Avalon has designed included activities with a choice of experiences. We invite you to select the tours, activities, and events that interest you most, so you can experience your cruise your way. There are three types of included shore excursion on every Europe cruise:
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Active
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Day 1 AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND
Welcome to Holland. Your day in Amsterdam is free to explore at your leisure.
Day 2 AMSTERDAM (EMBARKATION)
Canals of Colorful Amsterdam
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age.”
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO ARNHEM
Day 3 ARNHEM–NIJMEGEN
A Duke’s Forest and a Dutch Treat
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Tour of the Airborne Museum of Hartenstein commemorating the 1944 WWII Battle of Arnhem, OR:
Active
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
Join a Biking Tour on the Hoge Veluwe National Park and admire its diversity of scenery, from dense forests to high sand dune.
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join your ship in Nijmegen and enjoy lunch onboard.Join a Guided Excursion to ‘s-Hertogenbosch (meaning the Duke’s Forest). Sample a Bossche Bol—a decadent cream puff covered in Dutch chocolate, OR:Visit a windmill and family-operated fruit and flower farm. Hear the history of a 15th century windmill with a local flour miller. Then, enjoy a carriage ride through the Ooijpolder nature reserve—home to herons, storks, birds of prey, and wild horses, OR:Experience September 1944 and Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in history, as you visit the National Liberation Museum and explore Groesbeek in an authentic war-era military vehicle to learn how the Allies liberated the Netherlands from Nazi occupation.Sail out this evening for Venlo while dining on board.AFTERNOON/EVENING CRUISE TO VENLO
Day 4 MAASTRICHT
Dutch History, Modern Spirit, and Fresh Pie
Enjoy an early morning sailing to Maastricht.
CLASSIC Discover this vibrant university town with its lovely cathedrals, old houses, and buildings, and impressively cobblestoned town
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
center.
OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO NAMUR
Day 5 NAMUR, BELGIUM
Ancient Architecture and Charming Cafés
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join an onboard lecture about WWI hosted by your history expert.
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Sightseeing Tour of the picturesque old-town, fortress citadel, and medieval architecture, with focus on WWI and how Namur was attacked.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN NAMUR
Day 6 LIÈGE
Historic Wonders and Wonderful Waffles
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join a Guided Sightseeing Tour of the “Fiery City” of Liège with its beautiful ancient quarters, peculiar alleys, and romantic streets. Don’t miss sampling authentically sweet Liège Waffles. End your tour with a visit to Fort De Loncin, built as part of the Fortifications of Liège in the late 19th century in Belgium and destroyed during World War I, OR:
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join a full-day excursion to the hilly and forested region of Ardennes and visit the town of Bastogne that became famous during WWII for the Battle of the Bulge. Visit the Historical Center and the famous Memorial sites.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO ANTWERP
Day 7 ANTWERP
A Grand Gothic Cathedral in Artful Antwerp
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Take a Guided Tour of this sophisticated city to visit the central Grote Markt, lined with 16th-century guildhall houses. You’ll also see the beautiful city hall, the Cathedral of Our Lady with its stunning altarpiece paintings by Rubens.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Enjoy a history lecture on board held by our history expert.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN BRUSSELS
Day 8 BRUSSELS
Ancient Landmarks and New Finds
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Tour of Brussels, see the Town Hall with its landmark buildings and discover the many local bars, cafés and shops of the Lower Town Streets,
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
OR:
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Explore the Eastern Flanders Battlefields in a half day or full day tour and follow your guide in a fascinating visit of the WWI Museum and learn about the consequences of the Great War.Your day will continue to Ypres, where local people gather at the Menin Gate for a moving tribute to commemorate those who sacrificed for their town. Today’s Ceremony will be even more special as it’s Anzac Day.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN BRUSSELS
Day 9 BRUSSELS
Filling Fare and Fabled Beer
Spend a day at leisure to sample Brussels hearty cuisine and famous beer.
Enjoy dinner on board as you sail for Ghent this evening.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO GHENT
Day 10 GHENT
Ghent’s Cobblestones, Canals, and Cosmopolitan Charisma
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Explore Ghent—“The Diamond of Flanders”— with a Guided Sightseeing Tour of this showcase of medieval Flemish wealth. You’ll visit St. Bavo’s Cathedral—with its remarkable Flemish artwork.
OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO BOSSUIT
Day 11 BOSSUIT
Battlefield Remembrances in Flanders
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Visit the In Flanders’ Field Museum in Ypres— learn about the story of the invasion of Belgium, the first months of the mobilization, the four years trench war in the Westhoek, the end of the war, and the permanent remembrance ever since. After your visit, enjoy lunch at the museum’s café.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Follow your visit to the museum with a journey back in time by visiting battlefields, cemeteries, memorials and private collections.
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Don’t miss the opportunity to take part to the Last Post Ceremony, taking place every evening under the imposing arches of the Menin Gate. Enjoy some free time for dinner before the Ceremony starts.
OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO MIDDELBURG
Day 12 MIDDELBURG, HOLLAND
A Spicy History in Middelburg’s Dutch Harbor Town
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Walking Tour of the historic merchant city of Middelburg—with its 15th century gothic Town Hall. You’ll learn about the spice trade of this Dutch harbor capital of Zeeland, its prosperity in the Dutch East India Company trading, and origins as a stronghold city. Enjoy its winding cobbled streets and canals that circle Old Town.
VEERE
Discovery
We’ve found inspiring and interactive activities to speak to your interests - from cooking classes, to painting workshops - to immerse yourself in each culture you explore.
Join a Guided Tour of the Delta Works, the largest flood-protection system in the world, and a miracle of modern technology.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN KINDERDIJK
Day 13 KINDERDIJK–ROTTERDAM
Harnessing the Wind 300 Years
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Tour of Kinderdijk where 19 windmills were built in 1740 as flood prevention and water management. You’ll hear about the windmill’s vital role in the Netherland’s history and why it became a national symbol of Holland.
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Join a Guided Sightseeing Tour of Rotterdam featuring innovative architecture, including the marvelous Erasmus Bridge.
OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO ZAANDAM
Day 14 ZAANDAM–HAARLEM
Windmills, Waterways, and Waving Fields of Flowers
Arrive in Zaandam this morning with free time to explore this quintessential Dutch town. See windmills, waterways, and flower farms, while discovering Dutch history in its handicraft shops and museums.
Cruise to Haarlem this afternoon while enjoying lunch on board.
HAARLEM
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Visit Haarlem, a major flower bulbs growing district outside of Amsterdam. Explore the former North Sea trading port with its medieval features, gabled houses, and leafy courtyards.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
Day 15 AMSTERDAM
Canals of Colorful Amsterdam
Classic
Your local expert is ready to guide you through the history and heritage of local destinations. You’ll marvel at the legends, lore, and spectacular architecture of iconic and historic sites.
Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age”, OR:
Active
Embark on energetic excursions to keep you in motion and on the go - from a guided jogging tour of Amsterdam, to biking, paddling, and hiking your way through scenic locales.
See the sights of Amsterdam from a unique perspective by joining our Guided Jogging Tour of the city—all at an easy pace with stops for commentary.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
Day 16 AMSTERDAM (DISEMBARKATION)
Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning
