Christmas Markets Along the Danube

Itinerary

Magic’s in the air at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz in front of the city hall, Vienna’s oldest and largest Christmas market... live music, tastefully lit trees, holiday arts and crafts, tempting treats and smiling faces are everywhere. And at opulent Schönbrunn Palace, you’ll tour rooms that the Habsburgs once lived in, and browse through lovely hand-blown glass ornaments, red Viennese hearts, Victorian-style sweets and other treasures in the palace’s own, equally impressive Christmas Market... guaranteed to warm your heart.
 

• Day 1: Arrive Vienna, Austria

  "Key highlights include a visit to Vienna Rathausplatz Christmas Market, embarking ms Swiss Jewel and a City of Lights tour."

• Day 2: Vienna

  Highlights include Vienna sightseeing, Schönbrunn Palace tour & Christmas Market visit

• Day 3: Melk

  Highlights include awakening in Melk, visit Melk Abbey and Continue cruising to Linz

• Day 4: Linz

  Explore Linz or join an excursion to Salzburg for Christmas Market visit, Lunch at Stiftskeller St. Peter and visit Linz Christmas Market

• Day 5: Passau

  Arrive Passau / Gingerbread-making demonstration at Café Simon / Passau walking tour & Christmas Market visit

• Day 6: Regensburg

  Visit to Regensburg Christmas Market / Exclusive visit to Thurn und Taxis Palace & private Christmas Market

• Day 7: Munich

  Munich Christmas Market / Arrive Nürnberg for Christmas Market visit, farewell dinner & city lights walking tour

• Day 8: Nürnberg

  Depart Nürnberg, Germany
   

• Melk

  Perched high on a rocky bluff overlooking the Danube and the town of Melk, Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) has shone as a beacon of culture and learning since its founding nearly a millennium ago. Visit the monastery’s 18th-century Baroque complex, home to a magnificent church adorned with gold statues and frescoes, a stunning library containing medieval manuscripts, and its own Christmas legend – about a miraculous visit from the Virgin Mary and the Christ child, and a young novice whose juggling so entertained the infant that he clapped for joy.

• Salzburg / Linz

  The angelic voices of choirs singing carols on Cathedral Square... the pealing bells of old Salzburger Dom, overlooking neat rows of lit-up booths fragrant with the aroma of roasted almonds and hot mulled wine... ornate Baroque domes, towers and rooftops tipped with snow in the heart of Old Town... the clatter of horse-drawn carriages over cobblestoned streets... sweet candy apples and marzipan... the warm laughter of families having the time of their lives... and music everywhere, in the city that gave us Mozart. The Christmas Markets of Salzburg... a true feast for the senses that continues with lunch at the historic Stiftskeller St. Peter and a visit to Linz’s Christkindlmarkt... the curving roofs of its stalls symbolizing the waves of the Danube.

• Passau

  Navigating the narrow lanes and archways of this Bavarian town on the Danube and Inn rivers is a pleasure any time of year – but never more so than now, when the Christmas Market transforms Passau’s historic Baroque center into a wonderland brimming with bratwurst, lebkuchen, glühwein and good cheer. At the center of it all is St. Stephan’s Cathedral, whose massive pipe organ – the largest in Europe – stars in concerts throughout the season. Your day in Passau includes a visit to Café Simon to see how they’ve been making their delicious gingerbread for four generations.

• Regensburg

  Sausages and song are big in Regensburg, as your visit to its centuries-old Christkindlmarkt on the Neupfarrplatz will attest. Market goers feast on the city’s famed sausages, along with steamed dampfnudel dumplings, gingerbread, roast chestnuts and, naturally, glühwein from Bavarian claret, as they admire the work of glassblowers, chandlers and potters, and listen to the joyous strains of the acclaimed Regensburger Domspatzen choir – some of whose alumni will perform on your riverboat tonight! The Thurn und Taxis family’s Palace of St. Emmeram is the setting for your exclusive tour and visit to its private Christmas Market.

• Munich

  Woodcarvings from Oberammergau... lebkuchen from Nürnberg... glassware from the Bavarian forest... just a few of the must-have holiday treasures inviting you to Munich’s Weihnachtsmarkt – among the oldest and most magical in Europe, held today on the Marienplatz. It’s the largest of 20 or so diverse markets scattered throughout the city, from the Kripperlmarkt, specializing in nativity items, to the Tollwood ethnic festival on the Theresienwiese. Walk, eat, drink, sing, laugh, discover... it’s Christmastime in Munich... and ours is the only Christmas Market riverboat cruise that takes you there – in Tauck Style!

• Nürnberg

  On Nürnberg’s main market square opposite the Church of Our Lady sits the most famous Christmas Market in Germany, with its iconic, golden-haired Christmas Angel and charming Zwetchgenmannle (“Plum People”) – unique to Bavaria and made from dried plums and other fruits. By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, this “Little Town from Wood and Cloth” will have welcomed two million folks from around the globe, delighting them with its authentic ornaments, Christmas candles, cookies, tasty fruit loaves, tangy gingerbread, handmade toys and glühwein – including you!

* All prices shown are for low season, per person, twin share. Click here to see full Terms & Conditions.