Music, Arts & Craft of Switzerland and the Rhine

Arriving in Basel, we’ll transfer by coach to our luxurious ship.

From the moment you board, the welcoming crew will be at your service. In no time you’ll be settled into your luxurious, thoughtfully furnished accommodation and familiarising yourself with all the first-class aspects of this floating boutique hotel.

Our day starts with breakfast on board followed by a visit to a Swiss glass manufacture in Hergiswil. Here we’ll learn more about the history of glass making, walking through centuries of glassmaking history and finding out more about the workers who made this their craft. You may even have the opportunity to watch the glassblowers of today as they go about their rhythmical work – a technique passed down from generation to generation.

Next is Stanserhorn - one of the mountains near Lucerne - where we’ll take the unique Cabrio cable car high into the mountains. This naturally beautiful area is almost 1,900m above sea level, so you’ll be able to enjoy fresh mountain air and take in the amazing views of the Swiss Alps over lunch at your leisure.

Later we'll take a short drive through the Swiss countryside to Lucerne. Often called Switzerland's most beautiful city - and we have to agree - it's set on a crystal-clear lake and backed by mighty snow-capped mountains in the distance. Discerning travellers in the know have flocked to the city for two centuries, even our own Queen Victoria is said to have loved it here (and she was notoriously not easy to amuse). And it’s been the serene retreat for many composers such as Rachmaninoff, Toscanin and Wagner. Here we’ll enjoy a musical themed guided tour learning more about the famous musicians that found the inspiration to write some of their most remarkable work – including Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Tonight, you’ll enjoy another splendid dinner in the excellent restaurant as the ship remains moored in Basel overnight. 

Relax this morning on board whilst we sail to the ancient town of Breisach. After a leisurely breakfast why not find a comfortable chair and catch up on some reading, play chess or watch the rolling kaleidoscope of scenery from the Sun Deck?

Arriving in Breisach during lunch, after a morning sailing, we'll take a drive through some of Central Europe's most stunning scenery - the Black Forest Mountains. Rugged valleys, white-water rivers, and cascading waterfalls punctuate the densely packed pine trees that cover the rolling hillsides – it's exactly as you expect a fairytale landscape to be. Here, we'll go in search of the region's most famous handicrafts: carved wooden cuckoo clocks.  

The cuckoo clock is a German icon, and, to this day, the most sought-after models are produced in the Black Forest by family-owned workshops that have been passed down through the generations for hundreds of years. A cuckoo clock is only deemed authentic if all its essential parts have been made in the Black Forest region - a 100-mile stretch of pine trees so dense the sun struggles to reach the forest floor - where it has been developed and refined by wood carvers and cuckoo clock manufacturers. As part of our tour of the region, we'll visit a local craftsperson who creates the clocks using traditional - and more modern - methods and find out more about this unique craft.  

Later, we'll rejoin our ship and as the sun sets and the riverside lights begin to twinkle, you can enjoy the views through the restaurant's panoramic windows during dinner. Retire to the lounge to enjoy tonight's live performance of popular music spanning the years - including songs you might know from movies and TV screens - by a highly talented violin soloist, before we begin our journey towards Strasbourg.

We'll take our first steps into France in the capital of the Alsace region, Strasbourg, where we'll begin with a walking tour.

The picturesque 16th-century old town is a maze of narrow streets and canals lined with timber-framed houses and sculptured portals. On our tour, we'll visit the Alsatian Museum, for a sneak peek back through time to see life in Alsace in the 18th and 19th centuries. Housed in the traditional homes of Strasbourg, you'll see furniture homeware, toys, clothing, tools, sacred artefacts and images in around 30 rooms.

If time is on our side, we'll also stop in to see Saint Thomas Church. One of the many treasures here is the organ, which was played by Mozart in 1778. Proudly on display in the door of the console, you'll see a framed copy of a letter from Mozart to his father, in which he describes his experiences in Strasbourg. The church itself is an excellent example of Alsatian Gothic art and the choir is home to the mausoleum of Maréchal de Saxe - the count of Saxony and famed military commander. It's a solemn masterpiece of 18th-century baroque funerary art.

During lunch, our elegant vessel will glide away from Strasbourg as we commence an afternoon’s scenic cruising. You could head up to the sun deck and take in the views along the riverbank from a sun lounger or retire to the shady comfort of the lounge to chat over a coffee with newly made friends.  

As evening falls, and thoughts turn to what might be on the menu tonight, head to the relaxed ambience of the ship’s restaurant as the chef presents another delicious meal. We'll arrive in Speyer later tonight. 

We’ll remain moored in Speyer this morning to enjoy a guided tour of this delightful medieval gem. The city is one of Germany’s oldest, founded by the Celts and celebrated for its illustrious past. 

The breath-taking Imperial Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the largest Romanesque churches in the world and one of the finest. The beautiful four-roomed crypt, with its striking marble floors and pastel-coloured pillars, is the resting place of many Holy Roman emperors and German kings. 

