardens, the Gruuthuuze Palace and Simon Stevin Square. Antwerp boasts yet another Rhine Castle and an art gallery famous for its Reuben’s.

Bruges as a stop off  destination is particularly popular this year due to the movie “In Bruges”

I am sure you will now see why a Rhine cruise is fast growing in popularity in the world of cruise vacations.