I fled California and now live on $1,100 a month in quaint European city... it's the best decision I've made
A young American has revealed how he escaped California's crippling cost of living to build a new life in a quaint European city - where he now lives comfortably on just $1,100 a month.
Colby Grey, 24, grew up in rural San Luis Obispo, California, where international travel was so rare that 'not many people in my town had passports,' he told CNBC Make It.
'You didn't really travel much and you didn't go to school very far either,' he told the outlet. 'I was one of the ones that went further and then when I studied abroad, I was one of the first to leave the country.'
Now the university graduate has left the Golden State's astronomical rents and education costs for an idyllic European lifestyle in Leuven, Belgium.
Leuven comes with affordable housing, universal healthcare, and the freedom to explore nearby countries on a whim.
'As a student, though, there is no better cost of living,' he said. 'There is nothing better economically than being in Europe. There's no reason to go into debt here, so it just makes sense at this stage in my life.'
Grey's journey began when he left his hometown to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz - a two-hour drive that at the time was the furthest he'd ever traveled at that point.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced him to go back to his parents' home during college before he finally got an opportunity to study abroad in Copenhagen.
A young American has revealed how he escaped California's crippling cost of living to build a new life in a quaint European city - where he now lives comfortably on just $1,100 a month
Now the university graduate has left the Golden State's astronomical rents and education costs for an idyllic European lifestyle in Leuven, Belgium (Pictured: View of the city of Leuven)
″[Denmark] managed the pandemic really well and had a very high vaccination rate,' he said. 'I fell in love with it and decided I wanted to do more.
Those six months in Denmark ultimately changed the trajectory of his life.
When he arrived back in Santa Cruz after traveling, Grey experienced what he described as 'reverse culture shock' - along with a brutal housing market.
He was left to share a two-bedroom apartment with three roommates at $1,340 per month for his portion alone.
But the final straw came when he realized the staggering cost of his education wasn't worth the price.
The average annual cost of in-state tuition at UC Santa Cruz was $44,160 for the 2024-2025 academic year and many of the classes had gone entirely online.
'It just didn't seem like I was getting what I paid for even with a ton of federal and state funding,' Grey said.
'I knew there had to be a better system and a better way to get an education. Through my study abroad job, I realized I could just get a visa and study as an international student for a sixth of the price.'
'I wanted to continue my education, but I wanted to use that as a pathway towards residency.'
Grey found out that he could pursue a master's degree in Europe 'for a sixth of the price' while using it as a pathway to residency.
Colby Grey, 24, grew up in rural San Luis Obispo, California, where international travel was so rare that 'not many people in my town had passports,' he told CNBC Make It
Grey's journey began when he left his hometown to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz - a two-hour drive that at the time was the furthest he'd ever traveled at that point (Pictured: San Luis Obispo, California)
He decided on Belgium's KU Leuven university, where annual tuition runs approximately €3,800 ($4,310) - less than 10 percent of what he'd pay in California.
Grey arrived in Belgium with just two checked bags and a backpack.
He settled into a four-bedroom house with three housemates for just €500 ($567) monthly - 'a third of the price' he paid in California.
'It was fantastic. I mean I was paying a third of the price to get my own room.
'When I first got here, it was daunting. I was aware of the fact that I had no friends here and I was totally on my own,' he continued. 'I think that was the first time I ever felt like that in my life. I worked really hard to make friends and make a community here.'
After graduating last summer, he moved to an even more affordable home just outside the city center, where he now pays just €420 ($477) monthly including utilities, with some toiletries and food included.
His total monthly expenses come to approximately €998 ($1,132), allowing him a comfortable lifestyle that includes regular dining out, gym membership, and wellness activities.
Grey emphasized his love for Leuven's car-free city center with '15-minute city' design, where most daily necessities can be reached within a 15-minute walk or bike ride.
'That was one of the things that I loved about living in Europe, I never felt like I needed a car to live,' he said, adding that Belgium's central location means 'there are four different countries around me within a three-hour train ride.'
