Christmas Markets Along the Danube - Westbound Aboard ms Joy

Celebrate the magic of the season along the Danube from Vienna to Nurnberg aboard ms Savor or ms Joy, filled with exclusive Tauck extras, special yuletide events aboard and ashore, and great holiday cheer!



This Danube river cruise from Nurnberg to Vienna aboard ms Savor or ms Joy offers a new approach to discovering the magic of the Christmas Markets in Germany and Austria... a 700-year holiday tradition! Enjoy Tauck's signature sightseeing and exclusive events... gain insights from the personal experiences of your local guides as they recall the Christmas Markets of their childhoods... and celebrate the holidays with special yuletide events on the ship and off! Aboard your riverboat, decorated in holiday style, you can sample gluhwein and other seasonal goodies. Attend a holiday baking demonstration... a festive European Christmas dinner with all the fixings... and a performance by alumni of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir! Explore the Baroque architecture of 900-year-old Melk Abbey... have lunch at the Palais Pallavicini in Vienna, and take a tour of the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, with a visit to its private Christmas Market - and more!

This Danube river cruise from Nurnberg to Vienna aboard ms Savor or ms Joy offers a new approach to discovering the magic of the Christmas Markets in Germany and Austria... a 700-year holiday tradition! Enjoy Tauck's signature sightseeing and exclusive events... gain insights from the personal experiences of your local guides as they recall the Christmas Markets of their childhoods... and celebrate the holidays with special yuletide events on the ship and off! Aboard your riverboat, decorated in holiday style, you can sample gluhwein and other seasonal goodies. Attend a holiday baking demonstration... a festive European Christmas dinner with all the fixings... and a performance by alumni of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir! Explore the Baroque architecture of 900-year-old Melk Abbey... have lunch at the Palais Pallavicini in Vienna, and take a tour of the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram in Regensburg, with a visit to its private Christmas Market - and more!

Traveling Well Includes:
  • Visits to Christmas Markets in Vienna, Salzburg, Linz, Passau, Regensburg & Nurnberg*
  • Gratuities to ship staff, drivers, local guides, Tauck Directors & Tauck Cruise Director
  • All private Tauck shore excursions - $1,632 Value
  • Locally guided walking tours of market cities and towns
  • Visit to Baroque Melk Abbey in Austria
  • Tour of Thurn und Taxis Palace and visit to its private Christmas Market
  • *Please note: Operating dates for the Christmas Markets could be subject to change; every effort will be made to visit as scheduled.

  • Day 1 - Arrive Vienna / Embark Riverboat

    Vienna - Images of St. Nicholas - with his devilish nemesis, Krampus - Advent wreaths, twinkling lights, roasting chestnuts, sausages and kartoffelpuffer (potato cakes), hot gluhwein and fruity punsch... all signs of Christmastime in Vienna! Many Christkindlmarkts big and small grace Austria's capital at yuletide; magic's in the air at the Wiener Christkindlmarkt on the Rathausplatz in front of the city hall, Vienna's oldest and largest Christmas Market... live music, tastefully lit trees, holiday arts and crafts, tempting treats and smiling faces are everywhere. And at opulent Schonbrunn Palace, you'll tour rooms that the Habsburgs once lived in, and browse through lovely hand-blown glass ornaments, red Viennese hearts, Victorian-style sweets and other treasures in the palace's own, equally impressive Christmas Market... guaranteed to warm your heart.

    Tour begins: 5:30 PM, Vienna, Austria. A transfer is included from Vienna International Airport to ms Savor or ms Joy. Guests enjoying a pre-stay in Vienna will receive a transfer from Tauck's hotel to the riverboat. Welcome to old Vienna... bright with decorations and buzzing with holiday spirit; exploring on your own at the city's largest yuletide market, you may feel like you've stepped into a snow globe as you're surrounded by thousands of twinkling lights! Return to the riverboat for the captain's welcome reception followed by dinner early this evening... then followed by a visit to Vienna's Christmas Markets, illuminated at night.



