You’ll visit the fascinating cities of Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna and the medieval Regensburg, and see the majestic Cologne Cathedral and much more.
On board you will be wined and dined at no extra cost, and all tipping, gratuities, port charges and taxes are included.
That chance is being offered to readers of Fairfax Media’s state-based weekly agricultural publications – The Land in NSW, Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register, Stock and Land in Victoria, Stock Journal in South Australia and Farm Weekly in Western Australia.
The package, valued at $20,000, includes return flights and a deluxe 15-day European River cruise for two from Budapest to Amsterdam, or vice versa, on one of the modern ships operated by Evergreen Tours.
Evergreen has the youngest fleet on European rivers and won the award from the website Cruise Critic in 2014 for “Best New River Ships” and in 2015 and 2016 for “Best River Line for Value”.
The winning pair can choose their own cruise date before the end of 2018, depending on availability, and will stay in a luxury balcony suite.
As well as lazing by the pool on the deck and enjoying the dramatic scenery along the Rhine – lined with hilltop castles, vineyards, charming villages and constant river barge traffic – there will be 15 shore excursions on offer.
They include a home-hosted afternoon tea with a local family in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, plus shore trips to Vienna, medieval Regensburg, Passau, Rudesheim, Bamberg and Wurzburg.
Hungary’s capital, Budapest, which spans both sides of the Danube, is considered one of Europe’s liveliest and most cosmopolitan cities.
Cruise patrons can enjoy a guided tour that includes the Royal Palace of Buda, the hilltop castle complex and Fishermen’s Bastion – a terrace in neo-Gothic and neo-Romanesque style, named after the guild of fishermen responsible for defending this stretch of the city walls in the middle ages.
The following day the cruise will reach Bratislava, where you can tour the charming Old City with its Town Hall, Mirbach Palace and the Gothic Cathedral of St Martin.
Next is fabulous Vienna (Austria), a cultural icon with its famous Opera House, Spanish Riding School, St Stephens Cathedral and the Hofburg Imperial Palace.
It’s the home of the famous composer of lilting waltzes, Johann Strauss, and the place where late Romantic composer Gustav Mahler spent 10 years conducting the Vienna Opera.
The following morning the cruise arrives at Melk, a small town in Austria noted for its massive 900-year-old Benedictine Abbey.
The next day (day six) the morning is spent cruising along the Danube to the Austrian town of Passau where passengers can stroll through the town’s narrow alleys and see the hilltop Oberhaus Fortress.
On day seven the cruise reaches the magnificent Regensburg in Bavaria where a guided walking tour will take you to one of the oldest bridges crossing the Danube and where you will see the city’s architectural highlight, the old Town Hall.
Next is Nuremberg, famous as the setting of Hitler’s massive pre-World War II rallies and for the post-war trials of some of Nazi Germany’s leaders for their wartime atrocities against the Jewish people.
But it also has 900-year-old ramparts, and the Imperial Palace.
Day nine finds you in Bamberg with one of Europe’s largest medieval town centres, then on day 10 you reach Wurzburg whose attractions include one of the largest and most ornate Baroque palaces, a world heritage site.
Next is the picturesque village of Miltenberg on the Main River, then you visit Cologne.
Cologne cathedral is a triumph of Gothic architecture. Its twin towers, completed in 880, rise to over 157m, with the north tower just seven centimetres higher than the south tower, which makes them almost one-and-a-half times as high as a football field is long.
The building is 145m long and 86m wide at its widest point in the cross nave.
Add to that an interior with arches standing 43m high and which features exquisite stained glass windows and you have an awe-inspiring experience.
On day 14 you arrive in Amsterdam, where you can experience a glass top boat cruise through a maze of canals, and a guided walking tour.
After breakfast the next morning you will be transferred to the airport for the home-bound flight.
- Enter online at win.evergreentours.com.au
- The promoter is Evergreen Tours, a division of Scenic Tours Pty Ltd. Authorised under NSW Permit No. LTPS/17/11894, ACT Permit No. TP17/00363, SA Licence No. T17/352. Terms and conditions are at win.evergreentours.com.au.