Grey emphasized his love for Leuven's car-free city center with '15-minute city' design, where most daily necessities can be reached within a 15-minute walk or bike ride
Since first visiting Europe in 2021 and relocating in 2023, Grey has traveled to 20 different countries, while hosting visits from family and friends
He also expressed his fondness over the city's work-life balance and easy access to other countries.
Since first visiting Europe in 2021 and relocating in 2023, Grey has traveled to 20 different countries, while hosting visits from family and friends.
'The community feels so strong here and I have a really great balance between my work life and my home life,' he said. 'It's such a slower pace of life here and it's really beautiful.'
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The Guardian
an hour ago
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The Independent
2 hours ago
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Simon Calder on all your passport questions – from expiration dates to Brexit red tape
Q We are due to fly to Greece on 1 July for a week. To my horror I have realised that my son's passport expires on 9 August 2024. I am caught by the 'three-month rule'. My son does not have enough unexpired time on his passport to enable me to travel to Greece with him for our much-needed holiday. Worse, he is now 16 so must apply for a new adult passport in order to travel. While a renewed adult passport can be obtained in two days, so far as I can see there is a minimum of a week in obtaining a brand new adult passport. This would take us past the date of our flight and would mean we could not take our holiday. Is there any way to obtain a passport for my son before Sunday 30 June? Name supplied A I am so sorry: eight years after the vote to leave the European Union, thousands of British travellers are certain to lose their summer holidays due to inadvertent breaches of the post- Brexit passport rules: Under 10 years old since issue date on the day you go in At least 3 months before expiry date on the day you plan to leave Please apply immediately, online, for a renewal of the passport. Send off the old passport, special delivery, to the address given at the end of the application. Then cross your fingers. Straightforward online renewals are often completed within a week. Alternatively, the holiday company may be prepared to let you shift the date a week or two later. If this does not work, then all you can do is pass on the holiday to someone else. Assuming it is a package (flights and accommodation bought in a single transaction) you can transfer it for a payment of £50 or so. In your position, I would be sounding out family and friends in case this becomes necessary. Q I have a query about the benefits of an Irish passport. When you live and work in Northern Ireland but have an Irish passport, you can't get a European Health Insurance Card (Ehic). So when travelling within Europe, you need your British passport and UK Global Health Insurance Card (Ghic) to receive the free health treatment. Please correct me if I am wrong. Alison McQ A As I have written previously, in terms of documentation and ease of travel, the people who are in the strongest post-Brexit position are those with the good fortune to have Irish passports. Thanks to being EU citizens they can speed through Schengen area formalities just as the British once did. And by 2 April they will comprise the only group of foreign people who don't need an Electronic Travel Authorisation for the United Kingdom, due to the age-old Common Travel Agreement. It is quite possible to be a UK citizen and an Irish passport holder at the same time. That is why I have said that I can understand why British citizens who have the good fortune to possess an Irish passport might choose to dispense with the UK version: it offers precious little extra benefit. Having said all that, for the issue of healthcare in the European Union, the key consideration is your country of residence. If you live in Northern Ireland you qualify for a Ghic, which offers free or very heavily subsidised treatment at public hospitals across the EU. The fact that you might also have an Irish passport is not relevant. Indeed, while it is always a good idea for a UK traveller to have a Ghic when travelling to Europe, it is not strictly essential to possess one in order to qualify for treatment on the same basis as local people. The hospital can make contact with the section of the UK NHS Business Services Authority that handles overseas medical care, and verify a patient's status. But best to carry the card. Q I am lucky enough to be a dual passport holder, UK and Irish. I believe that an Irish passport holder exiting the UK and entering the European Union will avoid the forthcoming biometric passport control issue. Coming back, however, how does this apply? For example: can I use my EU passport to enter the EU and when returning use my UK passport to enter the UK? And what happens if I book flights just using the EU passport? Paul Connolly A Once the European Union entry-exit system is running, the value of an EU passport for British travellers will increase still further. The wretched fingerprinting and facial biometric rules – to which we asked to become subject – are currently slated for introduction in November. Once the extra red tape becomes a reality, I predict a surge in applications