Another landmark is the magnificent neo-Gothic Gedächtniskirche, built to commemorate the 1529 ‘Protestation at Speyer’, a significant event when a group of Martin Luther’s followers protested his imperial ban. Henceforth, Luther’s religious followers were known as Protestants. 

Returning on board for lunch, we’ll commence our cruise once again, so you can sit back and watch the idyllic scenery slipping past through the panoramic windows: rolling hills and fertile vineyards, home to the Liebfraumilch wines of the region, oxbow lakes, long deserted by the river flow and now havens for bird and wildlife.

This evening there’s a truly memorable occasion – the ‘Chef’s Dinner’, when the chef prepares his superb ‘signature’ dishes for you to enjoy in the splendid surroundings of the ship’s restaurant, featuring delicious specialities of the countries and regions we visit during our cruise.

Our vessel arrives in the classic Rhine wine village of Rüdesheim, so you might fancy wandering ashore to enjoy a digestif – perhaps a glass of Asbach, the famous brandy distilled locally.

After a night spent moored in Rüdesheim, we'll head out to explore the wine village with a visit to Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet. It’s a world of automatic musical instruments filled with a cornucopia of self-playing contraptions in the atmospheric setting of the Brömserhof, the residence of a fifteenth-century knight. It's a feast for the ears as much as the eyes as the amazing engineering serenades us with unknown and recognisable tunes. There are over 400 functioning instruments to see and hear.

This afternoon, we’ll witness a real highlight of the cruise, the dramatic Rhine Gorge: steep vineyards give way to almost vertical rocky outcrops, towering over 1,000 feet above the sweeping valley sides. Sailing past Saint Goar and the many ruined castles, you’ll get a real sense of the myths of this historic river coming alive around you. No legend is more famous than that surrounding the Loreley Rock, where a beautiful siren distracted hapless sailors, luring them to their deaths in the treacherous waters. 

As we sail you could sit back and enjoy as you listen to the beautiful music inspired by the stretch of water with its myths and legends – Die Lorelei by Heinrich Heine.  

Top tip: Head up to the sun deck as our captain skilfully navigates the ship through the huge looping bend at Boppard – it’s one of the most impressive on the river. And keep an eye out for the mighty Marksburg Castle too, an impressive fortress dating back to the 13th century. 

Soon after, we’ll arrive in picturesque Koblenz; founded by the Romans, the city is beautifully located at the confluence of the Rhine and its sister, the Moselle. 

On our guided tour, we’ll discover Koblenz’s maze of medieval buildings in the Altstadt – old town – which is studded with a fine array of traditional shops and classic Rhineland cafés. 

As you wander, historic buildings appear seemingly at every turn; see a former mint, the Four Towers – 17th-century houses with striking turrets set at a crossroads – and many fascinating squares and churches, including the 9th-century Basilica of Saint Kastor. 

Wherever you go you’re never far from a riverbank, and it’s worth crossing the 14th-century stone Balduin Bridge across the Moselle for fine views back across the spires of the Altstadt.  

If you manage to resist the tempting cakes on offer from the beckoning pavement cafés, then you’ll be ready for your meticulously prepared dinner on board. Afterwards, enjoy local stories told through the medium of song and dance, as our local performers don colourful authentic costumes for a live rendition of Rhenish folk music with traditional instruments.

Those up early this morning will witness our departure from Koblenz as we set sail towards Bonn. 

You can enjoy a leisurely morning as our crew navigates through the lovely Rhineland scenery, passing quaint riverside towns with pretty waterfronts and carefully tended vineyards. We'll also pass the famous ruined bridge at Remagen, which was captured intact by the Allies towards the end of the Second World War, allowing thousands of troops to cross into Germany’s heartland, and the forested Siebengebirge - Seven Mountains – a cluster of ancient volcanic hills that inspired many of the Brothers Grimm’s legends, including Snow White.

By lunch, we arrive in Bonn, a former capital city. Today, Bonn has a widespread reputation as a city of arts with two of Germany's most significant art museums. The Bonn Museum of Modern Art features one of the most extensive collections of German Expressionism. The Art and Exhibition Hall of the Federal Republic of Germany (better known as the Bundeskunsthalle) has art from all eras as well as exhibitions on cultural-historical topics, archaeology, and natural science - even hosting performances and in-house productions by various artists.

As you might expect from the birthplace of Beethoven, classical music permeates the air as buskers play their instruments along the crisscross of narrow streets. You’ll find Beethoven’s birthplace on Bonngasse Alley in the heart of the historic town centre, where the city is proud to present the largest Beethoven collection in the world with original scores and instruments.

The Old Town is a bustling district of cobblestone streets lined with nostalgic bookshops, cosy cafes and traditional taverns. In spring, the streets of Heerstrasse and Breite Strasse rival Japan with a sea of pink cherry blossoms - it's a lovely way to mark the changing seasons.

This evening is our last on board so it’s the perfect time to reflect on the spectacular sights seen and wonderful places visited whilst travelling with us on this magical cruise and bid a fond farewell to new friends, as we continue over dinner to our final destination, Cologne.