Some of the best attractions are the rivers that flow through the countryside and major cities dotted across the continent.
Whether you’re planning on doing a luxury river cruise or you want to go on a romantic walk along the banks, these rivers are some of the most scenic in Europe.
Read more: Enchanting rivers of Europe
Flowing through the heart of Paris is the beautiful Seine River. While the Seine flows from the English Channel to more than 700km inland, it’s most renowned for it’s position in the French capital. From a boat travelling along the Seine in Paris, you can see some of the most iconic Parisian sites including the Eiffel Tower. There are boat tours that allow you to tour the city along the Seine, sipping champagne as you check out the Eiffel Tower and pass under some of the 37 bridges that cross the river in Paris. Outisde of Paris, the Seine flows through the countryside with one of the world’s longest cable-stayed bridges crossing the river linking Le Havre to Honfleur. Boats can cruise from the English Channel as far as 120km inland to the town of Rouen.
One of the most ionic rivers for luxury river cruising in Europe is the Danube, which crosses through more countries than any other river in the world. From Germany, the Danube can take you through 10 countries including Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine before flowing into the Black Sea. What makes the Danube so iconic is it flows through some of Europe’s most iconic and scenic cities including Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade.
Another popular option for river cruising is the Rhine river. Just like the Danube, the Rhine flows through several countries including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein and the Netherlands. Travelling along the Rhine you’ll pass through a number of iconic European cities including Basel in Switzerland, Dusseldorf and Cologne in Germany, Strasbourg in France and Rotterdam in the Netherlands. If river cruising isn’t your thing, there’s plenty of ways you can walk the banks of this iconic river. Why not walk the banks of the Rhine as it flows through the cities or take a dip in the Rhine while you tour the Swiss Alps.
Read more: 10 ways to get the most out of your European river cruise
When a lot of travellers think of scenic European rivers, they often think the Danube or Rhine. But what about the Thames over in England? If you’ve ever been to London, then you’ve seen this river first hand. The Thames flow through the heart of London, and just like the Seine in Paris, you can see some of the city’s most iconic landmarks from the river. While there’s no river cruising on the scale of the mainland European rivers, there are a variety of day tours that take you up the Thames in London. From the Thames you can see the Houses of Parliament, the London Bridge, the Tower of London, Big Ben and the London Eye.
Passing through some of Switzerland’s most scenic landscapes including Lake Geneva and flowing through France and into the Mediterranean Sea, the Rhone is another popular river for luxury river cruising. As you cruise along the Rhone you’ll pass through iconic European cities including Geneva in Switzerland and Lyon in France. It also forms part of the iconic French delta region of Camargue. On foot you can explore the banks of the Rhone throughout several cities and towns in Switzerland and France, as well as Lake Geneva on the French and Swiss border.
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