How to find the right themed cruise for you
Whether you’re a culture connoisseur, specialise in music in pub quizzes or just like to dabble in history, one of these new themed cruises is sure to tickle your tastebuds, says Sarah Riches
Best for: landscape lovers
If ambling through lavender fields in Provence and wine tasting in Burgundy’s vineyards sounds like your kind of holiday, then Riviera Travel’s Gardens and Natural Beauty of the Rhone itinerary will appeal. Highlights include 18th century terraced gardens suspended above Labeaume and inhaling the aroma of roses while meandering through Lyon’s botanical garden.
Get onboard
A seven-night 'Gardens and Natural Beauty of the Rhone' cruise aboard MS Lord Byron or MS Thomas Hardy calling at Lyon, Beaune, Vienna and Tournon, Ardeche Gorges, Arles and Pont du Gard and Avignon departs from April 2025, from £1,949 including flights.*
Best for: foodies
On Riviera Travel’s Gastronomy of Switzerland and the Rhine tour, sample Swiss cheese, Alsace wine or a boozy Rüdesheimer coffee – but leave space for Black Forest gateau. You can walk it all off on a guided tour of Strasbourg’s canal, cathedral and timber-framed houses.
Get onboard
A seven-night 'Gastronomy of Switzerland and the Rhine' cruise aboard MS Emily Bronte, MS Geoffrey Chaucer or MS Oscar Wilde calling at Basel, Lucerne and Stanserhorn, Breisach and the Black Forest, Strasbourg, Speyer, Rudesheim, Rhine Gorge and Koblenz and Cologne departs from May 2025, from £2,299 including flights.
Best for: art connoisseurs
Soothe your mind with a classical concert on Riviera Travel’s Art and History on the Danube route, during which you’ll also watch a Hungarian folklore show. Other highlights include Budapest’s Museum of Fine Arts, Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace and Melk Abbey, which is perched upon the banks of the Danube.
Get onboard
A seven-night 'Art and History on the Danube' cruise aboard MS William Wordsworth or MS Oscar Wilde calling at Budapest, Esztergom, Bratislava, Durnstein and Melk, Salzburg and Mauthausen and Vienna departs from May 2025, from £2,149 including flights.*
Best for: cultured cruisers
After breathing in the scent of pine trees on a ramble through the Black Forest, observe artisans making cuckoo clocks on Riviera Travel’s Music, Arts and Crafts of Switzerland and the Rhine itinerary. Explore Beethoven’s birthplace, Bonn, see glassblowers at work and peruse Siegfried’s Mechanical Music Cabinet.
Get onboard
A seven-night 'Music, Arts and Crafts of Switzerland and the Rhine' cruise aboard MS Emily Bronte or MS Geoffrey Chaucer calling at Basel, Stanserhorn and Lucerne, Breisach and the Black Forest, Strasbourg, Speyer, Rudesheim, Rhine Gorge and Koblenz and Bonn departs from May 2025, from £2,149 including flights.
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About Sarah Riches
After a five-year stint living in Asia, Sarah was inspired to become a travel journalist. Sarah has freelanced for Condé Nast Traveller and National Geographic Traveller and is the author of London Almanac (2010) and Culture Smart! The Essential Guide to British Customs & Culture (2024). She was also the deputy editor of Time Out Abu Dhabi, Where London and London Planner, digital editor of Wanderlust – the UK’s oldest travel magazine.
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