Emerald River Cruise: Budapest to Munich

Welcome to Budapest, where you’ll be met at the airport and transferred to your contemporary Emerald Cruises Star-Ship, before enjoying plenty of free time to explore the Hungarian capital at your leisure. This evening, enjoy an authentic Hungarian folklore show on board, followed by a traditional dinner.

This morning, relax on board as we sail to Bratislava. An ancient landscape awaits, where remarkable towers add to a skyline that perfectly encapsulates the history of the city, and preserved medieval fortifications tell tales of a turbulent past. Your local guide will take you through the heart of the city, as you soak in the sights of the lavish Episcopal Summer Palace and the neo-Renaissance façade of the Slovak National Theatre. If you’re feeling more active, you could instead choose to hike around the serene gardens of Bratislava Castle, which provides the perfect setting for the Shakespeare festival that occurs during the summer months. This afternoon, you will be invited into the home of a local family to learn more about their traditions and culture over coffee and cake.

Sweeping boulevards and world-famous art exhibitions welcome you to Vienna, a city which perfectly encapsulates the opulence of the Habsburg Monarchy and their ornate Baroque palaces. The Austrian capital is an art-lover's dream, and your guided tour will include a visit to the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the largest art museum in the country and one of the most important museums worldwide. If you’re feeling more active, then you may opt to explore on two wheels instead, cycling along the riverbanks before touching on Danube Island and Prater, the famous Viennese amusement park, home to the traditional 19th-century Ferris wheel.

This morning, we arrive in Regensburg, a city built on the site of an ancient Roman fort. Your guided walking tour of Regensburg will showcase its UNESCO World Heritage-listed medieval centre, where narrow cobbled lanes and tall façades help to define the character of this enchanting Bavarian city. We will stop for a local Bavarian sausage tasting so you get a real feel of the daily life in Regensburg. Alternatively, you could join a bike tour to the Walhalla monument, which towers high above the slopes of the Danube. From here, you can enjoy a fascinating view of the surrounding landscape and the river. This evening, enjoy a traditional Bavarian band performance on board.

Nuremberg is a medieval city located in northern Bavaria in Germany. It is Bavaria's second largest city and is noted for its iconic red roofed buildings and medieval architecture. The imperial Castle overlooks Nuremberg and was one of the most important fortifications of the Roman Empire. For more significant cultural history, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, one of the largest cultural history museums in the German-speaking world, offers visitors exhibitions from prehistoric times all the way to the present day. Walking tours around the city offer an enjoyable and active way to learn of Nuremberg’s history and culture.. Nuremberg is also home to one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, where visitors can purchase traditional handmade decorations and enjoy the famous gingerbread, mulled wine, and grilled sausage from over one hundred and eighty wooden stalls.