7 nights from £1545
Key VJV Features
• Excursions Included • Early Booking Offer • No Single Supplement • Drinks with Meals† • Extension Option • Walking Content: 2 • Guaranteed Departure • Group Size: 1 – 25
The Danube was a border between the Romans and the Barbarians as well as linking the territories of the former Austrian and Holy Roman Empires. The ‘Blue Danube’ is also linked with music through Johann Strauss and his famous waltz, played annually at Vienna’s televised New Year’s Day concert by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. This cruise ‘waltzes’ through three countries, a journey into history that displays the architectural splendours of the Habsburg imperial capital in Vienna. Bratislava, the Slovak capital, was part of the Habsburg Empire and once the Hungarian capital when the Ottomans occupied Budapest. The latter is revealed as perhaps the most dramatic city lying directly on the Danube which divides the unspoilt town houses and bastions of Buda from more cosmopolitan Pest.
The Wachau, perhaps the Danube’s most beautiful valley, has pretty riverside villages, fortified churches and castles such as Dürnstein where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned. Melk Abbey is a fine Baroque creation in an imposing position overlooking the Danube. The many fruit trees and vineyards provide an attractive backdrop to the voyage.
† Beer, house wine, fruit juice, tea, coffee and water are included during lunch and dinner.
