Dazzling Upper & Lower Danube: Nuremberg to the Iron Gates

Nuremberg combines Old World beauty with a complex past. Surrounded by 14th-century walls, its Old Town is filled with landmarks such as the fortified Königstor gate, Nuremberg Castle, and the 12th-century Church of St. Sebald. Yet the city is equally known for its 20th-century history: once a major center of Nazi power, it later became the stage for the Nuremberg Trials, where leading war criminals were brought to justice. Today, the Beautiful Fountain still draws attention at the city’s heart, its brass rings said to bring good fortune to those who spin them.

Why has there been a hunting lodge called Ratibor in the Franconian town of Roth since 1535? Because its margrave builder financed it with the income from his Silesian estates. It is and remains the jewel in the crown of a town with a thousand years of history. The lanes between the castle and the market square are lined with architectural monuments, including the late-Gothic town church and the 400-year-old Riffelmacherhaus, one of the most beautiful half-timbered houses in Franconia.

One of the most beautiful cities in the world and Germany's best-preserved medieval city, Regensburg's unique UNESCO World Heritage is built on a legacy of aristocrats, bishops, craftsmen—and a sausage restaurant whose roots date back to 1146! Around almost every corner is evidence of the many cultures and influences that crafted this amazing city over the past 2,000 years. It's a haven of narrow alleyways, ancient fortifications, patrician houses, impressive churches, and a Stone Bridge that has spanned the Danube since the Middle Ages.

Situated along the Route of Emperors and Kings where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz Rivers meet, Passau was settled as early as the Neolithic Age. During the Renaissance, this City of Three Rivers was a major manufacturing center of swords, crafting bladed weapons stamped with the Passau wolf, which legend claimed would grant invulnerability. Today, the most famous sights lining the narrow cobblestone streets of the Old Town are the artistic Town Hall and the Baroque St. Stephen's Cathedral with its green-domed towers and one of the largest organs in the world.

Austria’s third largest city, Linz is a European Capital of Culture worth exploring. Highlights include the Feichtinger House with its Glockenspiel, Castle Museum, Lentos Art Museum, and the Neo-Gothic Mariendom with its impressive stained-glass windows and 20,000-person seating capacity. A hike up Pöstlingberg Hill delivers outstanding views over the Danube and is best followed by a coffee and piece of scrumptious Linzer Torte, invented here as the world's first cake!

No visit to the Wachau Valley is complete without visiting Austria’s prettiest abbey. Built on a rocky promontory overlooking the Danube, Melk Abbey's origins date back to 1089. Today, it is one of Europe's finest examples of Baroque architecture, where Benedictine monks still farm the land and operate what is now the oldest school in Austria. Highlights include the library of ancient manuscripts, frescoed ceiling, stunning spiral staircases, and the ornate abbey church.

Vienna is a city that defies simple description. Over the centuries, it has been an imperial city, seat of the Holy Roman Empire, capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and capital of sovereign Austria. Today, Vienna retains the grand Baroque architecture, historic style, and Lebenskunst (art of living) that attracted famous composers like Mozart and Strauss. It's a wonderland of lavish palaces and cathedrals, world-class museums and music venues, atmospheric coffee houses, and romantic fiakers (horse-drawn carriages) clip-clopping past it all.

One of the most beautiful cities in the world, the wonders of Budapest rise up along both banks of the Danube in a truly impressive way. Along with Heroes' Square with its Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, awe-inspiring Hungarian Parliament Building, and the lavish Castle District with photogenic Fishermen's Bastion, the city is home to a captivating Jewish district and the second-largest synagogue in the world, an intricate underground cave system, and some of Europe's most famous thermal baths.

The port town of Mohács holds an interesting distinction. Battles here in 1526 and 1687 marked both the beginning and the end of Ottoman rule over Hungary. The town's origin dates back much earlier than that, though, as a Roman camp on the banks of the Danube. Today, one of Mohács most colorful traditions is the annual Busójárás Carnival, a lively display of music and dancing, cowbells and clappers, wooden pitchforks and puppets, food and drink, mask-carving and bonfires, all to chase winter away.

Born on the banks of the Danube when Serbian merchants formed a colony across from Petrovaradin Fortress in 1694, Novi Sad has evolved into a haven of Serbian culture, earning it the nickname of "Serbian Athens". Home to a soaring cathedral, Bishop's Palace, theater, Jewish Synagogue, and more, Serbia's second-largest city is also a bustling university town that was named Youth Capital of Europe in 2019 and a European Capital of Culture in 2022.

Situated along the famed Orient Express, where the Danube and Sava Rivers meet is Belgrade, one of the Danube's four riverside capitals. This is one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities—a place sieged, razed, and bombed by outsiders trying to control it. Today, the one-time capital of Yugoslavia is a thriving hub of government, finance, and urban renewal of many former communist-era districts. It is home to the Church of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches; the famous Nikola Tesla Museum; Kalemegdan Fortress; and more.

Located in the Veliki Kazan gorge, a section of the famed Iron Gates in Đerdap National Park, is Donji Milanovac, whose peaceful Serbian beauty is breathtaking. So much so, in fact, that filmmakers flock here, earning it the nickname of "Serbian Hollywood". Nearby, archaeologists have unearthed sculptures, weapons, and tools up to 9,000 years old that bear witness to an advanced Stone Age civilization—Lepenski Vir, one of the oldest settlements in Europe.

During its long and tumultuous history, Vidin has seen some things. It’s a place with ancient Roman roots. It was subjugated for half a millennium by the Ottoman Turks, and it suffered a devastating flood in 1942. Today Vidin provides a major border crossing to neighboring Romania. The Old Town is an engaging potpourri of architectural diversity that includes austere structures from the Socialist era. Highlights include many old Orthodox churches, a synagogue, mosque, indominatable Baba Vida fortress, and a growing reputation for its wine production.

Giurgiu sits among the mud flats and marshes of the Danube's left bank. Three small islands face the city, and a larger one shelters its port. This one-time exporter of timber, grain, salt, and petroleum was served by a railway to Bucharest that was built in 1869, the first line opened in Romania. This also placed Giurgiu on the map among wealthy globetrotters as it became a stop for the legendary Orient Express. By 1954, Giurgiu had another feather in its cap, when the steel-truss Friendship Bridge opened over the Danube, connecting Romania to neighboring Bulgaria.