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             - Holland & Belgium in Spring

2009 Dates
Apr 4*
Apr 4
Apr 11
Apr 11*
Apr 18*
Apr 18
Apr 25
Apr 25*
May 2

*Indicates
Amsterdam to Brussels direction.

MS Swiss Diamond

1-888-942-3301

Certain restrictions apply. All rates in U.S. dollars. Prices, savings offers, and other terms subject to change without notice. Images, logos, photographs etc. on this page is copyrighted by Tauck. It is presumed to be accurate and is subject to change without notice.

Revel in the vivid colors of spring in the Netherlands and Belgium during a riverboat cruise through centuries-old inland waterways aboard Swiss Sapphire or Swiss Emerald. View windmills standing sentinel over lush landscapes that stretch as far as the eye can see, and celebrate the season with a visit to Keukenhof Gardens. Take a canal ride through the medieval town of Bruges, and experience the past at the Zuiderzee Museum. Taste Dutch gin, learn how Belgian chocolate and Dutch cheese are made, and dine at a castle. Visit renowned art museums and World War II sites, with city sightseeing in Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Maastricht on this most interesting and colorful of Belgium and Holland cruises.

Southbound: Amsterdam to Brussels itinerary below / Northbound: Brussels to Amsterdam itinerary available upon request.

1. Arrive Brussels
Tour begins: 6:00 PM, Hotel Amigo. A transfer is included from Brussels Airport to the Hotel Amigo. Your five-star hotel, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, is ideally located in the heart of Belgium’s capital, adjacent to Grand Place, one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. We invite you to join us this evening for a welcome cocktail reception followed by dinner.
Hotel Amigo ~ Meals D

2. Medieval Bruges / Embark Ship
Travel this morning through the Belgian countryside to beautiful Bruges, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned as the birthplace of Flemish painting. A sightseeing tour and canal boat cruise reveal the 13th-century architecture featuring half-timbered houses, flower-rimmed canals and ancient arched bridges of this lovely medieval city, one of the best-preserved in Europe. Explore on your own before traveling to Antwerp for embarkation on the riverboat – join us for a Belgian beer reception and Belgian-style dinner tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BD

3. Antwerp / Albert Canal
A sightseeing tour of Antwerp, one of Europe’s most important ports, includes the city’s majestic 1905 Central Station, the opera house, and city park. Visit the Peter Paul Rubens House – a museum in the reconstructed Renaissance-Baroque home and gardens of the famed 17th-century Flemish painter, displaying his works and those of some of his Baroque contemporaries – and a local chocolatier to see how fine Belgian chocolate is made. Return to the ship for a cruise through the Albert Canal to Maastricht in the Netherlands. Join the ship’s Captain for a welcome reception tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD

4. Visit Maastricht in the Netherlands
Rivaling Nijmegen as one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands, Maastricht is said to contain more than 1,400 historic buildings and monuments. A walking tour of Old Town includes Vrijthof Square, Basilica of Our Lady, and the Spanish Government House. Tour Sint-Servaasbasiliek before a poignant visit to the Netherlands American Cemetery, the only World War II cemetery in the country. Have lunch at the 17th-century Château Neercanne, the Netherlands’ only terraced castle, whose restored garden terraces are protected by UNESCO.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD

5. Maas River Cruising / Nijmegen
Spend the morning cruising the Maas River through the scenic Dutch countryside to Nijmegen, the Netherlands’ oldest city, whose roots go back thousands of years to Roman times. Ancient ruins and intact historic buildings alike document Nijmegen’s storied past – from the 8th-century Valkhof, once the stronghold of Charlemagne, to the 14th-century church of Sint-Stevenskerk and the well-preserved Grote Markt. Visit the Museum Het Valkhof to see artifacts such as Roman coins, glassware and jewelry, as well as Nijmegen silver and guild objects. Your riverboat docks in Arnhem tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD

6. Airborne Museum / De Hoge Veluwe
From Arnhem, travel by land to Oosterbeek for a visit to the World War II Airborne Museum, housed in a former Allied command center during the 1944 operation depicted in the film A Bridge Too Far. You’ll also explore the well-preserved streets of the old Hanseatic town of Deventer. Or you may choose to visit De Hoge Veluwe National Park in Arnhem – the largest nature reserve in the Netherlands – and the Kröller-Müller Museum, home to over 275 works by Van Gogh. Rejoin the ship at Deventer, and spend the afternoon cruising.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD

7. Enkhuizen / Seafaring Hoorn
Cruise to Enkhuizen, considered one of the Netherlands’ prettiest towns, a former center of herring fishing laced with canals and historic buildings. A walking tour features a visit to the open-air Zuiderzee Museum, recreating life in a Zuiderzee (south sea) fishing village between the 1880s and the 1930s. Your riverboat continues on to the bustling port town of Hoorn, birthplace of explorer Willem Schouten, who named South America’s southern tip Cape Horn in honor of his hometown. You have a choice of a walking tour of Hoorn to discover its many intact 16th- and 17th-century house facades, or a journey to the Alkmaar region in the Schermer polder. There, you’ll visit the Schermer Museum Windmill, dating from 1634, for a look at how windmills created the polder, and the Zeezicht cheese farm for a tour and a cheese-making demonstration.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD

8. Discover Vibrant Amsterdam
Arrive overnight in Amsterdam; the Netherlands’ lively capital city is a vibrant blend of the historic and the contemporary, from its medieval core and surrounding network of 17th-century canals, to the bustling shops, cafés and rich cultural life of a 21st-century European metropolis. Have breakfast aboard ship before departing for Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, where millions of tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are in various stages of bloom at this time of the year. Following lunch aboard your riverboat, you’ll enjoy a relaxing afternoon in Amsterdam that’s spent as you please. The Captain and crew bid you farewell at a reception and dinner aboard ship tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD

9. Disembark Ship / Canal Cruise
After disembarking the riverboat, begin an overnight stay in Amsterdam with an inspiring visit to the famed Rijksmuseum, home to myriad works by the Dutch Masters, including Rembrandt’s The Night Watch. The Netherlands’ capital was designed around a network of concentric, tree-lined canals dating from the 17th century; enjoy a luncheon canal cruise for a different view of the city. Your accommodations tonight are at the unique Hotel Pulitzer, A Luxury Collection Hotel, comprised of 25 restored 17th- and 18th-century canal houses. Please join us this evening for a farewell dinner.
Hotel Pulitzer, A Luxury Collection Hotel ~ Meals BLD

10. Journey Home
Tour ends: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Fly home any time; a transfer from the Hotel Pulitzer, A Luxury Collection Hotel, to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport is included. Allow a minimum of 2 1/2 hours for flight check-in. For additional hotel nights in Amsterdam (or Brussels), inquire at time of booking. Meals B

Night 1 Hotel Amigo
Brussels, Belgium

Night 2-8 Aboard MS Swiss Emerald / MS Swiss Sapphire
Cruising Benelux Waterways

Night 9 Hotel Pulitzer, A Luxury Collection Hotel
Amsterdam, Netherlands