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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 BASEL, SWITZERLAND (EMBARKATION)
Welcome to Switzerland. Your Suite Ship® is Ready for Boarding.
Flights into Zürich must arrive by 3 pm.
Guests must be on board ship by 5 pm.
Enjoy dinner and explore the ship on your first night on board.
EVENING CRUISE TO BREISACH
Day 2 BREISACH, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO BLACK FOREST
History, Artistry, and the Beautiful Black Forest
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 to Badische Winzerkeller, the largest German wine producer in Europe. Discover Germany’s southernmost wine country in Baden—ideally situated between the hills of the Black Forest and the Rhine River. Learn about the vintners’ process in the vineyards here, and enjoy a wine tasting, 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 Guided Tour to the magical Black Forest to experience the Vogtsbauernhof open-air-museum, visit an authentic water mill, and see a traditional butter-making demonstration.Follow your visit to Badische Winzerkeller with a free afternoon in Breisach.
EVENING CRUISE TO STRASBOURG
Day 3 STRASBOURG, FRANCE
Gothic Giants, Petite France, and Varietal Vintages
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 City Sightseeing Tour, including Strasbourg’s s gothic, stained-glass cathedral with its celebrated ancient murals and astronomical clock or the new Synogogue, as well as the magical La Petite France District and the Jewish quarter with its streets which are among the oldest in France.
EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO LUDWIGSHAFEN
Day 4 LUDWIGSHAFEN, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO HEIDELBERG
Castle Walls, and the World’s Biggest Barrel of Wine
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.
Enjoy a Guided Tour to Heidelberg Castle to see the ruins of the magnificent renaissance treasure towering above the city, and its famed Great Vat, the “World’s Largest Wine Barrel,” 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 your Avalon Adventure Host for a Hike up Philosophers’ Way for an inspiring view of the city below.
MAINZ
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.
Enjoy a Guided City Walk including a visit to the Gutenberg Museum to see the captivating history of printing.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN MAINZ
Day 5 RÜDESHEIM—RHINE GORGE
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry in Wine Country
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.
Based on your departure, enjoy either a Coffee Tasting or a Wine Tasting.
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.
Take a Guided Tour of the incredible Mechanical Music Museum for a one-of-a-kind instrumental experience, 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.
Take a Guided Hike through the vineyards with your Adventure Host, and enjoy the view with a cable car ride back down.
KOBLENZ
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN KOBLENZ
Day 6 COLOGNE
Prost! Celebrate in the Rhineland
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 City Walk of Cologne—with its soaring twin-steepled gothic cathedral, 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.
Choose a Guided Walking Tour of Cologne’s important Jewish heritage sites.
AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO AMSTERDAM
Day 7 AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND
Canals of Colorful Amsterdam
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.
DISCOVER Join an exclusive private visit to the house where Anne Frank and her family lived for more than 2 years before being betrayed and turned in to the Nazis.
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”. Learn more about the Jewish culture while exploring the Jewish quarter.
OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM
Day 8 AMSTERDAM (DISEMBARKATION)—PARIS, FRANCE
Transfer from your Avalon ship to the train station, where you begin your Monograms package. Travel to Paris by high-speed train (first class).
Day 9 PARIS
Morning guided sightseeing includes a drive past the Latin Quarter, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe and a stop to take photos of the Eiffel Tower from one of the best panoramic viewing points. Also admire the heart of the city from a different perspective on a SEINE RIVER CRUISE. Embark your comfortable boat near the Eiffel Tower and spend a relaxing hour gliding by many of the city's important landmarks such as the L'Institut de France; magnificent Notre Dame Cathedral where Napoleon was crowned emperor in 1804; Hôtel de Ville, the city's municipal headquarters; the Conciergerie, formerly a notorious prison where Marie-Antoinette spent the last days of her life; famous Louvre Palace and museum; and much more.
Day 10 PARIS—LONDON, ENGLAND
Travel to London by high-speed Eurostar train (Standard class)
Day 11 LONDON
Morning guided sightseeing includes all of London’s landmarks. Drive past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben; Westminster Abbey, where Prince William and Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were married; Whitehall’s mounted horseguards; the Prime Minister’s Downing Street; Buckingham Palace and Piccadilly Circus. Take photos of the London Eye, the giant Ferris wheel situated on the river bank, and the Shard, the tallest building in Western Europe. Then, visit St. Paul’s Cathedral (except on Sundays). Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece with its world-famous dome is an iconic feature of London’s skyline.
Day 12 LONDON
Your vacation ends with breakfast this morning.