With its 1,233 kilometres, the Rhine offers more diversity than most other rivers. From the mountains of the Northern Alpine Foothills, it first flows through the Upper Rhine Graben and the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Passing Cologne and Düsseldorf, it crosses the densely populated Ruhr area before splitting into countless tributaries and canals in the Lower Rhine Plain. Finally, the Rhine joins the North Sea near Rotterdam, in the Dutch delta. During a Rhine cruise, guests experience a variety of landscapes, Swiss and Belgian culture, Dutch hospitality and German history. From Cologne, A-ROSA offers the opportunity to sail the Northern Rhine with stops in the Netherlands and Belgium or southwards to Basel.

The Northern Rhine is not only characterised by vibrant metropolises such as the canal city of Amsterdam, futuristic Rotterdam with its impressive architecture or the diamond city of Antwerp, but also impresses with the vast Marker- and Ijsselmeer and Wadden Sea. Sailing on the Northern Rhine is a perfect combination of the most exciting European cities and the relaxed Frisian flair of the inland seas in the Northern Netherlands. Small towns such as Harlingen, Hoorn and Lelystad invite guests to browse. The oldest city in what was once Holland, Dordrecht, offers plenty of history. Located at the gates of Rotterdam, the city is intersected by small canals and reveals the most beautiful side of the Netherlands.

Guests cruise the Southern Rhine all the way to the tripoint in Basel. On the way south, the journey takes them along the green mountains of the Siebengebirge near Bonn and past the vineyards in Rüdesheim. The Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, which towers high above the city of Koblenz and offers a wonderful view of the Deutsches Eck, can already be spotted from afar. But the city on the Rhine and Moselle has much more in store for visitors: The Electoral Palace, Church of Our Lady, the Basilica of St. Castor and the Old Town await. Mainz, the capital of Rhineland-Palatinate, welcomes guests with its Cathedral and Gutenberg Museum. Further south, the Rhine leads past the French city of Strasbourg with its impressive half-timbered architecture and the towering Cathedral. From Basel, excursions to Switzerland’s inland are also on offer, for example to Lucerne on Lake Lucerne.

The Moselle certainly boasts the highest romance factor in the A-ROSA cruise portfolio. Nestled in sweeping vineyards, it flows past small wine-growing villages such as Bernkastel-Kues and Mehring and past the mighty Reichsburg in Cochem, which served as a customs castle in the Middle Ages. The city of Trier looks back on over 2,000 years of municipal history. Once founded by the Romans, it feels like an open-air museum today. Historical sights and monuments line the cityscape. Ultimately, the Moselle meets the Rhine at the Deutsches Eck under the eyes of the equestrian statue of the first German Emperor Wilhelm I in Koblenz.

The A-ROSA ships also regularly sail the Main. On so-called One-Ways, guests can travel either from Cologne to Nuremberg or back. During the cruise, after passing through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, the carnival city of Mainz awaits, where the Main flows into the Rhine. The journey continues to the financial metropolis of Frankfurt, which the locals like to call “Mainhattan” – a reference to New York’s Manhattan district, which has just as many skyscrapers. Further upstream, the Main meanders past the southern foothills of the Spessart to Würzburg. The city is not only famous for its countless baroque and rococo-style buildings, but also for the Würzburg Residence and the many wine-growing areas. High above the city, surrounded by vineyards, is the Marienberg Fortress, offering an excellent view over the city.

From Bamberg, the cruise leads onto the Main-Danube Canal, which provides an artificial connection with the Danube. The second largest Bavarian city, Nuremberg, is finally reached via manmade structures such as locks and even bridges, over which the ship crosses the valleys of Northern Bavaria. The city is not lacking in attractions: The Nuremberg Castle, St. Lorenz and the Craftsmen’s Yard invite travellers back to bygone times. The underground tunnels beneath the city promise unforgettable experiences and the Toy Museum and the oldest railway museum in Europe welcome not only children.