If you’re wondering what to expect on a Christmas market river cruise then you’re in the right place! This comprehensive review of Viking’s ‘Christmas on the Rhine’ itinerary covers everything you need to know about what to expect on this holiday river cruise. This cruise visits numerous Christmas markets in Germany, France, and Switzerland, with additional stops in the Netherlands. In this blog post I break down exactly what to expect on days 6-8 of the Viking ‘Christmas on the Rhine’ holiday river cruise.

This is our third and final installment of our three-part Viking Christmas market river cruise review. In mid-December 2024 we took a Viking river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel. Our river cruise included stops in several European cities to visit their famous Christmas markets and experience the culture of the different countries. 

Click this link for Part 1 and 2 of my Viking river cruise review of the ‘Christmas on the Rhine’ sailing. You can read more about what to expect on a Viking river cruise, including the food, rooms, and excursions, here. 

Our Christmas on the Rhine sailing was hosted by Viking Cruises. All thoughts, opinions, and experiences are our own.

What to expect on a Viking Christmas market river cruise 

We’ve already covered days 1-5 of our Christmas on the Rhine river cruise, which you can read about here. Below we’re covering days 6-8 of our Christmas market river cruise with Viking, as well as some of our post-cruise time in Basel, Switzerland. We also share our overall thoughts on the cruise itself.

Day 6 of our Viking Christmas Market river cruise – Alsatian wine tasting and exploring Strasbourg, France

Christmas markets, cathedrals, and croissants in Strasbourg, France 

We woke up early on day 6 to eat breakfast and prepare for a full day in Strasbourg, France. The river cruise ship arrived at the docking station in Strasbourg around 9:30 AM. We then had to board a tour bus and drive 30 minutes into town. Guests could then join the included shore excursion taking a walking tour around Strasbourg. However, because Gwyn has been to Strasbourg before, we opted to explore on our own. Thus, as soon as we arrived in Strasbourg, we split away from the group to explore Strasbourg.

Click here to read more about the food and breakfasts on our Viking river cruise.

Strasbourg was my favorite city to visit during the entire cruise. Based on our experience, almost all of the streets of Strasbourg were utterly beautiful and charming. Many were decorated with flowers and Christmas lights – we didn’t see a single “boring” street in Strasbourg. No matter what street we walked down, it was stunning! 

Highlights from exploring Strasbourg, France

One of the main highlights of the city was visiting the Notre-Dame cathedral. This was the centerpiece of one of Strasbourg’s main Christmas markets. We walked to the Cathedral around 10:30 AM. We were then able to tour the cathedral before the Christmas market crowd showed up at 11 AM. From there, we wandered through some of the beautifully decorated streets as we made our way over to Petite France. Petite France is well-known for its cobblestone streets, picturesque canals, and the Barrage Vauban. If you want a great photo opportunity overlooking Strasbourg, head to the top viewing deck of the Barrage Vauban! The views of the city up there are excellent! 

Because we were out exploring all day we weren’t able to eat lunch on the cruise ship. Instead we got lunch at Naegel in Strasbourg, which is a popular patisserie (pastry shop). The line was out the door, but it moved relatively quickly! We ordered a vegetarian quiche and a “dome choco-passion” (chocolate passion fruit pastry). These were some of the best pastries I have ever eaten. The French take their pastries seriously! For the most part, the staff spoke English, which made ordering easier. 

Around 1:30 PM we headed back to the tour bus stop to partake in the optional afternoon shore excursion: wine tasting in the Alsace. 

Travel tip: Strasbourg was the biggest walking day of our whole trip! We ended up walking over 19,000 steps that day. Wear comfortable shoes for this adventure!

Optional excursion: Alsatian wine tasting

At 2:00 PM, we hopped on a tour bus that took us away from the hustle and bustle of Strasbourg and drove about 30 minutes to the charming French countryside village of Mittelbergheim. This small town is located in the heart of the Alsace region, famous for its white wines! 

Upon arriving in Mittelbergheim we walked as a group a few blocks to the Domaine Albert Seltz winery. There we met Albert, a 14th generation winemaker. His winery has been around since 1576! He gave us a short tour of the winery before heading to the tasting room. Over the course of an hour or so we tasted four different white wines that Albert produced – a riesling, a pinot gris, a sylvaner, and a gewurztraminer. The wine was absolutely incredible! After the tasting, guests had the option to purchase bottles, each about 25 to 30 Euros. Albert packed the wine in travel-friendly boxes to pack in your luggage.

Around 5:00 PM we headed back to the tour bus, which brought us back to the ship. My one complaint about this day was that the last bus to bring everyone back to the ship from the winery and from Strasbourg was scheduled for 5:00 PM, even though the all-aboard time for the ship was 8:45 PM. Because Strasbourg was so charming, I know a lot of people would have loved to stay past 5:00 PM to explore the city longer and possibly enjoy dinner in town. 

A festive evening aboard the ship

Dinner aboard the ship that evening was quite the fun spectacle! Guests were served a “Taste of Germany” dinner, and the tables were decked out with displays of large pretzels, breads, and cheese and meat platters. Dinner was served as a buffet style, where we could choose from various German dishes such as bratwurst (sausages), spaetzle (creamy noodles), sauerbraten (marinated beef), rotkohl (German red cabbage), sauerkraut, and plenty of roasted vegetables! It was delicious and a fun way to experience some of Germany’s staple dishes!

After dinner, most guests hung out in the Lounge to learn about the last day’s disembarkation details, followed by listening to Christmas songs on the piano with the on-board musician. Around 9:30 PM, we sailed through a lock on the Rhine. Locks are engineered devices used for raising and lowering ships between different levels on rivers and canal waterways. This particular lock raised us approximately 60 feet so that we could continue sailing upstream. Guests could observe the process from the sundeck, during which Lee, the program director, explained how lock systems worked. Because it was cold up on the sundeck, guests were served hot Gluhwein (for free!).

