Rhine Holiday Markets

Do you have a special wish for Christmas? Write it in the Wish Book, which lies open in Basel’s 17th-century Town Hall during Advent, waiting for residents and visitors to express their hopes and dreams for the holiday—or for the world. Your local expert will take you past the Town Hall, whose red-brick walls feature paintings by Hans Bock, so you’ll know right where to go after your tour. The 800-year-old Münster, with its red sandstone walls, multi-colored roof tiles, and twin towers, is equally spectacular; spread out before it you’ll find the wondrous Christmas Market. With more than 150 stands, it offers many locally made craft items, unique ornaments, and delicious seasonal baked goods. Warm your hands on a mug of hot mulled wine as you browse. 

After exploring this Swiss treat, you’ll want to visit the town’s illuminated Christmas Street, which is beautifully decorated with more than 100 Christmas trees. If you’re looking for truly unique gifts, stop by Johann Wanner’s shop, with its array of elegant angel ornaments, blown-glass figurines, and pewter Victorian miniatures. You’ll also find museums and art galleries, specialty shops, and cozy wainscoted restaurants near Market Square.

Please note that on or after Christmas Eve, the Christmas Market will likely have ended its season and not be part of this tour.

Catch the highlights of multinational Strasbourg from the warmth of a comfortable motorcoach: it’s a city with deep connections to both France and Germany. The European Quarter—Strasbourg is home to many EU institutions—is stunningly modern, but you’ll find a beautifully preserved old town to explore on foot. Enchanting half-timbered houses line the canals of Petite France, one of the oldest districts, and the medieval cathedral—a religious institution has stood in its spot for 3,000 years—is extraordinary. Step inside with your guide to see the 15th-century astronomical clock and the gorgeous rose window (the craftsmen who built Chartres Cathedral created it). Since Strasbourg calls itself the Capital of Christmas, you won’t be surprised to find that this town really goes all out for the holidays. The Christmas tree on Place Kléber towers over hundreds of stalls—but it’s only one part of the market, which spreads through 10 neighboring locations, all of them both historic and wonderfully decorated. Browse on your own among chalets stocked with finely crafted toys, ceramics, jewelry, and handmade Nativity figurines, not to mention the giant toy storks in Santa hats that are a playful tribute to Strasbourg’s beloved storks, and keep warm with mulled wine and holiday treats like buche de Noël.

Please note that on or after Christmas Eve, the Christmas Market will likely have ended its season and not be part of this tour.

Alsace is famous for its excellent cuisine, which combines French and German elements in delectable and unique ways. Roam through Petite France with your local expert, where the little shops are all charmingly decked out for Christmas, and explore the Christmas Market set up in Broglie Square. Stroll from chalet to chalet, as the stalls are known here, which brim with ornaments, pretzels, steaming vats of mulled wine, and Alsace’s best-known Christmas cookies, called bredele. There are many kinds—hirschhörnle, anise, makrenle, rochers, speculatius—each with a distinctive shape, history, and flavoring, all of which your guide can tell you about as you sample them.

During the afternoon, you will have some free time to wander through the beautiful Old Town. You might want to spend more time at the Christmas Market, which takes on an especially festive look as darkness falls and the lights illuminate the entire area; visit the magnificent cathedral; or simply stroll along the lanes of Petite France. You could learn about Alsatian wines in the medieval wine cellars of the old city hospital, spend some time among the treasures of the Rohan Palace’s museums, or shop along the Grand Arcades. Stop for a warm drink at a café on Place Gutenberg, named for the man who invented moveable type here in Strasbourg some 560 years ago.

Shuttles will be available to take you to and from the ship, in case you want to drop off your finds and return for more.

Join a local guide for a walking tour of enchanting Baden-Baden, which will bring you past two thermal baths and the city’s famous Casino. Gain further appreciation for the Romans and their love of natural spa facilities as you pass by the Fettquelle, a public thermal fountain where it is believed that the water is health-promoting. After learning about the curative powers of Baden-Baden’s water sources, visit the local Christmas Market for a festive end to your tour.

For a different spin on the Palatinate wine region, visit the Weinessiggut Doktorenhof estate for a special vinegar tasting. Yes, you read that right—a vinegar tasting. Founded by Georg Wiedemann some 30 years ago, Doktorenhof produces vinegars from premium wines, rather than inexpensive ones. Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner, Riesling, and Pinot Noir are aged with a century-old vinegar “mother,” as the bacteria that makes vinegar is known, and flavored with a variety of herbs and fruits. Most importantly, Wiedemann and his family run their farm and vineyards with the utmost care, tending to them with natural materials only.

