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| 25th25 | AugAug | 202323 | Nuremberg, Germany, embark on the TUI Maya | | 22:00 |
| Nuremberg is a medieval city located in northern Bavaria in Germany. It is Bavaria's second largest city and is noted for its iconic red roofed buildings and medieval architecture. The imperial Castle overlooks Nuremberg and was one of the most important fortifications of the Roman Empire. For more significant cultural history, the Germanisches Nationalmuseum, one of the largest cultural history museums in the German speaking world, offers visitors exhibitions from Prehistoric all the way to present day. Walking tours around the city offer an enjoyable and active way to learn of Nuremberg’s history and culture. Through Old Town, discover fountains, wells, churches, and art treasures, as well as learning of the colourful past and cosmopolitan present of the city and its people. Nuremberg is also home to one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, the Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt, where visitors can purchase traditional handmade decorations and enjoy the famous gingerbread, mulled wine, and grilled sausage from over one hundred and eighty wooden stalls. Nuremberg’s a city that wears lots of different hats. The river port’s set south of the centre, between a bustling industrial area and a wedge of Bavaria’s trademark emerald-coloured forest. Take a 15-minute taxi ride into the old town, and it’s a very different picture. Gothic architecture and houses criss-crossed with timber beams set the tone, and there’s a castle that dates back to Medieval times. Nibble on lebekuchen – the trademark gingerbread-style snack – and get your shopping fix in Lorenzer Altstadt, where luxury and souvenir shops are jumbled together near the river. |
| 26th26 | AugAug | 202323 | Bamberg, Germany | | |
| Bamberg is a German town located over a landscape of seven hills and the confluence of Regnitz and Main rivers. The town is a UNESCO World Heritage Centre with Old Town home to structures dating back to the 11th century. An iconic landmark to visit in Bamberg is the town hall Altes Rathaus, located on an island in the Regnitz and covered in murals. Bamberg Cathedral, with its four towers and numerous stone carvings, is a striking example of Romanesque architecture. Head to the Market Gardeners District and visit the historical houses where centuries ago the town gardeners would grow and export produce such as onions, seeds and liquorice. In the town centre and heart of Little Venice, the rivers and arched bridges connecting the island city are reminiscent of Venice, with a lively atmosphere and modern shops set in historical surroundings. After a day shopping, head to one of the many Brewery pubs for some popular German beer. Bamberg is famous for its beer and is where its name originated from, with the town being populated by nine traditional breweries. Bamberg has a real love affair with Italy. The town’s often nicknamed the ‘Franconian Rome’, thanks to its assortment of churches dotted across seven surrounding hilltops. It’s big on history, too, just like its Mediterranean counterpart. The charming old town, a 20-minute walk from the port, has the nod of approval from UNESCO. Think timber-framed houses with gabled roofs, intertwined with a 13th-century cathedral and a town hall built into a stone bridge. The multiple rivers laced through the centre have earned the Klein-Venedig neighbourhood the nickname ‘Little Venice’, as well. |
| 27th27 | AugAug | 202323 | Würzburg, Germany | | |
| Würzburg is a city in Bavaria in southern Germany. It is located on the River Main and is famous for its lavish baroque architecture and Franconian wine. The Residence Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is highly recommended. It is a well known example of Baroque architecture with its acclaimed staircase, impressive frescos and imperial hall. Other impressive sites in Würzburg include the towering fortress of Festung Marienberg, the Alt Mainbrücke old bridge, which offers ideal views of the Marienberg, Dom St. Kilian cathedral and the many churches of Würzburg including the Romanesque Neumünster. Many of these sites have their own museums for visitors to learn of the history or view unique collections. Other museums of interest are the Mineralogical Museum, exhibiting the world of minerals and stones, and the Botanical Gardens, with various greenhouses and outdoor areas to enjoy. Wine lovers will find an abundance of wineries in Würzburg, offering cellar tours and wine tasting as well as traditional Bavarian cuisines and hospitality. Enjoy wine soup, Gerupfter (cheese spread) and Sauerbraten (braised beef in wine) in a friendly traditional wine tavern. Grand architecture’s the main attraction in Wurzburg, which has a foot planted either side of the Main River. The main port’s on the outskirts, but a short taxi ride gets you among the Baroque buildings in the centre. Fortress Marienberg is perched on a hill overlooking the terracotta rooftops, and a statue-lined Medieval bridge leads to the Romanesque cathedral. Stroll a little further, and you’ll reach the grand UNESCO-accredited palace, known as the Wurzburg Residence. The local wine’s held in high regard, and there’s a brewery in the town that keeps local restaurants stocked with a signature wheat beer. |
| 28th28 | AugAug | 202323 | Miltenberg, Germany | | |
| Miltenberg is a city located in Bavaria and Southern part of Germany. Located on the banks of the river Maine the city grew from its medieval roots through Viniculture, wine trade, fishery, and general river traffic, into the established and preserved town of today. Visit the Museum Stadt Miltenberg, housed in the half timbered house called the Alte Amtskellerei (The Provost’s Office) and discover the town’s history through collections depicting culture back to the Romans. A visit to castle Miltenberg is also recommended. The castle dates back to the 11th century and is now owned by the city administration. With the castle in need of rehabilitation, the Museum Burg Miltenberg was opened to exhibit classic icons and contemporary art in a historical and significant setting. The keep of the castle, which reaches twenty seven metres high, offers picturesque views of the Main Valley below and is the perfect setting to relax and enjoy some refreshments. Miltenberg, tacked onto a horseshoe bend of the Main River, looks like it’s been lifted from the pages of a Grimm fairy tale. Half-timbered houses and cobbled streets gather close to the riverside. Open-air cafés and bars look across the pretty Alter Markplatz square, where a double-towered church rises above the pointy rooftops. Hauptstrasse covers boutique shopping and quaint souvenirs, and traditional German restaurants crop up as you stroll further on. In the background, tree-smothered hills and a castle-turned-museum fill the viewfinder. |
