New river cruise takes guests to Christmas markets on a luxury barge
CroisiEurope has launched a new cruise taking passengers to Christmas markets along the canals of Belgium on a luxury barge.
The four-day sailing with the river cruise operator, which launches in December 2025, travels between Bruges and Ghent and only has space for just 22 passengers.
The CroisiEurope itinerary includes visits to two Christmas markets in Bruges – a large one in Grote Markt which is known for its traditional chalets, ice skating rink and festive decorations, and a smaller one near Simon Steyinplein that focuses more on artisanal crafts.
In Ghent, passengers will visit the Christmas market that extends out from Sint-Baafsplein along the Botermarkt and Klein Turkije to the end of the Korenmarkt.
Known as 'Winter in Ghent' or 'Gentse Winterfeesten', it features more 150 wooden stalls selling gifts as well as seasonal food and drink.
Other highlights include a guided tour of Bruges and a tasting of traditional Flemish beer at the Bourgogne des Flandres brewery.
Guests will sail aboard MS Raymonde, which has 11 en-suite outward-facing cabins. There are six crew members, who CroisiEurope says will provide a personalised service on the premium canal barge.
The barge is 38.50 metres long and 5.07 metres wide.
On board, passengers can enjoy tastings of hot chocolate, Christmas cookies and sweet Belgian waffles while relaxing in the restaurant, lounge bar or sun deck.
The cruise will sail between Bruges and Ghent on 6 and 14 December 2025, and between Ghent and Bruges on 2 and 10 December 2025.
Prices start from £987 per person for the cruise with all meals and drinks, excursions, wifi and port fees included, as well as a festive gala dinner on the final evening.
If you want to bring a child, there is a 20 per cent discount for passengers aged two to nine years old, plus you can get 30 per cent off a third person in a cabin.
Bookings are also available for December 2026 from £1,031 per person.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Channing Tatum's Aussie model girlfriend Inka Williams leaves little to the imagination in skimpy bikini as she goes paddle boarding with actor during romantic European getaway
Channing Tatum 's Aussie girlfriend Inka Williams has given fans a sneak peek into her relationship with the hunky actor. The model, who was born in Melbourne and raised in Bali, posted a number of snaps and videos to her Instagram story on Thursday documenting her romantic getaway in Europe with the Step Up star, 45. The 25-year-old shared a clip of herself lying on her stomach on a board as her famous boyfriend paddled her to land. Inka showed off her pert derriere as she sprawled out her legs in a skimpy polka dot bikini which she paired with a straw hat. 'He brought me to a spot I could nap at while he hikes,' she captioned the clip. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The model, who was born in Melbourne and raised in Bali, posted a number of snaps and videos to her Instagram story documenting her romantic getaway in Europe with the actor She then panned to the luxury yacht the couple have been staying on and then Channing himself, who was paddling them to shore. 'This looks like the best I can do for you,' he told her as they beached the paddle board onto the rocks. 'Thanks baby, this looks like my spot,' she sweetly replied. In another clip, she wished her beau goodbye as he paddled away on the board. 'I love you,' she called after him, and he replied: 'I love you so much.' The brunette beauty then shared a snap of her beachside set-up, which included a pool float covered with a towel nestled under the trees. One snap showed Inka pouting for the camera as she posed with a Croatian beer in-hand, hinting at the couple's European location. Inka has been actively documenting her European summer with the Blink Twice star on social media. One snap showed Inka pouting for the camera as she posed with a Croatian beer in-hand, hinting at the couple's European location The Australian model shared a rare photo of her beau to Instagram on Wednesday as they sailed around on a luxury yacht. In the image, Inka placed her hand on Channing's shoulder while he relaxed on the boat's deck. The Magic Mike star appeared deep in thought as he looked out at the ocean water. Channing and Inka had kept their budding romance relatively low-key, until the model broke her silence with a sweet Instagram post in April. Inka shared a tribute to celebrate the actor's 45th birthday with a heartwarming post. 'Happy life to the handsomest, kindest, funniest, stoopidest, most gorgeous human ever,' Inka wrote. 'Merci for making life beautiful and fun. Jtm trop fort,' she added, which is French slang for 'I love you'. Splitting her time between Australia and Indonesia, Inka juggles a thriving modelling career with running her own fashion label, She Is I. Inka shared a tribute to celebrate the actor's 45th birthday with a heartwarming post Reflecting on her upbringing, she told By Charlotte that life on the island shaped her into a 'very compassionate person'. 'I feel so connected to the culture and energy of this island. It's so sacred and deep,' she said. 'I think that's reflected in my day-to-day life and way of living.' She also credited early modelling experiences with helping her 'build resilience and strength'. Channing was first linked to the Australian beauty in January following his split from ex-fiancée Zoë Kravitz in October 2024. A source told People the couple are 'seeing' each other on romantic terms. 'They met through friends. She's great. She's young, but seems older,' the insider said. 'Channing's doing well. [Inka] makes him happy. He's reuniting with Zoë later this spring for another movie project. 'It shouldn't be too awkward - they ended things on okay terms,' they added.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Greece's tiny Island of Outcasts charmed me – I'd be expelled there any day
