In the middle of this belgian city, which goes back to Merovingian times, rise the five towers of this most striking and most original monument. Each tower is different but they are all magnificent demonstrations of Romanesque art at its zenith and can be compared to those of Cluny which disappeared in the 19th century.
The church is a typical example of the Scaldian ( river Scheldt) style. The four-story nave and the transept are from the 12th century and the chancel, even taller than the nave, is in Gothic style and replaced the Romanesque in the 13th century. The contrast between the elegant Gothic chancel and the more solid nave is surprising at first.
The Treasury contains remarkable works: an Ecce Homo by Quinten Matsys, a Byzantine Cross of the 5th or 6th century, a 13th century Ivory Madonna and - the piece de resistance - the Reliquary of Our Lady (1205) in silver and gilded copper, by Nicolas Verdun. The high relief figures depict the life of Christ and the shrine is further adorned with magnificent medallions.
Located in the convent of the sisters of Notre Dame in Namur, the mosan collection includes gospel books, reliquaries and remarkable medallions with filigree and leaf decoration that show tiny hunting scenes.namur
The building itself is a beautiful 16th century building. For connoisseurs there is a special treat. The Namurois, proud of their own Felicien Rops, built a museum that houses yet another beautiful collection.
Why Choose a River Cruise
Some people, who have never been on a river cruise, might consider a river cruise to be confining - you travel at a slow speed on a river, and only get to see the sights on either side of the river. You are locked into a fixed itinerary, and trapped on a small boat with a large number of other people. Lastly, some people consider river cruising to be very expensive.
While there are understandable reasons for all these perceptions, the reality is very different. Let's look at each point in turn.
Speed of travel
River cruises commonly do most of the traveling at night, while you are dining, enjoying yourself, and sleeping.
Cruises will include some cruising during the day, both to meet the need to be certain places at certain times, and also to allow you to enjoy some daytime sightseeing, looking at the beautiful scenery and lovely little towns, old castles on nearby hilltops, churches, farms, and all the other elements of life in Europe.
Speed is not needed, and the graceful rate of progress (typically 12 - 15 mph cruising speed) helps convey a feeling of relaxed unhurriedness. Remember that Europe is very compact - you only have short distances to travel between towns (and even between countries). You don't need speed, and you don't want speed.
Sightseeing
You see much more from a river cruise boat than you do from a bus, train, or car, while hurrying from place to place. And you see these things tremendously more comfortably, either in your cabin, in a lounge, in a dining room, or up on one of the open decks.
Plus, when you arrive at the various places you stop and visit, when you get off the boat, you're able to sightsee exactly the same as any other way of traveling. Well - not quite so exactly - you don't have to bother about packing your bags, checking out of the hotel, carrying your bags to your form of transport, traveling to the next place, getting to your hotel, checking in, carrying your own bags upstairs, and unpacking them again in your room!
Instead you find yourself, as if by magic, close in to the center of town in most cases, and with helpful sightseeing material provided by the cruise ship staff, and usually with some free sightseeing included. This is marvelously convenient.
Itinerary
Of course all cruises work to a fixed itinerary. But what is bad about this? You can choose through very many different itineraries and select the itinerary that most suits you, the same as you would if planning your travels any other way.
And, once you've chosen your itinerary, that is all the hard work done. There's nothing more to arrange once you've booked your cruise. Your transportation, accommodation, sightseeing and meals are all then confirmed.
(Note that the fixed itineraries can sometimes, but rarely, vary. If the river is flooding, or if the river is unusually low, there may be a need to change the itinerary.)
Boat size and passenger numbers
River cruisers are typically about 300' - 400' in length and 35' - 40' in width. They have three or four decks for accommodation, lounges, bars, restaurants, and other public areas.
The ships usually have between 60 and 85 cabins, making total passenger capacity somewhere between 120 and 175.
Chances are you'll find this to be neither too small nor too large. The ship itself is large enough to be interesting and not to feel confining, but not too big as to make it a hassle to go from anywhere to anywhere else. Need to go back to your room? It is only a minute or two from wherever else you are on board.
