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Rhine Enchantment, Milan to Amsterdam – Northbound Aboard ms Inspire

Rhine Enchantment, Milan to Amsterdam – Northbound Aboard ms Inspire
Our best-selling journey along the River Rhine explores five countries and features a seven-night cruise from Switzerland to the Netherlands plus three nights in the historic Italian fashion capital of Milan and a visit to glamorous Lake Como. Tauck Exclusive experiences include a gala evening at Schloss Biebrich, a Baroque palace on the Rhine.

Our River Rhine cruise explores five countries from Switzerland to the Netherlands, including three nights in the historic Italian fashion capital of Milan and a visit to glamorous Lake Como. Highlights include: Milan – three nights at Hotel Principe di Savoia, a historic landmark in the heart of the city; Lake Como – a private boat ride on Lake Como and a visit to Bellagio. Basel – your choice of walking tours discovering the city’s art and architectural masterpieces or tasting its culinary heritage. Heidelberg – Germany’s original university town, including a guided visit to legendary Heidelberg Castle. Wiesbaden – discovering a city that’s grown around one of Europe’s oldest spa towns. Linz am Rhein – a picturesque town lined with colorful half-timbered houses. Dusseldorf – spend an afternoon exploring this riverside center of art and fashion. Amsterdam – lunch aboard a private canal boat cruise. Tauck Exclusive experiences include a special evening at Schloss Biebrich, a restored Baroque palace on the bank of the Rhine in Wiesbaden.

 

Our River Rhine cruise explores five countries from Switzerland to the Netherlands, including three nights in the historic Italian fashion capital of Milan and a visit to glamorous Lake Como. Highlights include: Milan – three nights at Hotel Principe di Savoia, a historic landmark in the heart of the city; Lake Como – a private boat ride on Lake Como and a visit to Bellagio. Basel – your choice of walking tours discovering the city’s art and architectural masterpieces or tasting its culinary heritage. Heidelberg – Germany’s original university town, including a guided visit to legendary Heidelberg Castle. Wiesbaden – discovering a city that’s grown around one of Europe’s oldest spa towns. Linz am Rhein – a picturesque town lined with colorful half-timbered houses. Dusseldorf – spend an afternoon exploring this riverside center of art and fashion. Amsterdam – lunch aboard a private canal boat cruise. Tauck Exclusive experiences include a special evening at Schloss Biebrich, a restored Baroque palace on the bank of the Rhine in Wiesbaden.

Traveling Well Includes:
TAUCK EXCLUSIVE – Join us for an exclusive gala dinner with entertainment at the Baroque Schloss Biebrich in a picturesque setting on the banks of the Rhine River in Wiesbaden.

  • A private boat ride on Lake Como
  • All private Tauck shore excursions – $4,731Value
  • All gratuities to ship staff, drivers, local guides, Tauck Directors and Tauck Cruise Director
  • Three nights at the Hotel Principe di Savoia in Milan
  • Lunch aboard a private canal boat cruise in Amsterdam

Day 1 – Benvenuti a Milano!

Tour begins: 6:30 PM. A transfer is included from Milano Malpensa or Milano Linate airports or Milano Centrale train station to Hotel Principe di Savoia, a splendid landmark building built in the 1920s, decorated in classic Italian and Art Deco style, centrally located on the Piazza della Repubblica. Join us this evening for a welcome aperitif and dinner, accompanied by live jazz / standards, at your hotel.

Lodging: Hotel Principe di Savoia
Meals: D

Day 2 – Villas and villages of Lake Como
You’re off for a day’s exploring around Lake Como, one of Italy’s most beautiful lakes, in the shadow of the snowcapped Alps – a mecca for the well-heeled on holiday since ancient Roman times. Drive to Tremezzo, where you’ll board a boat for bellissima Bellagio. Your Tauck Director leads an orientation walk in this resort village, known as the Pearl of the Lake, followed by free time. Take in the lake views and explore the centuries-old buildings, stone lanes, and cobbled stairways lined with shops. A boat cruise shows you more of Lake Como, which the poet William Wordsworth described as a treasure whom the earth keeps to herself. The forested shoreline is punctuated by small towns with ancient stone bell towers and opulent villas owned by jet-setters and celebrities. Disembark in the town of Cernobbio and head back to Milan late afternoon.