for Irish passports for those fortunate enough to qualify. Those of us with only a UK passport will have to line up for fingerprints to be taken (on first entry to the Schengen Area) and to have facial biometrics checked (on every arrival and departure). In contrast, EU passport holders will be able to breeze through a fast-track channel. The only check border officials can make is that the document is valid, and that it is yours. Anyone like you who can swerve the system should do so. You will enjoy much smoother progress, and also reduce the queues for us single-passport unfortunates. You could happily enter and leave the EU and wider Schengen Area on your Irish passport and return to the UK on your British passport (there are no formal checks outbound). But I am not sure why you would want to do that: you can speed through the UK Border just as fast with an Irish passport as with a British document. In your position I would leave the UK passport behind, and check in for every flight, ferry or train using your Irish one. Simple and effective. Q I am lucky enough to have a big year of travel planned. It currently looks like this: South Korea in April, Antwerp in September and Japan in November. I'd also like to squeeze in a possible trip to either Florence or Berlin. My problem is: my passport was issued on 23 December 2015 and expires on 23 March 2026. I'm worried about the trip to Japan as I will have less than six months left by the time I go. What is your advice? Olivia C A Lots of people – including some in the travel industry – seem to believe there is some kind of globally ordained rule that your passport should be valid for six months longer than you intend to remain in a foreign country. Fortunately, there is no such edict. Each nation – or, in the case of the European Union, a group of states – decides its own policy. Many countries, including South Korea and Japan, allow tourists to use their passports up to the expiry dates. To run through each of your targets, starting with South Korea: you may read that it is obligatory to obtain a K-ETA (Korea Electronic Travel Authorisation). It isn't. For the whole of 2025, British visitors are exempt, during what the authorities say is a bid 'to stimulate tourism'. That will save you some bureaucracy and 10,000 won (about £5.50). For Antwerp, Berlin or Florence: you can be anywhere in the European Union (and wider Schengen Area) up to 23 December 2025. That is both your passport's 10th birthday, beyond which is not valid for entering the EU, and three months before it expires – the last day you can be in the zone. For Japan, you will just need a blank page for your visa stamp. So make the most of the remaining life of your passport – and make a note in your calendar to renew it perhaps a year from now. One caveat: if there is any likelihood that you may need to travel for work, or family reasons, to a country with a 'six-month rule', look at renewing after your Antwerp trip in September. Egypt, for example, wants six months until expiry on the day you enter. Q I have two passports, French and British. At present, I always travel between the two countries on my French passport. If I used the British one to leave or enter France, the border officers would want to stamp it and might also ask about my length of stay – which is not relevant as I have dual nationality. But when the ETA [electronic travel authorisation] comes in for European visitors to the UK next month, if I travel on the French one I will need to apply for one. What is the best strategy? Jaine F A Travellers who are blessed with the benefit of a European Union passport as well as a UK travel document can swerve all the post-Brexit rules. Using the EU passport they speed through the (almost always) faster Schengen area queue on arrival at their destination, with no need to have their passport stamped. All that border staff can do is check that the EU document is valid and that it belongs to the holder. They will also be able to avoid the future need for biometric checks and the Etias permit. Conversely, going through UK Border Control with a British document avoids any issues with length of stay and, soon, the ETA, which will be mandatory for all EU visitors (except the Irish) entering the UK from 2 April. So travel with both passports; use the French one for crossing into France, the British one for the UK Border. You might be thinking: but I need to give passport information in advance to the airline. Just choose one passport for flight bookings and stick to it. You will need to produce it when boarding flights, but this is a simple ID check rather than anything affecting your immigration status. By the time you arrive at your destination, the airline has lost interest in you. Please note this advice applies only to an EU scenario. Some countries do not allow people to carry two passports. The people who are in the strongest post-Brexit position are those with the fortune to be Irish. They don't need an ETA for the UK thanks to the age-old Common Travel Agreement, and thanks to being EU citizens they can speed through Schengen Area formalities just as the British once did. Q Can you help me with an urgent passport question but not one about expiry dates? I travel often to the EU for work and have no blank pages left in my passport. Will France let me in next week? Name supplied A Relax, at least for your trip to France. If you plan