And the number of fellow passengers is enough as to enable you to anonymously blend into a crowd if you wish, but also is small enough so that ship's crewmembers recognize you and talk to you as an individual, rather than as another faceless passenger.
The passenger count is sufficiently low as to make it easy to get to know other passengers when dining or in the lounges, and then to see and recognize them again on future occasions. But there are also enough passengers so that if you want to avoid someone, you aren't always running into them!
Cruising cost
Most cruises seem to be priced in the range of about $200 - $300 a day. When you first see $2000 for a one week cruise, it might seem like a lot of money, especially when you compare it to what you'd pay for a one week cruise in the Caribbean.
A fairer comparison is to compare a river cruise with what you'd pay traveling around Europe any other way, for a week. A daily budget (share twin) for traveling on your own might include $125 for a hotel each night, $75 for a tour each day, $50 for transportation each day (a five day in 2 month Eurail Selectpass costs between $383 and $473 - much more than $50/day), and $50 for lunch and dinner (assuming breakfast was included in the hotel rate). In other words, regular touring is going to cost $300 a day - the same as the upper end of all-inclusive cruising costs.
Now consider the value of the convenience of only having to pack/unpack and check in/out once. How much extra would you pay for that?
And consider also the value of traveling at night, freeing up more time during the days to sightsee, as well as the extra quality time and energy spared by skipping all the packing/unpacking etc. What is that worth to you?
There are plenty of other positive value-adds in a cruise (like the friendly English speaking staff, free evening entertainment, and with some cruise lines, even free wine with dinner), but consider these as free bonuses. A simple comparison shows a cruise to be no more expensive - and quite possibly less expensive - than traveling around on your own.
River cruising is not expensive. It is a very good value way to comfortably and conveniently see Europe.
| Note : We can offer you an across the board special 5% Travel Insider discount on all cruises operated by Amadeus Waterways. This is our preferred cruise line, and if you see a cruise of theirs you'd like to enjoy, have us arrange whichever cruise you wish. |
More reasons to choose a river cruise
The food is generally of a high quality on board, and dining is single seating, usually with no pre-assigned tables. This gives you the flexibility to meet new people (or to avoid people) at meals, and also means you're not rushed out of the dining room as soon as dinner is finished to make way for a second group of diners.
River cruises are almost always calm and stable, with no problems caused by waves or swells.
River cruises have a range of daily activities on board - not nearly as extensive as full sized ocean liners, but enough to keep you occupied and interested when you have nothing else to do.
River cruises are 'timeless' - whereas travel by road or rail surrounds you with 20th and 21st century technology, on the river, you're in a more natural environment. And because the rivers were the original travel routes before roads, rail, and air, you get to see ancient buildings and towns - and the parts of these towns facing the river - that you'd miss when traveling by other methods.
Differences between river barges and river ships
This article is primarily about cruising on a river 'ship'. A river ship is very different to a smaller river barge.
Barge cruising is on a very small boat, or sometimes a pair of boats (with one primarily for passenger accommodation and the other with dining rooms, lounge, and other public and work spaces. Typically a barge (or pair of barges) carries only 6 - 20 passengers at a time.
Barges meander along at a very sedate speed, typically little faster than brisk walking pace.
Barge cruises are more expensive - partially due to the low number of passengers to share the fixed cost of operation and the high ratio of staff to guests, and partially due to a lot of deluxe inclusions. Many times, barges have an open bar, and for shore visits, will provide private chauffeur driven car touring around the regions they visit.
Due to the small number of passengers and crew, there are limited evening entertainment activities on a barge.
Barge cruising can also be a wonderful experience, but it is a very different type of experience to river cruising, and the two should not be confused.
See also our article on 'do it yourself' canal cruising in Britain for a third type of river/canal cruising experience.
Types of River Cruises in Europe
There are several convenient ways to categorize the wide range of different river cruising opportunities.
Location
Most of the cruises tend to be regional; only the very lengthy cruises cover extended areas.
Duration
Most cruises are about a week in length. Some companies offer longer cruises, which typically are two shorter cruises 'joined together' - for example a company might offer a one week Black Sea to Budapest cruise and a one week Budapest to Nuremberg cruise, plus also offer a two week Black Sea to Nuremberg cruise.
