The Rhine in flames, an incredible spectacle on the water

Included in tour package

<ul>
	<li>R&uuml;desheim (tourist train, tasting and museum)</li>
	<li>Mainz and the Gutenberg Museum</li>
	<li>Heidelberg and its castle (outdoor)</li>
</ul>

Departure for the visit of Heidelberg. This cosmopolitan, friendly, and vibrant city is made up of 15 distinct neighborhoods and is particularly attractive to families, students, business people, and researchers. Its high quality of life comes through to visitors, who feel genuinely at home here. We&#39;ll begin with a visit to the outside of Heidelberg Castle, where you&#39;ll be able to see the Renaissance ruins and parts of its restoration. The castle has a history that is almost as old as the city itself. From either the Great Terrace or the gardens, enjoy an amazing view over Heidelberg, the Neckar River, and the valley. Don&#39;t miss seeing the Heidelberg Tun. Built in 1751 by Prince Elector Karl Theodor, it housed the wine paid as taxes by the wine growers in the region. Legend has it that the permanently intoxicated court jester who guarded the cask, Perkeo, died after mistakenly drinking a simple glass of water. You can also enjoy a stroll through the castle gardens, once considered a masterpiece of their time. Built upon several terraces, they were made up of many flower beds, mazes, sculptures, heated greenhouse with orange trees, large ponds, waterfalls, and a man-made grotto. We&#39;ll then head for the Neckarm&uuml;nzplatz, on the banks of the Necker River, and continue with a guided tour of the old city. We&#39;ll pass by the Church of the Holy Spirit, the most famous church in Heidelberg, whose steeple dominates the town. And then you can take advantage of some free time to wander through the streets and shops before returning on board.PLEASE NOTE<ul><li>Depending on the cruise, departure and/or return on board in Mannheim</li><li>The access to the castle needs climbing up a 300m gradient.</li><li>Good walking shoes are recommended.</li><li>The order of the visits can change.</li><li>Times are approximate.</li></ul>

Guided tour of Heidelberg and its castle (outdoor)

You will start the visit with a tour and commentary of the R&uuml;desheim vineyards by mini-train, during which you will discover the famous vineyards already cultivated in the Roman period. During this tour, the history of winemaking in the region will be explained and you can enjoy a breathtaking view of R&uuml;desheim and the Rhine. The train will then stop right before the historical Bassenheimer Hof cellar, a seigneurial residence from the 16th century, where we&#39;ll indulge in a wine-tasting*. A winemaker from the St&ouml;rzel family cellar will guide you through a tasting of three different wines, from the driest to the sweetest, all the while telling you about the history of the cellar and winemaking in the R&uuml;desheim region, complete with local stories. Afterwards, our visit will continue on to the Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments located 100m away from the cellar in an old building from the 15th century. The &quot;Siegfrieds Mechanisches Musikkabinett&quot; is the first German museum dedicated to self-playing musical instruments, which holds an impressive collection of no less than 350 mechanical musical instruments dating back to the 18th century to the 20th, all spread out on more than 4000 ft&sup2;. This is a vast collection, dating back three centuries, of fascinating musical instruments that function like computers, ranging from tiny, delicate music boxes to an enormous orchestrion. Tools and machines for the production of organ pipes, cardboard sheet music, rolls of sheet music and perforated disks are also on display in the collection. Whatever their age, museum visitors always take great pleasure in discovering this special music, the techniques from the past and how these instruments work. After visiting the Museum, you will have some free time to stroll through the streets of R&uuml;desheim ambling down the famous Drosselgasse, before making your own way back to the boat.

PLEASE NOTE

<ul>
	<li>Warm clothes are recommended for the visit of the cellar.</li>
	<li>After the visits, passengers will have free time in Rudesheim until they go back to the boat on foot on their own.</li>
	<li>Good walking shoes are recommended.</li>
	<li>The order of the visits can change.</li>
	<li>Times are approximate.</li>
	<li>*Alcohol can be harmful to your health. Please drink in moderation.</li>
</ul>

R&uuml;desheim : wine tasting* and visit of the Museum of Mechanical Musical Instruments

Boarding a glass-covered boat, our tour will take us to the Petite France District. This is a famous quarter beloved by its citizens thanks to its canals, charming colorful half-timbered houses and its narrow alleyways. We will glide past the Tanners Quarter, the Covered Bridges (Ponts Couverts) and the Panoramic Terrace on the Vauban Dam. The cruise continues through the German Quarter. Following the French defeat in 1870, Germany planned to make Strasbourg the capital of the Reichsland or Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine. This district, referred to as the &quot;new town&quot;, represented a new form of urban planning, featuring wide roads, monumental administrative and cultural buildings, and luxurious private homes. Landscaping also played a key role in this impressive urban planning scheme. Then, we&#39;ll get a chance to admire the link between Strasbourg and Europe through the European Parliament Building, completed in 1999, which was designed to host monthly sessions of the European Parliament. The architecture of the building is based on a combination of circles and ellipses, with the building laid out and organized into several clearly identified areas. Finally, we&#39;ll see the Human Rights Building where the European Court of Human Rights is located.PLEASE NOTE<ul><li>Mind the gap when boarding the river boat.</li><li>The order of the visits can change.</li><li>Times are approximate.</li><li>Excursion subject to availability and only on pre-booking before departure.</li><li>INCLUDED in the GSB cruise.</li></ul>

Strasbourg by night

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CLASSIC EXCURSIONS PACKAGE

Included in tour package Rüdesheim (tourist train, tasting and museum) Mainz and the Gutenberg Museum Heidelberg and its castle (outdoor)

CLASSIC EXCURSIONS PACKAGE

CLASSIC EXCURSIONS PACKAGE

Cruises

The Rhine in flames, an incredible spectacle on the water

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