Active & Discovery on the Rhine with 2 Nights in Lucerne (Southbound)

Amsterdam's UNESCO-listed canal ring — a concentric web of seventeenth-century merchant houses and arching stone bridges — remains one of the Western world's most perfectly preserved Golden Age cityscapes, best explored by bicycle or canal boat at a pace that lets the city's genius reveal itself slowly. The Rijksmuseum's collection of Rembrandt and Vermeer masterpieces is essential, while the Anne Frank House offers one of Europe's most profoundly moving historical encounters. Spring brings the iconic tulip season; summer fills the terraces of the Jordaan district. Schiphol Airport makes Amsterdam a seamless gateway to the entire European continent.

Düsseldorf's port is a vibrant hub of culture and history, offering a unique blend of modern architecture and traditional charm. Must-do experiences include sampling the local Altbier and Rheintopf stew and exploring the nearby picturesque town of Wertheim. The best season to visit is during the spring, when the city blossoms and outdoor activities abound.

Koblenz stands at the Deutsches Eck — the German Corner — where the Moselle river pours into the Rhine in a confluence so geographically commanding that the Romans built a fortress here in 9 BC. The result is a city of exceptional Rhine Gorge scenery, with the formidable Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, one of Europe's largest, crowning the opposite bank and reachable by gondola for panoramas that stretch across three river valleys. A Rhine wine tasting at one of the city's historic Weinstuben, followed by a stroll through the Altstadt's baroque squares, is the definitive Koblenz afternoon. The finest weather arrives April through October, with the Rhine in Flames fireworks festival in August being particularly spectacular.

Speyer, one of the oldest cities in Germany, rises from the Rhine plain with a skyline dominated by its magnificent Romanesque Imperial Cathedral — a UNESCO World Heritage site and the burial place of eight Holy Roman Emperors. The adjacent Jewish Quarter, also UNESCO-listed, preserves a medieval synagogue and mikveh of extraordinary rarity. The Technik Museum houses one of Europe's most celebrated collections of historic aircraft, including a full-sized Space Shuttle replica. The surrounding Palatinate wine country produces fine Riesling and Pinot Noir. Spring and early autumn offer the most agreeable conditions for exploring this quietly remarkable city.

Sitting directly across the Rhine from Strasbourg, Kehl offers Rhine river cruise guests the remarkable experience of crossing from Germany into France in five minutes on foot — arriving at a medieval Alsatian cathedral quarter whose tarte flambée, Riesling estates, and half-timbered Petite France canals represent some of Europe's most enduring pleasures. The surrounding Black Forest and Alsatian Wine Route extend the discovery. Spring blossoms and autumn harvest are the most atmospheric times to visit this Franco-German frontier town.

Breisach am Rhein clings to a volcanic hilltop at the French-German border, commanding the Upper Rhine crossing that made it one of the most fought-over towns in European history — a past the Romanesque-Gothic Münster St. Stephan surveys serenely from its commanding heights. Today peace reigns, and Breisach's true gift is its position as a gateway to three celebrated wine regions: the German Kaiserstuhl, producing some of Germany's finest Spätburgunder; the French Alsace, just across the Rhine; and the rolling hills of the Baden wine country to the east. Visit in autumn for harvest season across all three regions simultaneously. Freiburg im Breisgau, the Black Forest's graceful capital, lies twenty minutes east.

Basel, where Switzerland, France, and Germany converge at the Rhine's northward bend, hosts a concentration of world-class art institutions that rivals any city its size on earth — the Kunstmuseum alone, the world's oldest public art collection, could occupy days, and Art Basel each June draws every name that matters in the contemporary art world to this compact, elegant city. The Rhine itself is the city's great social artery: in summer, locals jump in with waterproof bags and float downstream, a tradition as charming as any museum. Spring through autumn is ideal for outdoor exploration; Paris is just three hours by TGV and Strasbourg a mere twenty minutes by train.

Framed by snowcapped Alps and the mirror-bright waters of Lake Lucerne, this medieval Swiss gem centres on the 14th-century Kapellbrücke — one of Europe's oldest covered bridges — and a colourful Altstadt that has changed little in five centuries. Ride the cog railway to cloud-wreathed Mount Pilatus, savour Älplermagronen in a timber-beamed tavern, and explore the nearby wonders of Interlaken and Grindelwald. Late spring through early autumn offers the most spectacular lake reflections and settled mountain weather.