One-way or roundtrip
Most cruises tend to be one-way, although a few are roundtrip - either in an out and back type manner, going back the way you came, or in a circle trip manner, not repeating any part of the route.
If you're traveling on an out and back itinerary, don't think that it will be terribly boring returning back the way you came. As long as your shore stops aren't identical, the river scenery is often very much different when viewed from the other direction, and the parts of the river you see during the day (as compared to at night) are likely to be different. Out and back itineraries are just as interesting as any other type.
Seasonal cruises
In addition to standard cruises (which generally operate only in spring/summer/fall period) some cruise lines offer special seasonal cruising.
The two most common seasonal specials are Tulip cruises around Holland, timed for the early spring when the tulips are in full flower, and the Christmas Market cruises in Austria and Germany, timed for the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, giving you a chance to shop at the various Christmas Markets along the Danube.
Both of these seasonal cruises are wonderful experiences.
When to Travel
Our preference is to travel in May or June. This gets you the maximum amount of daylight every day, but beats the worst of the summer heat and the summer crowds. Peak summer crowds can become quite claustrophobic in some of the most popular destinations, and should be avoided at all costs.
And, talking about costs, sometimes you'll find the cruise fares are a bit lower in May/June, too. Another reason to choose those months.
Avoid July and August if at all possible, for the reasons above.
Cruise Extensions
Europe is a small region with many different wonderful places, all close to each other, and there's a strong temptation to try and see and do more while in Europe. For this reason, many people choose to add extra touring at the start or end of their cruise.
Some cruises start off and have the ship immediately leaving the city you joined it in, and some cruises finish with you immediately leaving the ship upon arrival in the destination city.
Other cruises have the ship spending as many as three nights moored in your departure city before starting the traveling part of the cruise, and may spend as many as three nights moored in the arrival city before you disembark (this is common with Russian cruises).
Obviously it makes more sense to add extra days at either end in the start and finish cities if the cruise itinerary doesn't already have you spending a lot of time in those places.
Extending before joining the cruise
Whether you are joining a cruise that stays in the departure city for several days or not, we generally recommend you should plan to arrive in Europe at least one day before your cruise starts. This gives you a precious day up your sleeve in case you miss flights, or have flights cancelled, or have your luggage lost en route.
It also helps you unwind after the long flight(s), and helps you get over the jet lag, so you're at your best for when the cruise commences.
Where to Extend
Sometimes it is sensible to simply stay in the city the cruise starts or finishes in and spend more time there. This minimizes your extra travel needs, and in the case of a pre-cruise extension, gives you a safety margin of extra time in case of problems getting to the cruise start point.
But if you're spending enough time in these places as part of the cruise, by all means travel further afield as it suits you best.
Cruise company extension or your own
Cruise companies often offer optional extensions before or after the main ship-based cruise. These can be convenient and definitely enjoyable, but usually you can make similar arrangements on your own for a similar type of price. Some people use the extension itinerary ideas from the cruise brochures as a guide for what to add on their own.
Locations of River Cruises in Europe
Click on image for a larger map to open in a new window | It is possible to cruise through much of Europe by river and canal, and to traverse Europe completely from the Black Sea to the North Sea. River cruises can be found on most of Europe's main rivers, including those listed in the table below : |
| River | Details | Cruises visit these countries |
| Danube | 1771 miles in length; the major commercial waterway in Europe | Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania |
| Dnieper | 1420 miles from the southwest of Russia, through Belarus and Ukraine, to the Black Sea | Ukraine |
| Douro | 561 miles from central Spain, through Portugal and to the North Atlantic | Portugal and Spain |
| Elbe | 724 miles from the Czech Republic, through Germany, to the Baltic Sea | Germany, Czech Republic |
| Main | 328 miles long, a tributary of the Rhine | Germany |
| Moselle | 341 miles long, traverses France and Luxemburg then into Germany and joins the Rhine | Germany and France |
| Rhine | 820 miles from SE Switzerland, through Germany and Netherlands, to the North Sea | Netherlands, Germany |
| Rhône | 300 miles from Switzerland to the Mediterranean | France |
| Saône | 300 miles long, flows into the Rhône | France |
| Seine | 482 miles long, flows into the English Channel | France |
| Volga | 2300 miles - largest and longest river system in Europe. Starts northwest of Moscow and empties into the Caspian Sea. | Russia |
There’s nothing like lounging on the deck of a graceful ship while watching a magnificent field of sunflowers or a 12th-century cathedral slide slowly into view. Or waking each day to the thrill of a different European city spread out before you. Sound appealing? Then a European river cruise may be your perfect next vacation.