to travel no further than the European Union and the wider Schengen area (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland), don't worry about your passport filling up. Some background: after Brexit, the UK asked for citizens to become 'third-country nationals' in the eyes of the EU, and Brussels agreed. The Schengen border code insists: 'The travel documents of third-country nationals shall be systematically stamped on entry and exit.' I fear you will not qualify for the very few exemptions, unless you are a member of a ship's crew; a national of Andorra, Monaco or San Marino; or a dignitary 'whose arrival has been officially announced in advance through diplomatic channels'. Since the rules we asked for took effect, each visit to the Schengen area uses half a passport page: one stamp to enter, another to return. But even if your passport is completely full, frontier officials are required to provide an additional sheet of paper on which the stamps are applied. Problems arise, though, if you wish to travel beyond Europe to a country that demands a blank page on which to stamp you in and out. For example, the Foreign Office warns: 'To enter Thailand, your passport must have at least one blank page.' Many other non-EU countries have the same requirement, and India and South Africa both demand two clear-facing pages. This is yet another consequence of Brexit that you may feel you were not warned about. But the problem is not permanent. From November this year, if all goes according to plan, the European Union's entry-exit system will end manual passport stamping and replace it with electronic registration – except for travellers to Cyprus, which is remaining outside the Schengen area, and Ireland, where British residents do not require a passport and will not be stamped in or out. Q I am flying from London to Edinburgh in early August. I have sent my passport off for renewal and I know it could take 10 weeks, which would mean the end of August. I checked with the airline's customer service line to ask if I can use my photo driving licence. To my consternation, they said 'no, it has to be a passport'. If the new one doesn't arrive on time, can I cancel, get a refund and go by train instead? Name supplied A You have been misled. No airline asks for a passport for flights within the UK, and I can only imagine the customer service person didn't quite grasp that this was a domestic flight. There is no legal requirement for photo ID on internal UK flights but airlines are allowed to ask for proof of identity to reduce ticket fraud (such as Person B using a ticket sold to Person A, breaking the conditions of contract and possibly making a profit into the bargain). Ryanair asks all passengers aged 16-plus to carry 'any photo ID which matches the passenger's name in the booking'. For easyJet it's something official: a driving licence or a passport that has expired in the past five years, for example. British Airways merely 'advises' that you carry photographic identification, adding enigmatically: 'This may be requested at certain points in your journey.' And Loganair needs photographic ID only when you are checking in luggage. This should be 'government issued' but the definition is broad enough to include a bus pass. As I have previously mentioned, the 10-week stipulation by HM Passport Office for a straightforward renewal such as yours is ridiculously pessimistic, and I will be surprised if you do not have the document within two weeks of posting the old one off. Finally, even though the government is enticing more people on board domestic flights by halving air passenger duty three months ago, the train is much more civilised and environmentally friendly. And unless you are travelling on a railcard-reduced ticket, you won't be asked for ID. So go by rail next time, perhaps. Q Later this year, I hope to travel to Australia via Sri Lanka and come back direct. I am lucky enough to have both British and Australian passports. What I'm confused about is which one do I use at each stage of the journey? Charlotte E A People who have two passports are in an excellent position, but you need to be careful about how you manage them. Starting with first principles: two types of organisations are interested in the nationality of your passport. The immigration authorities of the country you are travelling to want to know that you are entitled to enter, and also want you to enter and leave their country on the same passport. (One exception to this: the UK has no checks on departure.) The airline wants to know that you are entitled to travel to the destination of your ticket. It is not interested in how you later leave that destination. From the UK to Sri Lanka: the British government doesn't care about when you leave. The airline wants to know that you have a valid passport and visa; for most people, that will be Sri Lanka's electronic travel authorisation (ETA), price $50 (£38). Organise this with your British passport. At the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, use your British passport to enter and leave. From Sri Lanka to Australia: on departure from Colombo, the airline will want to know that you are entitled to enter Australia. Therefore, present your Australian passport to the airline, which gives you the automatic right to enter with no additional formalities. This will apply even if you are on a connecting flight, eg on Singapore Airlines rather than SriLankan Airlines direct to Melbourne or Sydney. On arrival in Australia, show the passport control people your Australian passport. You should also use this to leave Australia. From Australia to the UK: use your British passport for the flight – otherwise you will be asked, as an Australian, to obtain a UK ETA. On arrival in the UK, just go through the eGates with your British passport. If this all seems too complicated, just apply for the free Australian eVisitor pass, which is fast and easy to obtain, and do the whole thing on your British passport.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