    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: D

    Day 2 - Vienna for the holidays

    Imperial Vienna, which you'll explore on a sightseeing tour along the Ringstrasse this morning, seems even grander with Christmas decorations everywhere you look. Get a glimpse of what happy Habsburg family holidays might have been like on a tour of Schonbrunn Palace, and take in the palace's own Christmas Market. Enjoy a Christmas lunch at the Palais Pallavicini, a private Baroque palace dating back to the 18th century. Then spend an afternoon at leisure to sample more of Vienna's holiday cheer and Christmas Markets; complimentary shuttles run back and forth between the city and the riverboat. Tonight, your riverboat sets off for Melk; after dinner, you're invited to help trim the ship's Christmas tree and enjoy some seasonal treats. Cruising to Austria and Germany Christmas Markets along the Danube offers a completely different experience than similar cruises in spring, summer and autumn!

    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: B, L, D

    Day 3 - Melk Abbey at Christmastime

    Melk - Perched high on a rocky bluff overlooking the Danube and the town of Melk, Stift Melk (Melk Abbey) has shone as a beacon of culture and learning since its founding nearly a millennium ago. Its 18th-century Baroque complex is home to a magnificent church adorned with gold statues and frescoes, a stunning library containing medieval manuscripts, and its own Christmas legend - about a miraculous visit from the Virgin Mary and the Christ child, and a young novice whose juggling so entertained the infant that he clapped for joy.

    This morning, visit Melk Abbey high atop its bluff overlooking the Danube, where this bastion of culture has stood for nearly a millennium - and its 18th-century Baroque church, monastery and library take on a special quality during the holiday season. Learn about traditional holiday treats like stollen or gluhwein as the riverboat continues cruising the Danube from Melk this afternoon, arriving this evening in Linz.



    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: B, L, D

    Day 4 - Tis' the season in Salzburg & Linz

    Salzburg / Linz - The angelic voices of choirs singing carols in Salzburg's Cathedral Square... the pealing bells of old Salzburger Dom, overlooking neat rows of lit-up booths fragrant with the aroma of roasted almonds and hot mulled wine... ornate Baroque domes, towers and rooftops tipped with snow in the heart of Old Town... the clatter of horse-drawn carriages over cobblestoned streets... sweet candy apples and marzipan... the warm laughter of families having the time of their lives... and music everywhere, in the city that gave us Mozart. The Christmas Markets of Salzburg, a true feast for the senses... and Linz's Christkindlmarkt, the curving roofs of its stalls symbolizing the waves of the Danube.

    Wake up in Linz, Austria, for a full-day excursion to Mozart's magical hometown of Salzburg, with its Baroque town center dressed in its holiday best. After exploring the Christkindlmarkt in this charming city, take some free time for yourself before returning to Linz for a different Christmas Market experience... and, as you've learned, each town's market has something all its own to offer. Or, if you prefer, spend the entire day in Linz, enjoying its Christmas Market, exploring as you please, or alternatively just relaxing aboard the riverboat in anticipation of a busy day tomorrow at the first German Christmas Markets you'll visit.



    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: B, L, D

    Day 5 - Passau's seasonal pleasures

    Passau - Navigating the narrow lanes and archways of this Bavarian town on the Danube and Inn rivers is a pleasure any time of year - but never more so than now, when one of the finest Germany Christmas Markets transforms Passau's historic Baroque center into a wonderland brimming with bratwurst, lebkuchen, gluhwein and good cheer. At the center of it all is St. Stephan's Cathedral, whose massive pipe organ - the largest in Europe - stars in concerts throughout the season.

    The holiday celebrations of Passau, Germany are spotlighted today on a walking tour of this riverside Bavarian town known for its plentiful churches, exquisite stained glass, famous cathedral organ and well-preserved Baroque architecture... plus time exploring its Christmas Markets, of course! After touring Passau's Weihnachtsmarkt, the afternoon is yours to explore as you please. Join us for a discovery briefing before dinner aboard ship this evening and enjoy a special Chef's Signature Dinner.



