Cruising The Rivers Of Europe

As river cruising is becoming more and more popular, I thought I would give you all a bit of information about the different rivers you can cruise in Europe.

The River Seine

The Seine is a major river of North Western France and one of its well-known commercial waterways, flowing through the centre of Paris beside such iconic sights as Notre Dame, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower you could not get a more romantic setting.

445km from its mouth, the River Seine is only around 24m above sea level and the average depth is only around 8m in Paris, which also makes it slow flowing and easily navigable.

The River Seine countinues from Paris meandering through the splendid countyside of Normandy to rouen meeting the English Channel between Le Havre and picturesque Honfleur.


The Douro River Valley

The home of port wine, the Douro Valley is spectacular with the hills covered with terraces of vines falling steeply down to the river banks. The Douro River originates in Spain and flows west in the north of Portugal until it reaches the ocean in Porto. What used to be a fast flowing river with rapids and ravines is today a tranquil river tamed by the construction of 8 dams in the last 25 years.

The Douro is particularly beautiful in autumn when the vines take a reddish and golden colour, but also in February-March when the almond blossom gives an added white pinkish tone to the region.

The Rhine, Moselle, Danube and Main

The mighty Rhine is one of Europe’s major arteries. It flows into the North Sea from its beginnings in the Alps, through Switzerland, Germany, France and Holland.
From Amsterdam heading upstream the lower Rhine travels colourful Dutch waterways through rich farmland to Cologne with its Old Town and great Gothic Cathedral.
The Rhine meets the Moselle at Koblenz, continues to the ancient fortress town of Boppard, and passes the famous Lorelei Rock on its way to the wine country town of Rudesheim with its lively Drosselgrasse of restaurants and taverns.

At Mainz the River Main leaves the Rhine which continues south, allowing a tour to romantic Heidelberg, the oldest university town in Germany. The upper Rhine then continues to Strasbourg, a cosmopolitan city on the French-German border with a soaring cathedral and colourful half-timbered buildings, and reaches Basle, Switzerland’s second largest city.

The Moselle is a more intimate river and meanders through woods and vineyards for over 160 miles. From Koblenz on the Rhine the river flows past hills dotted with romantic castles through wine villages such as Cochem, Bernkastel and Piesport to Trier, founded by the Romans 2000 years ago.

From the Rhine you can join the River Main, and via the Main Danube Canal cruise the River Danube to Vienna and Budapest, and on to the Black Sea.