Illuminations on the Danube (Eastbound) Cruise

Day 1 - Vilshofen

Arrive: Sun 26 April 2026 / Depart: Sun 26 April 2026

Day 2 - Passau (Munich)

Arrive: Mon 27 April 2026 / Depart: Mon 27 April 2026

Passau, a German city on the Austrian border, lies at the confluence of the Danube, Inn and Ilz rivers. Known as the Three Rivers City, it's overlooked by the Veste Oberhaus, a 13th-century hilltop fortress housing a city museum and observation tower. The old town below is known for its baroque architecture, including St. Stephen's Cathedral, featuring distinctive onion-domed towers and an organ with 17,974 pipes.

Day 3 - Linz (Salzburg)

Arrive: Tue 28 April 2026 / Depart: Tue 28 April 2026

Linz is a city in Upper Austria, straddling the Danube River midway between Salzburg and Vienna. Baroque buildings, including Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) and the old cathedral or Alter Dom, ring Hauptplatz, the old town’s main square. The riverside Lentos Kunstmuseum Linz has a major modern art collection. Across the river, the striking Ars Electronica Center focuses on society, technology and life in the future.

Day 4 - Melk

Arrive: Wed 29 April 2026 / Depart: Wed 29 April 2026

Melk is an Austrian town on the River Danube, west of Vienna. It’s known for the 11th-century Melk Abbey, a vast monastery built high above the town. Gold statuary adorns its domed Abbey Church, and the huge library houses medieval manuscripts. The Marmorsaal is a baroque hall with a ceiling fresco and red marble walls. South of Melk, gardens surround Renaissance Schallaburg Castle, which hosts cultural exhibitions.

Day 4 - Wachau Valley

Arrive: Wed 29 April 2026 / Depart: Wed 29 April 2026

The Wachau Valley is an Austrian region near the Danube River, west of Vienna. It’s known for its rolling hills, vineyards and fortresses. Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in the castle above the town of Dürnstein. Highlights of nearby Gottweig Abbey include its lavish baroque church and views across the valley. Melk Abbey is a vast monastery also with an opulent baroque church.

Day 4 - Krems

Arrive: Wed 29 April 2026 / Depart: Wed 29 April 2026

Krems an der Donau is a town of 23,992 inhabitants in Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria. It is the fifth-largest city of Lower Austria and is approximately 70 kilometres west of Vienna. Krems is a city with its own statute, and therefore it is both a municipality and a district.

Day 4 - Wachau Valley

Arrive: Wed 29 April 2026 / Depart: Wed 29 April 2026

The Wachau Valley is an Austrian region near the Danube River, west of Vienna. It’s known for its rolling hills, vineyards and fortresses. Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned in the castle above the town of Dürnstein. Highlights of nearby Gottweig Abbey include its lavish baroque church and views across the valley. Melk Abbey is a vast monastery also with an opulent baroque church.

Day 5 - Vienna, Austria

Arrive: Thu 30 April 2026

Day 6 - Vienna, Austria

Depart: Fri 01 May 2026

Day 7 - Bratislava

Arrive: Sat 02 May 2026 / Depart: Sat 02 May 2026

Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, is set along the Danube River by the border with Austria and Hungary. It’s surrounded by vineyards and the Little Carpathian mountains, crisscrossed with forested hiking and cycling trails. The pedestrian-only, 18th-century old town is known for its lively bars and cafes. Perched atop a hill, the reconstructed Bratislava Castle overlooks old town and the Danube.

Day 8 - Esztergom, Hungary

Arrive: Sun 03 May 2026 / Depart: Sun 03 May 2026

Day 8 - Visegrad

Arrive: Sun 03 May 2026 / Depart: Sun 03 May 2026

Day 9 - Budapest

Arrive: Mon 04 May 2026

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube. Its 19th-century Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with flat Pest. A funicular runs up Castle Hill to Buda’s Old Town, where the Budapest History Museum traces city life from Roman times onward.

Day 10 - Budapest

Depart: Tue 05 May 2026

Budapest, Hungary’s capital, is bisected by the River Danube. Its 19th-century Chain Bridge connects the hilly Buda district with flat Pest. A funicular runs up Castle Hill to Buda’s Old Town, where the Budapest History Museum traces city life from Roman times onward.