4 Night Cruise sailing from Cologne roundtrip aboard A-Rosa Flora.

When arriving in Amsterdam by ship, you immediately feel at home in this city on the water with its rings of canals lined by old merchants’ houses. And renting a “fiets” (bicycle) to dash from the old Dutch Masters to the Waterlooplein flea market is an ideal way to soak up the atmosphere. In Rotterdam, Amsterdam’s modern sister, you begin to doubt your senses when you see cube houses tipped over onto one corner, or when you look up to see huge raspberries painted on the ceiling. But looking out at the third-biggest port in the world brings you right back down to earth. In the small but beautiful Nijmegen you’ll find wonderful parks, a lovingly curated bicycle museum and a museum that you visit in complete darkness: the muZIEum offers the senses a different kind of experience.

Highlights of this cruise:

Cologne
Cologne, the old Cathedral city, is also one of the most important traffic hubs and commercial centres in Germany, with world famous trade fairs and a busy shipping traffic. Cologne developed out of a Roman colony and looks back on a history of more than 2000 years. In the Middle Ages it was one of the leading towns in Germany. The Second World War destroyed most of the inner city; these parts were rebuilt in a modern style. The landmark and emblem of the city is the Cathedral, a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture and one of the largest cathedrals in Europe. Other tourist attractions are the town hall, the Malakoff Tower, the St Martin Church and the old abbey.

Rotterdam
Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands, is located on both banks of the Nieuwe Maas, the southern arm of the Rhine, joined by the little River Rotte. Since the opening of the Europoort in 1966, Rotterdam has been the largest port in the world, and in consequence has developed into a gigantic commercial and industrial centre whose full potential is still very far from being realised.

Amsterdam
Amsterdam is located in the provinces of Noord-Holland. Including its ten outer suburbs, Amsterdam has a population of over one million inhabitants, forming the largest conurbation in what is known as “Randstad Holland”. The city is the hub and cornerstone of the Dutch economy thanks mainly to its importance as a commercial centre and the country’s second largest port. Amsterdam is unusual in many ways, i.e. it has more than 2000 architectural monuments, world-class museums and historic canals, but also its unique and liberal atmosphere makes it stand out.