4-Star Bonn, Cologne & the Rhine Valley Christmas Markets

Enjoy a 4-star stay on your visit to some of Germany’s most picturesque Christmas markets. Start off your holiday with our day trip to the Rhine and Moselle valley where you can join us for a tipple and indulge in a little wine tasting before heading to Koblenz Christmas Market, one of the most popular Christmas markets in the Rhine valley. We also visit the cultural haven of Cologne where there are plenty of markets to enjoy around the city, and lots of sightseeing to be done too.

Tour Includes

3 nights hotel with continental breakfast
Convenient local joining points
Travel by Silver Service coach

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Local departure by coach, then to Bonn for a three-night stay at the 4-star Maritim Hotel.

Today we enjoy a full-day included excursion to explore the picturesque Rhine and Moselle valleys. We begin in the town of Boppard, the ‘pearl’ of the Rhine. Boppard, famous for its beautiful Rhine Promenade, is situated in the Valley of the Loreley. There will be free time for you to be able to explore at your leisure. See the late Romanesque building of St Severus Church on the Market Square, the Carmelite Church originally built in 1300 or take a ride on the chair-lift for a bird's eye view of the Rhine Gorge (at own cost).

During the day there will be the opportunity to join an optional lunch cruise along the Rhine. Our cruise, which lasts for approximately 2 hours and includes lunch on board, will take us through the Rhine gorge, famous for its ancient castles, picturesque villages and vine clad slopes. Our cruise is a perfect way to view the splendour of the Rhine.

From Boppard we travel along the Moselle valley to the village of Alken. Here there will be the opportunity to join us for an optional wine tasting at the house of Anton Hammes, one of the famous vintners of the area. The Hammes family have been vintners here for over 300 years, and you will enjoy a wine tasting, with 4/5 different varieties offered, before having the chance to purchase your favourites to bring home with you!

Later this afternoon we travel to Koblenz to see the Christmas markets. The traditional Koblenz Christmas Market is one of the largest Christmas Markets in Rhineland palatinate. More than 100 wooden stands at the Zentralplatz and the Am Plan in the Old City offer a huge selection of gift articles for the holiday table, as well as an extensive range of arts, crafts and Christmas decorations. All the flavours of Christmas are here, including spicy mulled wine and sweet smelling Christmas cakes. We return to the hotel this evening.

Includes Breakfast

Moselle Valley Rhine Valley

The optional excursions will be available to book during your tour.

Prices are per person and are subject to change. Payment will be in Euros (cash payments only).

Enjoy a morning at leisure in the city of Bonn to visit the famous Christmas Market. The former capital of the ‘Federal Republic of Germany’, home to Germany’s largest University and birthplace of the brilliant composer Ludwig van Beethoven, Bonn has attracted visitors from all over the world for hundreds of years. Be sure to see many of the famous sights, including the old City Hall and the Münster, the city’s oldest church. Every year, Bonn's Christmas fair conjures up a festive atmosphere. Browse the many stalls whilst enjoying Gluhwein, gingerbread, potato pancakes and sausages.

Later we continue to the majestic city of Cologne; this stylish and attractive city stands on the banks of the Romantic River Rhine. Cologne’s history traces back more than 2,000 years when it was founded as a Roman colony. Today it has developed into a beautiful cosmopolitan city.

Advent magic spreads throughout Cologne at this time of year, when six idyllic Christmas markets open their gates to visitors. More than 160 stalls offer traditional goods and handcrafted gifts. Wonderful spicy aromas of cinnamon stars, baked apples and roasted almonds will fill the air and local wreath binders, glassblowers and blacksmiths will demonstrate their art. Start at the Christmas market in Cathedral Square where you will find a fascinating array of high-quality arts and crafts, many gift ideas and delicious food and drinks.

Continue onto the Old Town where the rustic ’Home of the Gnomes’ market takes place. Traditional stall and huts, pretty lanes and hidden Heinzelmännchen (house gnomes who are said to have done the work of the people of Cologne at night), give this market its particular charm. At Neumarkt you will find the Market of Angels with its charming chalets and high-quality products. Just a ten-minute walk from Neumarkt is the Fairytale Christmas market at Rudolfplatz. Here the motto of the sixty huts is the St. Nicholas Village which makes this market particularly popular with younger visitors.

In a picturesque setting overlooking the Rhine, the Cologne Harbour market at the Chocolate Museum will bring a maritime flavour to Christmas. With around 70 stalls this market is one of the largest in Cologne. Finally, there is the dynamically artful and attractively different Christmas market at Stadtgarten in the heart of the Belgium quarter. The Stadtgarten Christmas market traditionally only takes place in the afternoon. Whilst visiting Cologne be sure to indulge yourself is some typical culinary delights such as the famous ’Christstollen’ yeast cakes, ’Lebkuchen’ soft gingerbread cookies and Marzipan almond confections. Also, try the mandatory ’Gluhwein’ a hot spiced wine in mugs perfect to warm chilly hands.

Includes Breakfast

Bonn Cologne

Return home.

Includes Breakfast

Accommodation

You will stay for three nights at the 4-star Maritim Hotel, situated near Bonn’s famous Museum Mile and the River Rhine. The hotel offers elegant and spacious rooms, indoor swimming pool, sauna, steam-room, solarium, fitness studio and a beauty salon.