Lodging: Hotel Principe di Savoia
Meals: B, L

Day 3 – Discovering Milan… and The Last Supper
You’re off for a day’s exploring around Lake Como, one of Italy’s most beautiful lakes, in the shadow of the snowcapped Alps – a mecca for the well-heeled on holiday since ancient Roman times. Drive to Tremezzo, where you’ll board a boat for bellissima Bellagio. Your Tauck Director leads an orientation walk in this resort village, known as the Pearl of the Lake, followed by free time. Take in the lake views and explore the centuries-old buildings, stone lanes, and cobbled stairways lined with shops. A boat cruise shows you more of Lake Como, which the poet William Wordsworth described as a treasure whom the earth keeps to herself. The forested shoreline is punctuated by small towns with ancient stone bell towers and opulent villas owned by jet-setters and celebrities. Disembark in the town of Cernobbio and head back to Milan late afternoon.
as a symbol of Italian unity in the late 19th century and named after the first king of Italy. Your afternoon is free to explore as you please perhaps visiting Pinacoteca di Brera, a great art collection including works by Raphael, Bellini, Piero della Francesca, and Caravaggio… the fashion district between pedestrianized Via della Spiga, via Montenapoleone, via Manzoni, and Corso Venezia… or the Bohemian Navigli neighborhood of canal-side bars, restaurants, and shops. Tonight, you have reservations for a Tauck Exclusive – a private viewing of Leonardo da Vinci’s famed mural, The Last Supper, which adorns the dining room at the Santa Maria delle Grazie convent (subject to availability; the day of visit may vary).
Lodging: Hotel Principe di Savoia
Meals: B
Day 4 – Train to Basel through the Alps
After breakfast, drive to Lugano, Switzerland, where you’ll enjoy some free time to explore. Late afternoon, take the high-speed train to Basel. Have you ever ridden through a mountain? Great things are done when men and mountain meet, wrote the poet William Blake, and he could have been talking about the Gotthard Base Tunnel, which you’ll go through today, zipping through the base of the Alps. At 35 miles long, it’s the longest railway tunnel in the world, a major feat of engineering that took 17 years to complete. Because you’re heading north, you may enter the tunnel in one kind of weather and exit to find that the weather has completely changed. In Basel, embark your riverboat; attend a Discovery Briefing and enjoy cocktails in the lounge before dining onboard your ship.
Lodging: ms Grace
Meals: B, D
Day 5 – A choice of excursions in Basel
Today you’re off to explore the Swiss city of Basel on a choice of excursions. One possibility is to go on a walking tour in Old Town Basel with a local guide before setting off on your own. There’s much to discover: the city is known for its many contemporary buildings by noted international architects, and it has the highest density of museums in the country, including the world-class Basel Art Museum. Your other options explores Basel’s culinary heritage. A melting pot of culinary influence due to its close proximity to Germany, France and of course, Switzerland, see and taste Basel on a walking tour indulging in the city’s culinary delicacies of beer, cheese and chocolate. Regardless of your choice, make sure to save time to try a favorite local treat – honey cake. Have dinner back onboard your riverboat. You set sail tonight.
Lodging: ms Grace
Meals: B, L, D
Day 6 – Explore the Alsatian wine route
Wake up docked in Breisach and head into the Alsatian wine country for a choice of excursions. On one, drive along the bucolic Alsatian wine route, through countryside where some of the world’s best Rieslings are made, to Colmar; after lunch, enjoy a tasting at one of the local wine cellars. Your other option is an all-day e-bike ride through the scenic Kaiserstuhl wine region. One of the sunniest (and hottest) areas of Germany, the grapes in this region produce delicious Pinot Noir, pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc. Enjoy a sampling of these regional wine variants during lunch and wine tasting at a local restaurant before returning to Strasbourg. Tonight, enjoy dinner back aboard your riverboat.
Lodging: ms Grace
Meals: B, L, D
Day 7 – Heidelberg and an exclusive evening at a riverside palace
Drive from the riverboat to Heidelberg for a guided visit to the splendid ruins of Heidelberg Castle, a sprawling red sandstone compound high above the city, a reminder of 600 years of history. Check out the Heidelberg Tun, the biggest wine barrel in the world (and walk on top of it). Learn about centuries of movers and shakers, and the romantic story of the Elisabeth Gate, built in 1615 as a present from Elector Frederic V to his wife Elisabeth Stuart, the daughter of King James I of England. He had the triumphal arch secretly crafted in sections and put up as a whole the night before her birthday to surprise her the next morning.

The views of the Neckar River Valley from the castle are unforgettable. While strolling in Old Town Heidelberg below, be sure to try a Heidelberg Student Kiss – a special treat invented in the 19th century by a sympathetic chocolatier to give young men a way to express their affections for young women they were not allowed to talk to! Meet your riverboat in Mannheim and spend the afternoon cruising north. You’ll have time to enjoy the gym, get a massage… or curl up in a chair on the Sun Deck with a snack and your favorite drink. Arrive in Wiesbaden and disembark for a Tauck Exclusive evening featuring dinner and entertainment at Schloss Biebrich, an 18th-century Baroque palace on the bank of the Rhine in Wiesbaden.

Lodging: ms Grace
Meals: B, L, D
Day 8 – The Middle Rhine Valley
Enjoy a day of cruising along the Rhine, through the Middle Rhine Valley. Your Tauck Director provides commentary as you glide past sloping vineyards and rocky bluffs, sharing the stories of the Lorelei Rock and the castles standing watch onshore. Dock this evening in Remagen and go ashore with your Tauck Director for an orientation tour.
Lodging: ms Grace
Meals: B, L, D