River cruise expert Sue Bryant has spent more than 25 years exploring Europe's waterways - she shares the experiences, sights and hidden gems that make each one unique.
Since my first river cruise on the Danube, more than 25 years ago, I’ve explored every major river in Europe, as well as some of the lesser-known waterways.
All rivers are fascinating – but here are my personal highlights, with what makes them unique and which one is perfect for you.
If you're taking your first river cruise, the Rhine is hard to beat. It combines fairytale scenery, picturesque villages and some of Europe's most famous riverside landmarks.
My highlights of the Rhine.
Boppard is one of the prettiest villages in the Middle Rhine Valley, where elegant Belle Epoque villas line the riverbank and geraniums cascade from window boxes.
There’s Roman history, too – there was a garrison here and you can still see the remains of 2,000-year-old walls and impenetrable towers.
Tarte flambée, or Flammekuche, is a real treat on a cruise to Strasbourg. It’s Alsace’s answer to pizza, a thin dough topped with crème fraîche, caramelised onions, and salty lardons, baked in a wood-fired oven.
Germany’s Black Forest, an excursion from Breisach, is famed for cuckoo clocks and cake but it’s the wild landscape that I love, miles of mountains, meadows and lakes.
You can see how the Brothers Grimm took inspiration for stories like Little Red Riding Hood from the dense forests of spruce and fir.
The Marksburg Castle, towering 500 feet above the river near Braubach, has a fascinating medieval garden featuring more than 150 species of herbs that were used in the Middle Ages, from lovage and basil for cooking to mandrake and comfrey for medicinal purposes.
Amsterdam may not sit on its banks, but the popular destination is connected to the river by a canal and is a feature of many Rhine cruises.
It’s at its most alluring in spring, when the parks and flower markets are brilliant with tulips and flowering cherry trees are swathed in pink.
A canal cruise is a great way to take it all in.
Or for something a little different, a network of man-made waterways criss-crosses the Netherlands and Belgium.
They are great for a close-to-home break and some dates take in gala concerts by Dutch violinist and conductor Andre Rieu.
The Main showcases some of Germany's most beautiful and historic destinations.
From medieval Miltenberg and UNESCO-listed Bamberg to elegant Würzburg and bustling Frankfurt, there’s culture, architecture and delicious food and drink.
My highlights of the Main.
Of all the medieval towns along Germany’s rivers, Miltenberg is my favourite, simply because its cobbled alleys and crooked, half-timbered houses are so perfectly preserved.
A good guide will help unravel the layers of the past from witch hunts to the tanning trade and the once-thriving Jewish community.
Hilly Bamberg’s entire medieval and Baroque heart is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The most eye-catching spot? The frescoed Old Town Hall, built in the 15th century on an artificial island in the river Regnitz.
On a summer day in Frankfurt, you can’t beat a glass of the local apple wine – a prized dry cider – in the sun-dappled gardens of the apple wine pubs (known as Ebbelwei-Wirtschaften) along the banks of the Main.
The 18th-century Prince-Bishops of Würzburg certainly lived in style – their Baroque Residence Palace is jaw-droppingly opulent.
The highlight here is the Treppenhaus staircase, the ceiling adorned with the world’s largest fresco, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.
Don’t visit Nuremberg without sampling Rostbratwürst, the local sausage, from the Bratwursthäusle, an old stone house on Marktplatz where this delicacy has been made fresh every day since 1312.
Stretching through the heart of Europe, the Danube combines spectacular scenery with some of the continent's greatest cultural and historical treasures.
From Vienna's world-class art collections and Budapest's bustling markets to dramatic landscapes such as the Iron Gates Gorge, it's an ideal choice if you enjoy history, architecture and iconic city experiences.
My highlights of the Danube.
Coming face-to-face with The Kiss, Klimt’s shimmering masterpiece, in the Upper Belvedere Palace, is something special.
There are dozens of world-class art museums in Vienna but this is the best gallery in which to admire the organic lines and geometric motifs of the Secessionists, a movement of which Klimt was a founder.
Getting to Dürnstein’s ruined castle, high above the Danube in the glorious Wachau Valley, is a trek along a winding trail of steps and stones but the views are worth it, as is the story – this is where in 1192, Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned on his way back from the Crusades.
Sailing through the Iron Gates Gorge, 83 miles of plunging canyons carved by the Danube between the Carpathian Mountains and the Balkan hills, is a real adventure.
The forests that line the gorge are one of Europe’s largest wilderness corridors, where bears, wolves and lynx live wild.
There are Christmas markets all over Europe but I think Vienna’s are the most romantic.
I love skating on the seasonal ice rink at the Rathausplatz, shopping for chocolate and Lebkuchen cinnamon biscuits at Stephansplatz and listening to carols at Am Hof.
You can learn a lot about a city through its markets and the neo-Gothic Central Market Hall in Budapest is no exception.
Its stalls are crammed with meat, cheese, glossy vegetables and endless varieties of smoky paprika, as well as honey, lavender and herbal liqueurs.
The Moselle is one of Europe's prettiest rivers, flowing past vineyards, medieval towns and storybook castles. Quieter than some of the continent's major waterways, it will reward you with a gentler pace to enjoy some of Europe’s most romantic scenery.
My highlights of the Moselle.
Clinging to a crag overlooking the riverside town of Cochem, the neo-Gothic Reichsburg Castle, restored from ruin in the 19th century, is straight out of a fairytale, all pointed spires and crenellated battlements.
Braided vineyards stretch in every direction from Bernkastel, the heart of the Moselle wine-growing region.
Join a tasting to sample the fruity, minerally Rieslings and don’t miss the rich, sweet dessert wines – Eiswein is wonderful with rich, salty foods.
Trier is the place to visit for Roman history, with no less than nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the sandstone city gate, Porta Nigra; the remnants of the 20,000-seat amphitheatre; and the Barbara Baths, the largest bathing complex of the Roman Empire beyond Rome itself.
Looming 387 feet above the Rhine opposite Koblenz, the Prussian fortress of Ehrenbreitstein is reached by a dramatic cable car ride over the river.
At the top, explore the solid walls, tunnels and bastions as well as learning about the history of Koblenz.
The beauty of 12th-century Burg Eltz almost defies imagination, a tall, skinny turreted confection clinging to a 230-ft-high rock, deep in the forest.
The same family has lived here for 33 generations.
Portugal's Douro Valley is famous for vineyards, historic wine estates and spectacular scenery. It's an excellent choice if you enjoy combining culture with sampling delicious food and wine.
My highlights of the Douro
Porto is a captivating tangle of narrow alleyways, skinny, brightly painted houses and in the Ribeira district, buzzing riverside bars and restaurants.
It’s here that I discovered the joys of pink port and tonic, served over ice with lemon and mint.
The grand old port houses, from Sandeman to Calem, Graham’s and Taylor’s are all in Vila Nova de Gaia, across the Douro from Porto.
Even if you don’t like port, a cellar tour is fascinating – and a tasting may even change your mind.
There’s much to see here but the library at the 12th-century university blew me away – there are 2,700 manuscripts here dating from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
You can’t visit Portugal without tasting pastel de nata, flaky pastry tartlets filled with a rich egg custard sprinkled with cinnamon. The delicacy originated in Lisbon’s Belem district but you’ll find them everywhere.
Tiny, hilltop Castelo Rodrigo, surrounded by olive and almond groves, is where to shop for local olive oil and honey.
Look out too for Terrincho, a creamy, semi-hard cheese made from the milk of the Curra da Terra Quente sheep that graze the Alto Douro valley.
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