| 29th29 | AugAug | 202323 | Rüdesheim, Germany | | |
| Rudesheim’s a little town in the heart of Germany’s wine country. It’s part of the Rhine Gorge, a 65-kilometre-long, fortress-filled UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gothic, 16th-century houses line the water’s edge. And this is backed by a hillside sprinkled with walking trails for hikers, castles for historians and vineyards for wine-lovers. In fact, some of the biggest vineyards in Germany are found near here. Stick about in the centre of town, and you’ve got plenty of shops and bars to nip in and out of, plus a collection of museums focusing on toys, musical instruments and wine. Don’t miss the Niederwald Monument. The ride up to this giant, 100-year-old statue serves up incredible views of the town down below. |
| 30th30 | AugAug | 202323 | Cologne, Germany | | |
| Cologne is a city in western Germany located across the Rhine river. It is the oldest in Germany, dating back 2000 years and is considered the region’s cultural hub. The city is known for its iconic landmark of the twin-spired Cologne Cathedral set against the reconstructed Old Town buildings. When in Old Town, visit the historic Old Town Hall and the Roman Church Great St Martin, or take time out and sit at one of the traditional breweries and enjoy the scenery around you. Historical sites such as the Roman Dionysus mosaic and the medieval Overstolzenhaus are worth a visit too. Another iconic sight in Cologne is at Hohenzollern Bridge. Here, local and tourist couples affix padlocks to the railings of the bridge and swear their loyalty to each other, they then throw the key into the Rhein to ensure everlasting love. Cologne is home to over 30 stages providing cabaret, free ensembles, theatre and dance and also celebrates its openly gay culture. Cologne’s an iconic German city for so many reasons – like its beer halls, Christmas markets and a cathedral that’s graced many a holiday brochure cover. It’s also a city of contrasts where ancient Roman walls and Medieval churches rub shoulders with a postmodern quarter chock-full of chic shops. For drinks, head to Paffgen, a popular beer hall and garden. Or visit the Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum on the waterfront – a museum dedicated to the history of chocolate. Try to pronounce its name while sampling a tasty chunk or two. And don’t leave Cologne without walking through its cathedral. This World Heritage Site hovers majestically over the roofs of the city, and its interior’s just as impressive as its two spikey spires. |
| 31st31 | AugAug | 202323 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | | |
| Amsterdam combines the unrivaled beauty of the 17th-century Golden Age city center with plenty of museums and art of the highest order, not to mention a remarkably laid-back atmosphere. It all comes together to make this one of the world's most appealing and offbeat metropolises in the world. Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, Amsterdam is known as the City of Canals—but it's no Venice, content to live on moonlight serenades and former glory. Quite the contrary: on nearly every street here you'll find old and new side by side—quiet corners where time seems to be holding its breath next to streets like neon-lit Kalverstraat, and Red Light ladies strutting by the city's oldest church. Indeed, Amsterdam has as many lovely facets as a 40-carat diamond polished by one of the city's gem cutters. It's certainly a metropolis, but a rather small and very accessible one. Locals tend to refer to it as a big village, albeit one that happens to pack the cultural wallop of a major world destination. There are scores of concerts every day, numerous museums, summertime festivals, and, of course, a legendary year-round party scene. It's pretty much impossible to resist Amsterdam's charms. With 7,000 registered monuments, most of which began as the residences and warehouses of humble merchants, set on 160 man-made canals, and traversed by 1,500 or so bridges, Amsterdam has the largest historical inner city in Europe. Its famous circle of waterways, the grachtengordel, was a 17th-century urban expansion plan for the rich and is a lasting testament to the city’s Golden Age. This town is endearing because of its kinder, gentler nature—but a reputation for championing sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll does not alone account for Amsterdam's being one of the most popular destinations in Europe: consider that within a single square mile the city harbors some of the greatest achievements in Western art, from Rembrandt to Van Gogh. Not to mention that this is one of Europe's great walking cities, with so many of its treasures in the untouted details: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, hidden garden courtyards, shop windows, floating houseboats, hidden hofjes(courtyards with almshouses), sudden vistas of church spires, and gabled roofs that look like so many unframed paintings. And don’t forget that the joy lies in details: elaborate gables and witty gable stones denoting the trade of a previous owner. Keep in mind that those XXX symbols you see all over town are not a mark of the city's triple-X reputation. They're part of Amsterdam's official coat of arms—three St. Andrew's crosses, believed to represent the three dangers that have traditionally plagued the city: flood, fire, and pestilence. The coat's motto ("Valiant, determined, compassionate") was introduced in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina in remembrance of the 1941 February Strike in Amsterdam—the first time in Europe that non-Jewish people protested against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime. Criss-crossed by bridges and canals, Amsterdam is known as the Venice of the north. But its waterways are not all it’s famous for. In fact, mention the name of The Netherlands' capital city and you’ll get a whole list of associations. Clogs, cheese and windmills top the list, followed closely by World War history, cutting-edge art and coffee shops. One thing’s for sure, when you join the millions of tourists that flock to the city every year, you won’t have to look hard to find something that interests you. - Sit back and relax onboard Amsterdam’s most traditional mode of transport – a canal boat. Pleasure cruises have been running up and down the city’s waterways since 1621.
