Euro 2024 - Let's Explore the Host Cities
Beccy Miller
With Germany in the spotlight as the 2024 Euros are underway, this week, we learn a little more about the German host cities you’ll hear mentioned throughout the tournament and the cruises that visit them.
Hamburg
Get ready for Beatle-mania as Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Balmoral stops off in Hamburg on a seven-night city-hopping cruise from Southampton next April. The city, in Northern Germany, is hosting four footie games this year, with plenty for players to enjoy in their downtime, including the lively Reeperbahn, where the Fab Four had their first big break, Miniatur Wunderland, the world’s largest model railway, and the International Maritime Museum, which pays tribute to great explorers such as Christopher Columbus and Ferdinand Magellan.
Sail with Fred. Olsen to Hamburg
Munich
Munich has already hosted the opening game of the Euros and will be in the spotlight for another five games over the coming weeks, including the first semi-final on July 9. We’ve no idea who’ll be playing, but we do know that this is one of our favourite European cities, famous for its beer halls, the pretty Marienplatz and BMW museum. You can enjoy it all with Avalon Waterways, which has two nights in the city on their Danube Symphony cruises in April, May and November next year.
Sail with Avalon Waterways to Munich
Cologne
Staying with rivers, we’re off to Cologne, a city on the Rhine famous for its Gothic cathedral (admire the interior, then climb 533 steps to the top for spectacular views), playing host to five Euros games over the next few weeks. Go on Riviera Travel’s 18-day Grand Cruise of the Moselle and Rhine, visiting Luxembourg & Switzerland from Basel next July, giving you two afternoons and a full day to explore the city. Tours tell the story of the elves of Cologne and how to drink the Kolsch, the local brew.
Sail with Riviera River Cruises to Cologne
Berlin
What can we say about Berlin, the city divided by a wall for 45 years, reunited in 1989, reinstated as Germany’s capital in 1990 and today is not only one of the world’s most exciting cities but also taking centre-stage at the Euros – literally – it’s hosting the final on July 14 (plus four games before that). Drop by yourself, via Holland America Line’s 14-day Baltic and Scandinavian Capitals cruise from Rotterdam on May 10, it’s ‘Best of Berlin’ tour ticks off highlights including the Brandenburg Gate, the domed Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie and the Kurfurstendamm.