The sea slaps at the sides of the multicoloured fishing boats as fishermen mend their nets on the dock and a young boy pulls platinum-scaled fish out of the water on a handline. Watching the scene from a suntrap table at a waterside café in Agia Marina, the capital of Leros, I can't understand how this Greek island could ever have been known as the 'Isle of Outcasts' or the 'Island of the Damned'. A quick skim of the history books reveals that Leros was the second most bombed Yet, aside from an immaculately kept war cemetery, a small military museum, and the remains of a couple of crumbling gun batteries and an acoustic military mirror on the west coast, there are no signs of the island's tumultuous past here today. Just a 90-minute ferry ride from busier, better-known Kos, Leros is one of the most laid-back Greek islands I've experienced. Hunkered around a ferry port barely larger than the average back garden, Agia Marina is a huddle of independent linen, ceramic and jewellery boutiques, private studio apartments and traditional tavernas and gyros eateries. There's a twin set of bakeries, too, where the specialities are Lerian cheese pies, made with feta, pastry and a dusting of cinnamon. Service in Agia Marina is uniformly and happily unhurried. One afternoon at Ta Kroupia grill, I lose two hours to a languorous lunch of baked feta – which comes to the table sizzling – fresh tzatziki, pillowy pitta bread and a couple of glasses of chilled white wine, as locals pick at plates of Leros's signature salted mackerel dish around me. There are some distinctive bars in the Lerian capital, too. In Diamanti Cafe, Singer sewing machine stands replace tables and a pet parrot called Coffii bombards bar staff with Greek obscenities. Meltimi, meanwhile, looks more antiques emporium than bar, thanks to its nautical décor. Agia Marina's statement sight is the Castle of Pandeli. Capping a clifftop, 150 metres above the town, its history burrows back to Byzantine times, when it was built on the site of an Athens-esque acropolis. It's possible to drive up to the summit, but I walk, climbing the 500-step switchback path that ascends from the village of Platanos, a short stroll from Agia Marina's waterfront. Wide-screen views over both the east and west coasts of the island open up at every turn. As well as the castle, Leros' other emblems are its windmills. Positioned in a pageant line on the hillside above the fishing village of Panteli, on Leros' east coast, these jam jar-shaped structures were used for grinding wheat and barley into flour in the 18th century, like those on better-known Mykonos. Today, they've been restored and repurposed. One now harbours a cocktail bar called Harris where an al fresco terrace peers out over Panteli harbour and the multi blue hue of the Aegean Sea beyond. The coast of Leros is brush-stroked with beaches. A 35-minute walk from Agia Marina, Alinda is the longest. The waters here make cut crystal look cloudy, and the smooth pebble sand is overlooked by traditional tavernas. At Argo taverna, I find a table in the shade of a tamarisk tree and eat a lunch of keftedes (Greek meatballs) to the soundtrack of softly breaking waves and joyful conversation. Despite being less than 30 square miles in size, Leros has both a brewery and a winery. Raven Brewing's pale ales are served in bars across the island. Isichi Ampelones winery, meanwhile, is open for tours and tastings in summer. Sequestered away in the brush-stubbled hills in the northeast of the island, it's an oasis of a place. Tastings take place on a vine-curtained terrace and are accompanied by Greek nibbles of olives and cheeses. A red wine made from mandilaria grapes, with a nose of fireside smoke and cocoa, is a highlight for me. I clunk away from my visit, lumbered with multiple bottles to take home. I round off my time on Leros with a visit to Lakki. As one of the largest natural harbours in the Mediterranean, Lakki Bay caught the eye of Mussolini in the 1920s when Leros was under Italian rule. With his sights set on turning the area into the 'Corregidor of the Mediterranean' (or a key defensive point for controlling the eastern Med) the dictator commissioned his architects to build a new model town in the Italian rationalism/rationalist style. The afterimage of Mussolini's grand plans can still be seen today in Lakki's architecture, which is more faded South Beach Miami than Greek island.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Meta hires three OpenAI researchers, WSJ reports
June 25 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), opens new tab Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has hired three OpenAI researchers to join his superintelligence efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company hired Lucas Beyer, Alexander Kolesnikov and Xiaohua Zhai, who were all working in OpenAI's Zurich office, the report said. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
