a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the view from my cabin’s floor-to-ceiling windows showcased the ancient castles and quaint towns that dot the riverbanks. As I hurried to the ship’s sun deck for a better view, the tour directors narrated the history of the various landmark buildings and towns. They explained that the Rhine River has served as a transport route for over 2,000 years, linking the southern and northern halves of Europe and fostering trade and cultural exchange between settlements along its banks. This was just one of the many wonderful moments during Tauck’s Rhine Connoisseur Riverboat tour.

Tauck’s Rhine Connoisseur trip offers a lively, fun and relaxed way to explore the Rhine River as it winds its way through Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland. One of the focuses of the tour is the culinary delights of the regions you visit. Travelers eat gingerbread and tarte flambée in Strasbourg, baklava in Little Istanbul in Mannheim, chocolates in Belgium, and cheeses in Switzerland. A visit to a beer hall in Dusseldorf offers beer, bread and mustard, and local wines are served during the cruise.

Guests travel aboard the MS Esprit, a luxurious riverboat that holds just 98 guests, with a crew of 41, creating an intimate atmosphere while offering the amenities of a larger ship. The boat features a large sundeck with a jacuzzi and putting green, a fitness center, a massage room, and a small boutique. Guests enjoy free Wi-Fi and Tauck’s all-inclusive policy covers airport transfers, gratuities, and unlimited beverages (coffee, tea, soft drinks, beer, wine, and premium spirits). Each day guests can choose from two onshore excursions, or stay aboard the ship to enjoy its amenities and the cheerful crew. Onshore activities include walking city tours, visits to castles and museums and guided e-bike tours in Düsseldorf, Goar and Strasbourg

Cruise Itinerary
The cruise begins in Brussels, with stops in Antwerp (Belgium), Gorinchem (Netherlands), Düsseldorf (Germany), St. Goar (Germany), Mannheim (Germany), and Strasbourg (France). After the eight-day cruise guests spend three days in Montreux, Switzerland, at the luxurious Fairmont Montreux Palace, located directly across from Lake Geneva.

Life on Board
Tauck makes life on board fun and engaging, with activities that include lectures on topics such as the European Union, a lighthearted study of the German language and a European scarf-tying demonstration. There are also Team Trivia Nights, live piano music and karaoke on some evenings. One night the lively “Sandy Quartet” performed, singing a collection of international hits, intermingling with the guests with their instruments in hand and ending their set with a conga line that nearly everyone joined in on.

Private Castle Tour
A highlight of the trip is a visit to Slot Loevestein, a majestic 14th-century castle. We were taken by water taxi to Slot Loevestein island, which is reserved exclusively for Tauck guests that night. We received a guided tour of the castle where we were treated to a historical play about Hugo Grotius (1583-1645), a prisoner who engineered his escape from the island by hiding in a box of books, and went on to write the influential work On the Law of War and Peace. A private dinner was served in a dining room adjacent to the castle.

In Gorinchem we visited a “hidden church” established in 1578 when Catholicism was banned in the Netherlands and Catholics were forced into hiding to practice their religion. Guests enjoyed a pipe organ concert in this unique setting. In Mannheim, we explored some of the city’s renowned wall murals, while others visited the Mannheim Palace, one of Europe’s largest Baroque buildings.

Strasbourg, a city founded in 12 BC and located on the border of Germany and France, exuded French charm. We visited the magnificent Cathedral Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, known for its stunning stained-glass windows and its ancient astronomical clock. We had time to stroll its cobblestone streets and eat at one of its numerous cafes.

Fairmont Montreux Palace Post-Cruise Stay
After the eight-day cruise, we traveled by coach to the Fairmont Montreux Palace for three nights. The hotel was home to novelist Vladimir Nabokov for many years and hosts performers from the world-famous Montreux Jazz Festival. During these final days, guests eat on their own with expert dining recommendations from the tour directors and the concierges, who are especially attentive to Tauck guests.

Touring Switzerland
During this land portion of the tour we visited the Château Chillon, one of Europe’s best-preserved medieval castles and the setting for Lord Byron’s poem The Prisoner of Chillon. We made a visit to Lavaux Vineyards, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we rode a mini train through the unique and enchanting vineyards, grown on extremely steep hills. These vineyards can be traced back to the 11th century when they were cultivated by Benedictine and Cistercian monks. We were then invited to a wine tasting where we sampled multiple examples of the local wines and purchased wine from their shop. Switzerland’s wines are rarely exported, so this was a unique opportunity.

We visited the Charlie Chaplin Museum which offers a multimedia exhibit about the beloved actor’s rise to fame. Chaplin was responsible for such beloved films such as “The Kid,” City Lights,” “The Gold Rush” and “Modern Times.” The tour includes a visit to his home, where he lived for over 30 years after being exiled from the U.S.

On the last day of the tour guests could visit Glacier 3000, located 3,000 meters above sea level. The visit includes a gondola ride to one of the highest summits, lunch at a café, and the option to walk across a cable footbridge between two peaks with breathtaking views. I decided to take the Freddie Mercury Tour of Montreux, visiting spots significant to the iconic musician, including access to the Freddie Mercury Museum and recording studio. The tour highlighted how Freddie, and his band Queen, loved Montreaux, eventually purchasing the recording studio where they recorded numerous albums, and other bands such as David Bowie, The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin came to record.

The Tauck Rhine Connoisseur Cruise offers a great way to experience the Rhine River for a variety of different travelers. For those who want to cruise on the Rhine River but prefer to skip the Montreux visit there are four other Tauck Rhine River cruises to pick from, The Romantic Rhine: Amsterdam to Basel, The Rhine, Swiss Alps & Amsterdam and The Rhine and Moselle.

For more information visit:
www.tauck.com/tours-and-cruises/european-river-cruises