Route Search
My Account
Impressions
You are located in United States.Your booking will be managed in « $ ».
Share route:
Share Link on Facebook Share Link on Twitter Share Link on WhatsApp Share Link via E-Mail
If you only have a little time to spare, then Carpe Diem—seize the day (or, in this case, seize the 5 days of this memorable Danube River jaunt). Spend time in some of Europe`s most striking cities, towns, and villages, including Passau, Germany’s City of Three Rivers where the Danube, Inn, and Ilz Rivers come together; Linz, birthplace of the world’s first cake (which is, incidentally, still made today); and lovely Dürnstein with its looming clifftop castle ruin and striking blue and white abbey. You’ll also cruise through the incredible Wachau Valley, a splendid UNESCO World Heritage Site overflowing with riverbank castles, terraced vineyards, and apricot orchards. Your adventure concludes in Vienna, the celebrated City of Music, where opulent palaces and grandiose architecture lining almost every street positively invite you to waltz!
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!
Grein is primarily known for its castle, which has been towering over the river for 500 years. The former hunting castle features a knights' hall, stone theater lined with Renaissance-era pebbles from the river, and diamond vault. Grein is also home to Austria's oldest still-active theater, which is filled with oddities, like locking front-row seats, a curtained-off toilet right in the theater so audience members wouldn't miss the performance, and a "jail seat" where prisoners could watch the show through a window!
If ever a town was the embodiment of quaint, it's Dürnstein. Sitting right at the entrance to the celebrated Wachau Valley, everything about this village is hospitable—even the vineyards extend right to the riverbanks to greet visitors. Highlights include the striking blue and white Stiftskirche, and the castle ruin looming over town that once imprisoned King Richard the Lionheart, according to legends. Welcoming shops and wine taverns serving up the Wachau's delectable wines and sweet apricots make this a wonderful place to spend time.
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.