Rhine-Moselle (Mosel) - European River Cruise Routes

Rhine river cruises are probably the most popular of all European river cruises, and combining them with a Moselle (Mosel in German) river cruise is especially worthwhile.

Most Rhine Moselle cruises take a basic Rhine cruise and add in a return trip down the Moselle River to visit Trier and Bernkastel. So you start off the same way as a normal Rhine River Cruise, e.g. you might start in Antwerp and travel through Germany as far as Coblenz or Koblenz (photos or information). That means you pass the famous castles, see the legendary Loreley Rock (yes, that is the correct spelling), and visit Cologne with its UNESCO World Heritage Gothic Cathedral.

You would then split off into the Mosel (Moselle) river valley for Cochem, Bernkastel and Trier, with perhaps an excursion to Luxembourg. After that you return up the Moselle, turn east into the Rhine again, perhaps explore the village of Rüdesheim with its Siegfried's Musikkabinett, drink "rauchbier" (smoked beer, smells like a ham sandwich) in Bamberg, possibly visit Heidelberg on an excursion from Speyer, then sample the French-German ambience of Strasbourg on the way down to Basel over the border in Switzerland.

Highlights of a cruise on the Mosel river would be visiting Trier, Germany's oldest city, founded in 16 B.C. by Roman Emperor Augustus, where you can see a wide range of Roman, Gothic and Renaissance monuments and churches all in one place. Other options available might be exploring the Reichsburg Castle in Cochem, or the U.S. Memorial Cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg, where General George Patton is buried.

Naturally, sampling some of the Moselle region's fine wines (although sometimes a little sweet for me) is a given. Forget red, it's white that's the name of the game here. See if you can try a "Bernkasteler Doktor", claimed by some to be the world's best Riesling, but be warned: it ain't cheap!

Some Mosel cruises, especially independents like the Rembrandt and those with smaller boats get further into France, e.g. to to Nancy, a medieval city in Lorraine where you can visit La Place Stanislas and tour a chocolate factory. There are also excursions, like one to St. Etienne's Cathedral in Metz to see a famous Silbermann (early 18th C) organ (one of Bach's favourites).

Here's a typical Rhine Moselle river cruise route

OUR ADVICE: concentrate on the ship you want to travel on and the route you want to travel, rather than the tour aggregator (of course, there's also price!). Be sure to check out our "Things to watch for" page too!

Next page: a typical Rhine Moselle river cruise route