Day 7 of our Viking Christmas Market river cruise – Christmas markets and an organ concert in Freiburg, Germany

A full day exploring the Christmas markets and magic of Freiburg, Germany

Day 7 of our Christmas market river cruise featured an all-day trip to the charming town of Freiburg, Germany! We started off our morning with a quick breakfast aboard our ship (served 6-10 am) before boarding a bus to Freiburg at 8:30 am. The bus ride was about a half hour, and was part of an optional excision including a walking tour of the town. Guests could then leave Freiburg at 12:45 pm, or with the later 3:30 pm bus. 

This happened to be our only rainy day of the cruise. I was initially hoping to hike to the Aussichtsturm Schlossberg, which is a unique tower overlooking the city. However, the soggy conditions meant we stayed in town to explore the Christmas markets and walk the charming streets. We also attended an organ concert at St. Martin’s church. You can read more about the markets below.

the Christmas markets of Freiburg, Germany

After getting off the bus we opted to break away from the included tour and explore the Christmas markets of Freiburg on our own. Despite the rain, and the fact that we were visiting during the day (which meant many of the festive lights weren’t on), I found the Freiburg Christmas markets to be some of my favorites. They had a good mix of food vendors and crafts, as well as lovely and tasteful holiday decor. 

While at the markets we got some ‘Heisse Maronen,’ or Roasted Chestnuts. Gwyn’s family makes these every Christmas at home, so it was extra special to enjoy them fresh at the market! They’re warm, sweet, and surprisingly filling.

Organ concert at St. Martin’s church in Freiburg 

After exploring the Christmas markets we went to Martinskirche (St. Martin’s church). At the church we joined our fellow river cruise guests for a 30 minute organ concert. The church itself was stunning, and the organ concert was impressive! 

Exploring the streets of Freiburg, Germany

After the organ concert we spent the rest of our time walking the streets of Freiburg. We had a failed quest to find black forest cake. Otherwise, we simply enjoyed wandering the streets and doing some shopping before hopping on a bus back to the ship at 3:30 pm. One of the unexpected delights of our time in Freiburg was stumbling on one of their farmers markets, at the base of the main cathedral. I highly recommend visiting if you can!

Travel tip: if you want to stock up on any food or cosmetics make sure to do so in Freiburg! The cost of the same items in Switzerland is significantly higher.

Evening entertainment aboard our Viking river cruise ship

The last bus back to the ship left Freiburg around 3:30 pm, with the final “back on board” time being 5:45 pm to accommodate one of the optional excursions (a ‘Medieval Staufen and Schnapps’ tour). There was a captain’s cocktail party and farewell toast at 6:45 pm, and then dinner at 7:00 pm. Click here to learn more about the food on board a Viking river cruise! The night ended with live music and dancing in the Lounge at 9:00 pm.

Day 8 of our Viking Christmas Market river cruise – Disembarking and Christmas markets in Basel, Switzerland

Morning disembarkation process and schedule 

This was the last morning of our cruise and, to be honest, I was a little sad to say goodbye to our home for the past 8 days. Travel logistics looked different for everyone on day 8. For people flying out that day, the cruise line offered free same-day transfers to the airport. Because we opted to stay in Basel for an extra day, we weren’t able to take advantage of this. However, they’re able to accommodate even super early morning flights: breakfast is served onboard from 3:30 am to 10:00 am in order to accommodate early flights (which typically depart no earlier than 6:00 am at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg). For those relying on Viking for their transfers, bags needed to be packed and placed outside your room by 8:00 am, and rooms had to be vacated by 9:00 am.

Because we opted to stay in Basel, we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast on the ship before leaving on foot for our hotel. I was determined to walk! However, I quickly realized (once it was too late), that walking the 1.8 miles to Basel with our rolling luggage in tow wasn’t the best idea. The docking area for Viking is located here, slightly north of the city, and the area largely lacks paved sidewalks into town. As such, if you have rolling luggage, I recommend getting a taxi ride into town.

A day exploring the Christmas markets of Basel, Switzerland

After dropping our luggage off at our hotel we opted to explore some of Basel’s Christmas markets. As I would have predicted, these markets were super charming! They also had some foods and crafts we didn’t see at the markets in Germany and France. 

If you have time and are invested in seeing as many Christmas markets as possible I recommend staying in Basel for an extra day (or at least a few hours) so you can visit the Basel Christmas markets.

Viking river cruise review: my final thoughts on Our Viking Christmas Market river cruise 

Overall, we had a phenomenal experience sailing with Viking on their Christmas market river cruise. We would very happily sail with Viking again! The ‘Christmas on the Rhine’ sailing delivered in terms of top notch service and food on board, and an elevated and elegant experience. I appreciated the lack of “upselling” on the cruise, and the lack of kids and casinos on board. We also loved our veranda (even if it was a bit too cold to use it much). Overall, sailing on Viking felt like having a mobile all inclusive hotel with us.

I thought that the itinerary and stops of the cruise were thoughtfully planned, and overall really loved them. As with all adventures, there were some places I loved, and some places I’m not keen to go back to. I found Mannheim, Germany and its Christmas market to be the biggest disappointment of the trip. You can read more about our time in Mannheim here, in part 2 of this series. My favorite stop was Strasbourg, France, which is incredibly beautiful in all seasons. I wish we had had more time in that location, particularly at night when the markets are in full swing! 

I hope you found part three of our Viking Christmas market river cruise review helpful! You can find parts 1 and 2 of our Viking Christmas river cruise recap here. You can also learn more about what to expect on a Viking river cruise, including the food, rooms, and included amenities and activities, by clicking here.