The results make complex and elegant aperitifs, intended to be sipped from a specially designed long-stemmed glass between courses or after a meal. The atmospheric tasting room (think candles, cloaks, and choir music) is like no other you’ll ever experience, and the candlelit tasting room is decked for the holidays. You’ll have plenty of time to explore their enticing gift shop, too.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience supports Global Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

For a different spin on the Palatinate wine region, visit the Weinessiggut Doktorenhof estate for a special vinegar tasting. Yes, you read that right—a vinegar tasting. Founded by Georg Wiedemann some 30 years ago, Doktorenhof produces vinegars from premium wines, rather than inexpensive ones. Gewürztraminer, Sylvaner, Riesling, and Pinot Noir are aged with a century-old vinegar “mother,” as the bacteria that makes vinegar is known, and flavored with a variety of herbs and fruits. Most importantly, Wiedemann and his family run their farm and vineyards with the utmost care, tending to them with natural materials only.

The results make complex and elegant aperitifs, intended to be sipped from a specially designed long-stemmed glass between courses or after a meal. The atmospheric tasting room (think candles, cloaks, and choir music) is like no other you’ll ever experience, and the candlelit tasting room is decked for the holidays. You’ll have plenty of time to explore their enticing gift shop, too.

This MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience supports Global Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.

Take a walk with your Cruise Manager through the charming town of Mainz in all its wintertime charm. You'll head straight towards the local Christmas Market, where you'll find hundreds of stalls laid out in front of the town cathedral. The market features a beautiful handmade Christmas pyramid—a traditional German holiday decoration comprised of a wooden tower and several figurines. This version is enormous compared to its typical household counterparts, with life-sized figurines standing at each level of the pyramid.

Follow your guide through the cobbled lanes of Rüdesheim while you hear about the vibrant life of this old and fascinating town. Walk down the famously quaint Drosselgasse alley and taste Rüdesheim’s hallmark treat—coffee splashed with brandy and topped with whipped cream.

Please note that on or after Christmas Eve, the Christmas Market will likely have ended its season and not be part of this tour.

Enjoy a wine tasting at your leisure with a visit to Rheinweinwelten in Rüdesheim. This local treasure trove of wines is sure to impress, with 14 different wine caves to explore. This experience can be enjoyed at your own pace and is not guided. There is, however, ample literature and information in each room about every one of the 160 distinct wines. You’ll receive 10 tokens at the start, with which you can choose to sample whichever vintages appeal to you most. Prost!

Watch the waters of the Moselle gush into the Rhine as you stand on the spit of land called German Corner. It’s an appropriate spot for a symbol of German unity: an equestrian statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I, erected in honor of German unification in 1871. Behind it is Koblenz’s oldest church, St. Castor’s Basilica, originally built in the ninth century and the first of the charming churches and squares you’ll encounter as you wander through Old Town. Like many Rhineland towns, Koblenz suffered at the hands of French forces under Louis XIV—that’s why you’ll see so many baroque features in the buildings you pass, since so many needed to be rebuilt after the French left. That’s also why the Church of Our Lady has twin onion domes. Originally built in the Middle Ages on the highest point in Koblenz, the lovely church that stands in this spot now mostly dates to the early 1700s. Following your tour, delve into the Koblenz Christmas Market, which spills from square to square, with stalls full of unique Rhine Valley handicrafts, baked goods, and wines. Be sure to check out the Advent calendar in the baroque town hall’s windows.

Please note that on or after Christmas Eve, the Christmas Market will likely have ended its season and not be part of this tour.

Follow your guide around some of the most popular sites of Cologne, the largest city on the Rhine. You’ll pass the old fish market, City Hall with its Renaissance façade, and the old Jewish mikvah (a bath used for ritual cleansing).

Meander through the narrow, cobbled lanes of Old Town, lined with traditional houses in every color and a plethora of restaurants and pubs. One of the city’s 12 Romanesque churches provides a castle-like backdrop to this quaint, riverside quarter of Cologne.

Your local expert will take you all the way to the Domplatte, the square where you’ll find the Cologne Cathedral. Should you wish, you can head inside this Gothic building on your own to see the Shrine of the Magi and the beautiful stained-glass windows. The famous Cologne Christmas Market is held in the square just outside the cathedral. Enjoy the festivities during your free time after the tour.