- Discover the secret hideout where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis during the Second World War. The tiny annex is now part of a museum, where you can follow the Franks’ story from the beginning to the tragic end.
- Cast an eye over the paintings of one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. The Vincent Van Gogh museum showcases a selection of the painter’s work, including the famous Sunflowers still life.
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| 1st01 | SepSep | 202323 | Amsterdam, Netherlands, disembark the TUI Maya | | |
| Amsterdam combines the unrivaled beauty of the 17th-century Golden Age city center with plenty of museums and art of the highest order, not to mention a remarkably laid-back atmosphere. It all comes together to make this one of the world's most appealing and offbeat metropolises in the world. Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, Amsterdam is known as the City of Canals—but it's no Venice, content to live on moonlight serenades and former glory. Quite the contrary: on nearly every street here you'll find old and new side by side—quiet corners where time seems to be holding its breath next to streets like neon-lit Kalverstraat, and Red Light ladies strutting by the city's oldest church. Indeed, Amsterdam has as many lovely facets as a 40-carat diamond polished by one of the city's gem cutters. It's certainly a metropolis, but a rather small and very accessible one. Locals tend to refer to it as a big village, albeit one that happens to pack the cultural wallop of a major world destination. There are scores of concerts every day, numerous museums, summertime festivals, and, of course, a legendary year-round party scene. It's pretty much impossible to resist Amsterdam's charms. With 7,000 registered monuments, most of which began as the residences and warehouses of humble merchants, set on 160 man-made canals, and traversed by 1,500 or so bridges, Amsterdam has the largest historical inner city in Europe. Its famous circle of waterways, the grachtengordel, was a 17th-century urban expansion plan for the rich and is a lasting testament to the city’s Golden Age. This town is endearing because of its kinder, gentler nature—but a reputation for championing sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll does not alone account for Amsterdam's being one of the most popular destinations in Europe: consider that within a single square mile the city harbors some of the greatest achievements in Western art, from Rembrandt to Van Gogh. Not to mention that this is one of Europe's great walking cities, with so many of its treasures in the untouted details: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, hidden garden courtyards, shop windows, floating houseboats, hidden hofjes(courtyards with almshouses), sudden vistas of church spires, and gabled roofs that look like so many unframed paintings. And don’t forget that the joy lies in details: elaborate gables and witty gable stones denoting the trade of a previous owner. Keep in mind that those XXX symbols you see all over town are not a mark of the city's triple-X reputation. They're part of Amsterdam's official coat of arms—three St. Andrew's crosses, believed to represent the three dangers that have traditionally plagued the city: flood, fire, and pestilence. The coat's motto ("Valiant, determined, compassionate") was introduced in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina in remembrance of the 1941 February Strike in Amsterdam—the first time in Europe that non-Jewish people protested against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime. Criss-crossed by bridges and canals, Amsterdam is known as the Venice of the north. But its waterways are not all it’s famous for. In fact, mention the name of The Netherlands' capital city and you’ll get a whole list of associations. Clogs, cheese and windmills top the list, followed closely by World War history, cutting-edge art and coffee shops. One thing’s for sure, when you join the millions of tourists that flock to the city every year, you won’t have to look hard to find something that interests you. - Sit back and relax onboard Amsterdam’s most traditional mode of transport – a canal boat. Pleasure cruises have been running up and down the city’s waterways since 1621.
- Discover the secret hideout where Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis during the Second World War. The tiny annex is now part of a museum, where you can follow the Franks’ story from the beginning to the tragic end.
- Cast an eye over the paintings of one of the 20th century’s most influential artists. The Vincent Van Gogh museum showcases a selection of the painter’s work, including the famous Sunflowers still life.
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