    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: B, L, D

    Day 6 - Unique markets and more in Regensburg

    Regensburg - Sausages and song are big in Regensburg, as your visit to its centuries-old Christkindlmarkt on the Neupfarrplatz will attest. Market goers feast on the city's famed sausages, along with steamed dampfnudel dumplings, gingerbread, roast chestnuts and, naturally, gluhwein from Bavarian claret, as they admire the work of glassblowers, chandlers and potters. The Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram is the setting for your tour and visit to its private Christmas Market. During the season, Germany's Christmas Markets glow with holiday cheer as each town celebrates the season - this Christmas Market in Regensburg is one of the most unique.

    You'll understand why Regensburg calls itself Europe's best-preserved medieval city on a walking tour of its Christmas Market, set among centuries-old buildings, and time to explore as you please. A visit to the Thurn und Taxis family's Palace of St. Emmeram invites you to tour the palace, browse its fine private Christmas Market, and interact with artisans displaying their wares; rumor has it that Her Highness Princess Gloria and family often wander through!



    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: B, L, D

    Day 7 - History & holiday cheer in Nurnberg

    Nurnberg - On Nurnberg's main market square opposite the Church of Our Lady sits the most famous Christmas Market in Germany, with its iconic, golden-haired Christmas Angel and charming Zwetchgenmannle (Plum People) - unique to Bavaria and made from dried plums and other fruits. By the time Christmas Eve rolls around, this Little Town from Wood and Cloth will have welcomed two million folks from around the globe - including you - delighting them with its authentic ornaments, Bavarian crafts, Christmas candles, lebkuchen and other kinds of cookies, tasty fruit loaves, tangy gingerbread, handmade toys and gluhwein!

    After your riverboat docks, sightseeing in historic Nurnberg includes a visit to old Nurnberg with a walking tour along its centuries-old ramparts and defensive walls, past the opera house and St. John's Cemetery to the old city and marketplace, as well as past the Durer House. Spend time enjoying Nurnberg's famous Weihnachtsmarkt as you please, then join us back aboard the riverboat in Nurnberg to cap your extraordinary Christmas Market cruise with the Captain's farewell reception followed by dinner tonight.



    Lodging: ms Joy

    Meals: B, L, D

    Day 8 - Journey home

    Tour ends: Nurnberg. Fly home anytime. Transfers are provided from ms Savor or ms Joy to Nurnberg Airport; those guests enjoying a post-stay in Nurnberg will receive a transfer from Tauck's hotel to the airport. Please allow at least three hours for airport check-in formalities. Your river cruise to the Austria and Germany Christmas Markets will be an indelible memory you'll cherish throughout the remainder of the holiday season!



    Lodging:

    Meals: B

    Call (580) 924-9201 for more information or to book today! Mention code 18851527

    Cruise Line
    Tauck River Cruising
    Offer
    Offer valid through 12/31/2024
    Duration
    8 Days
    Cruise Ship
    ms Joy

    Click for more information on this ship.

    DayPortArriveDepart
    Day 1Vienna  
    Day 2Vienna  
    Day 3Melk  
    Day 4Salzburg  
    Day 5Passau  
    Day 6Regensburg  
    Day 7Nurnberg  
    Day 8Nurnberg  
    Dates/Pricing

    Click Quote or call us to get additional information on your chosen travel date. Special offers or competitive pricing may be available!

    DatePrice / DescriptionQuote
    12/14/2025Quote
    Disclaimer
    * Land / cruise price per person in U.S. dollars, based on double occupancy, includes cruise fare, most meals, port charges, shore excursions, applicable fuel surcharges, and gratuities to Tauck Directors, Tauck Cruise Director, ship staff, local guides & drivers, and on all included meals.

    Itinerary Changes - Although not expected, Tauck reserves the right to alter the sequence of ports or omit or substitute scheduled ports or attractions at any time without prior notice. Further, museums and attractions may be subject to closure due to state, local or religious holidays.

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