More and more Americans are discovering the laid-back luxury, the intimacy, and the personal service of the small-ship experience. Seeing Europe from its rivers — from its earliest routes of exploration, invasion, conquest, and trade — puts you at the very heart of a region and its history.
There are two distinct types of vessels that cruise the inland waterways of Europe: riverboats and canal barges. It’s important to distinguish between the two because the experiences they offer are quite different.
Canal barges usually hold a maximum of 24 passengers. Also called peniches, they ply narrow, tree-lined canals and travel deep into the countryside. Cruising at an average of five to six miles a day, canal barges typically cover 30 to 50 miles per week.
River-cruise ships are larger, holding anywhere from 60 to 300-plus passengers. They cruise the Danube, Rhine, Rhône, Po, Elbe, Douro, Volga, and other major rivers. In a week, you’ll travel 150 to 200 miles or more. And the recent completion of the Main-Danube Canal makes it possible to travel from the North Sea to the Black Sea on a voyage that spans eight countries.
Today, the European river-cruise industry is in a major expansion mode. Nearly every corner of the continent has navigable rivers and a selection of ships, which continue to grow increasingly comfortable and luxurious. Peter Deilmann Cruises offers 39 different itineraries and 243 European river cruises on nine ships. Viking River Cruises has unveiled 10 new ships in the last five years, including the 198-passenger Viking Sun, new in Europe this year.
Avalon Waterways, one of the newer companies on the scene, has three ships and big plans. “We’re definitely growing, not just in ships, but also in destinations,” says managing director J. Patrick Clark Jr. “The river-cruise business is rapidly expanding to cater to the growing demand, much like the ocean-cruise industry has grown and improved over the last 10 to 15 years.”
River cruising is meant to be a restful experience. It’s about stashing your luggage and having time and energy to explore without the hassle of packing and unpacking, searching for hotels, and navigating unfamiliar roads. Some say river cruises are the new bus tours of Europe — only better. “Actually, river cruising is perfect for those who would dread a traditional motor-coach tour,” Clark says.
If you’ve cruised this way in the past, you may be surprised at how things have changed. Once quite spare, the ships are now loaded with amenities such as terry bathrobes and European-style duvets; in-room phones and satellite TV; minibars, balconies, and sliding French doors. Many now have Internet access, hair salons, massages, Jacuzzis, and even small swimming pools.
While some itineraries rely on nighttime motoring to gain more mileage, all ships cruise for at least part of the day. “Ninety percent of what you see will be exceptionally scenic,” says Ellen Sack of The Barge Lady Collection, a Chicago-based broker of European canal and river cruises (www.barge
lady.com). “Routes are planned so the most beautiful parts of each river — such as the Rhine Gorge — are visible during the day.”
In each port, you have the choice of spending the day on your own or signing up for a variety of excursions, usually via tour coach, and always with a guide. Some companies include shore trips in the fee, others charge a supplement. While history, architecture, and local culture figure prominently in all itineraries, most cruise companies offer theme cruises as well: classical music, wine, biking, golf, etc.
And although the dollar is in dreadful shape against the euro, a European river cruise still offers considerable bang for the travel buck. Most voyages are all-inclusive, which means you’ll know beforehand exactly how much you’ll spend. To lure Americans to Europe, some companies are offering early-booking discounts, while others have eliminated single supplements. The best buys are typically early and late in the season.
