14 Night Cruise sailing from Passau roundtrip aboard Amadeus Diamond.

Since its debut in 2009 the AMADEUS Diamond has set new standards in European river cruising. This river cruiser is a nothing other than a floating luxury hotel, impressing its passengers from the moment they step on board. Allow this grand vessel to lure you away from normality - perhaps by inducing you to read an absorbing book in a chaise lounge on the sundeck, or to sample a relaxing massage. Get to see fascinating countries and meet interesting people over a convivial cup of coffee in the AMADEUS-Club or, while practising your golf on the putting green on the sundeck.

Beautiful Blue Danube:
On this 15-day cruise we show you all the greatest treasures along what is probably Europe's most beautiful river.

From Passau the blue Danube flows for 2,000 km - down through eight countries and past five capital cities - to the Black Sea.

Highlights of this cruise:

Passau
Passau is a town in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the Dreiflüssestadt or "City of Three Rivers," because the Danube is joined at Passau by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north.

Tourism in Passau focuses mainly on the three rivers, the St. Stephen's Cathedral and the "Old City". With 17,774 pipes and 233 registers, the organ is the second largest in the world. Organ concerts are held daily between May and September.

Passau is also known for its gothic and baroque architecture. The town is dominated by the Veste Oberhaus and the former fortress of the Bishop, on the mountain crest between the Danube and the Ilz rivers. Right beside the town hall is the Scharfrichterhaus, an important jazz and cabaret stage on which political cabaret is performed.

Vienna
Vienna is a unique blend of the historic and the modern with a wealth of architecture and artistic and musical heritage. Many of the world's most important composers, including Beethoven and Mozart, have lived and performed behind Vienna's Baroque façades. In addition to this Baroque splendor, there are excellent examples of Art Nouveau architecture .

The heart of Vienna is the Innerestadt where some of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions can be found, along with pedestrianized streets lined with countless shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. The center point is the Graben (literally 'moat'), which is a wide square lined with shops and pavement cafes under large umbrellas. Following the demolition of the city walls in 1857, the Ringstrasse was laid out and some of Vienna's most beautiful buildings were built along it, between 1858 and 1865. Among the most important are the Staatsoper (State Opera House), Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts), Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum), Parlament (Parliament), Rathaus (City Hall) and Burgtheater.

Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, its extensive World Heritage Sites includes the banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter, Andrassy Avenue, Heroes' Square and the Millennium Underground Railway, the second oldest in the world. Other highlights include a total of 80 geothermal springs, the world's largest thermal water cave system, second largest synagogue, and third largest Parliament building.

Most of Budapest's famous sights are concentrated on Castle Hill on the Buda side, in downtown Pest and along the riverside walkways. The main sights on Castle Hill are the Royal Palace, the National Gallery, the Fisherman's Bastion and Matthias Church. In downtown Pest the main sights are the Parliament Building, St Stephen's Basilica, the Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum and the Eötvös Lorand University.

Budapest is also known for its many hot and thermal springs. Budapest has 118 hot springs that supply the city's many bathhouses and spas with warm therapeutic spring water. Such was the reputation of its springs that in 1934, the Budapest was declared the "City of Springs."

Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Various styles of architecture dominate the city, while its recent resurgence as the leading hub in south-eastern Europe make it a must see destination.

The historic areas and buildings of Belgrade are among the city's premier attractions. They include Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun, Nikola Pasiæ Square, Terazije, Students' Square, the Kalemegdan Fortress, Knez Mihailova Street, the Parliament, the Temple of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace. On top of this, there are many parks, monuments, museums, cafes, restaurants and shops on both sides of the river. The hilltop Avala Monument offers views over the city. Josip Broz Tito's mausoleum, called Kuæa Cveæa (The House of Flowers), and the nearby Topcider and Kosutnjak parks are also popular, especially among visitors from the former Yugoslavia.

Ada Ciganlija is a former island on the Sava river, and Belgrade's biggest sports and recreational complex. Today it is connected with the right bank of the Sava via two causeways, creating an artificial lake. It is the most popular destination for Belgraders during the city's hot summers. There are 7 kilometres of long beaches and sports facilities for various sports.

Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bratislava has a very pleasant medieval inner city with narrow, winding streets, a hill-top castle next to the river Danube, and many historic churches and buildings to visit. The old town is centered on two squares, Hlavne namestie (main square) and Hviezdoslavovo namestie (Hviezdoslav square, named after a famous Slovak poet).

Attractions in Bratislava include the castle which currently hosts temporary historical exhibitions and from whose ramparts you can see nearby Hungary, Austria and the Danube valley. Also visit one of the city's excellent galleries, for instance the Bratislava City Gallery at the Pallfy Palace, to experience Matej Kren's unique "Passage" installation.

Melk
Melk is a city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube. It is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery named Melk Abbey.

The Abbey is built on a bluff overlooking the Danube River to the northwest and the town center to the south. Most of the design of the present abbey (a reconstruction started in 1702) was by the architect Jakob Prandtauer. The Kaisergang (Imperial Corridor and Abbey Museum), 650 ft long, is decorated with portraits of Austrian rulers. The Marmorsaal (Marble Hall), contains pilasters coated in red marble; a richly painted allegorical picture on the ceiling is the work of Paul Troger. The Library, rising two floors, again with a Troger ceiling, contains some 80,000 volumes.