“Given the difficult exchange rate, a European river cruise — bought in U.S. dollars — is one of the year’s best values for a European vacation,” says Susan J. Young, senior cruise editor at Travel Agent Magazine. “You pay a flat rate and then enjoy all meals, accommodations, transfers, cultural presentations, and, in some cases, even shore trips and airfare for that one price.”
A 12-day Blue Danube and Prague itinerary offered by the cruise company Uniworld, for example, begins at $2,248 per person double. It includes round-trip airfare from the U.S. to Europe, a seven-night cruise in an outside cabin aboard the River Princess or River Countess, all meals aboard ship, seven guided shore trips, an escorted tour from Nuremberg to Prague, three nights’ lodging in Prague, and more.
“Cruising has always been a great value in Europe,” says Bob Levinstein, CEO of CruiseCompete.com, which works with cruise travel agents nationwide to help passengers find the best fares. “River cruising is the best of both worlds. You’ll see a lot of places on an intimate basis — like you would with a car or coach tour — but since most towns are built around the river, you usually don’t have to walk far to see the major sights.”
To a great extent, where you want to go will determine which ship you’ll choose. According to Susan J. Young, today’s “hot” itineraries include Russia (specifically the “Journey of the Czars,” sailing between Moscow and St. Petersburg), Holland tulip cruises, the Black Sea, and longer-than-normal journeys, such as 14- to 21-day trips. The Danube, meanwhile, is considered a great choice for first-time cruisers.
River-cruise ships range from simple to spectacular and are priced accordingly. River Cloud and River Cloud II, from the folks who operate the legendary Sea Cloud, are among the most upscale vessels, offering a sophisticated, international atmosphere. (Ellen Sack calls both ships “Ultra Deluxe,” her highest rating; CruiseCritic.com calls River Cloud “the premier passenger vessel navigating Europe’s waterways.”) On both ships, large cabins, all outside, have minibars and bathrobes, TVs and VCRs, and marble bathrooms with gold-plated taps. The ships’ mahogany and rosewood fittings — and Steinway baby grand piano in the lounge — were all chosen to conjure the elegance of ’30s-era ocean liners.
Avalon Waterways caters to American tastes with queen beds, balconies, and miniatriums. The nonsmoking ships all have English-speaking crews, larger-than-normal cabins, and meals designed with U.S. palates in mind. According to CruiseCritic.com, Avalon’s MS Artistry, marking its first anniversary last year, just might be the highest-rated European river-cruise ship. Her sister ship, the 176-passenger MS Poetry, will debut next month. Viking River Cruises, born in 1997, now has 17 ships on European rivers. “We tailor the environment exclusively to American tastes,” says marketing coordinator Megan Wygant. “It’s the little things like serving ice in the drinks … and bigger things like a nonsmoking environment.”
And then, of course, there are those who prefer to cruise with a “foreign” company: They find it gives them a more diverse and culturally authentic experience. Peter Deilmann Cruises, a German line, opened its U.S. office in 1995. The company’s nine river ships draw a mix of nationalities; anywhere from 30 to 50 percent of passengers on any given cruise are Americans. The company is known for its high-quality onboard service, with passenger crew ratios of 2.5 to 1. (Condé Nast Traveler named Deilmann one of the 10 best small-ship lines for five of the last six years.) Deilmann’s Mozart has the largest cabins — 203 square feet — of any river ship in the world. Their Heidelberg, new last year, follows close behind with 190 square feet.
Another company, CroisiEurope (www.croisieurope.com), with 24 ships, caters almost exclusively to Europeans — of 150,000 passengers carried last year, only about 1,400 came from North America — although international sales manager Michel Grimm says that the number of U.S. and Canadian passengers has grown substantially over the past three years. “Many of our clients feel it would be silly to travel all the way to Europe to meet a boatload of other Americans,” Grimm says.
To help you find the right cruise, there are brokers, travel agents, websites, and other specialists who can help. Ellen Sack, for instance, spends a month each year cruising European rivers and canals; she says this hands-on experience helps her match clients to the right ships. CruiseCritic.com, an online cruise-planning guide, reviews ships, profiles lines, and posts readers’ ship ratings, message boards, and more. For the smoothest sailing, though, the experts advise choosing carefully and booking early.
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