17 of the best river cruises in Europe for 2025
There are clear differences between river and ocean cruising. Unlike the sea-crossing kind, river cruises in Europe (and beyond) offer smaller ships, more regular stops and, almost always, a far more central dock from which to explore some of the continent's great cities. These cruises are all about living life in the slow lane, with time spent drifting gently past vineyards, villages and meadows. The majority of operators deliver a good standard of luxury, with large staterooms, quality cuisine and sundecks; increasingly you'll also find spas and pools; better yet, all-inclusive board is common, including an excellent range of excursions focused on topics from food to history. Some, such as Viking and Avalon, also book your flights; others, like Scenic, offer door-to-door transfers. Now that really is relaxing. Here are the best river cruises in Europe. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Best for romanceWith big cruise ships now banned from the heart of Venice, an unobtrusive luxury river cruise boat is the best way to explore the city and the islands of the misty lagoon. You'll dock at San Basilio on the Giudecca Canaland usually spend three or four nights here, with plenty of time to lose yourself among Venice's greeny-blue waters, marble palaces and sunlit squares. There'll be forays into the lagoon and, water levels permitting, along the River Po. Here you can take in islands including Burano, famed for its brightly painted houses, Murano, the centre of Venice's glassblowing industry, and sleepy Torcello. Most cruise lines offer a day trip to Bologna, including a pasta-making demonstration, while others treat you to the unforgettable experience of a private, after-hours view of St Mark's Basilica, guided by an art historian. • Discover our full guide to Venice Best for longer sailingsThe narrow Moselle River flows into the Rhine at Koblenz and is often featured as part of a longer European river cruise. The Moselle valley is especially scenic, with terraced vineyards clinging to almost sheer slopes guarded by craggy castles, and the banks dotted with water meadows and quiet villages. The river loops around a series of curves as you head upstream to the historic villages of Cochem and Bernkastel-Kues, both renowned for their wine production, and on towards Trier. The city has some of the best-preserved Roman structures in the whole of Germany, including the original Porta Nigra town gate and an amphitheatre built for 20,000 spectators. • Best cities to visit in Germany Best for going back in timeBeyond Budapest, the Danube cuts its way through the southern Carpathian Mountains, continuing under the vast skies of the steppes and finally reaching its marshy delta in Romania. Along the way are cool cities such as Novi Sad and Belgrade, standing in stark contrast to swathes of forested countryside in Bulgaria and Serbia. There's ancient history in Veliko Tarnovo, the former capital of Bulgaria, at the medieval fortress of Baba Vida; and in the wind-sculpted rock formations at Belogradchik. But this is also an opportunity to learn about the tragedies of the much more recent Balkans conflict, which kept this stretch of the river off limits for decades. Several lines have now added the eastern Danube to their river cruise collections, some of them providing an extension to Bucharest, a city of grand boulevards and brutalist architecture, and to mysterious Transylvania, a region of jagged mountains where vampires are still very much part of the local for cultureSpring is the most popular time to cruise the network of waterways criss-crossing the flat countryside where the multiple arms of the Rhine flow into the North Sea. The fields in spring are dazzling with stripes of scarlet, orange and yellow tulips, while a day at the award-winning Keukenhof garden, brilliant with blooms, is a winner of an excursion. But this historic region is worth exploring by water at any time of year. Cruises may start in Amsterdam, where you'll need a couple of days to take in the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Anne Frank House and the canals. Stops on the voyage might include the medieval harbour town of Veere, and the Unesco world heritage site of Kinderdijk, its canals lined with 18th-century windmills. Across the border in Belgium, you can shop for diamonds in Antwerp and handmade chocolate in Bruges, or join a beer-tasting tour in Brussels. • Read our full guide to Amsterdam Best for oenophilesSailing through the rolling countryside of one of the world's greatest wine-growing areas, a cruise from Bordeaux is, naturally, all about wine. The inclusive experience of a cruise here will feature visits to Saint-Émilion, Cadillac and Sauternes, with tours of honey-coloured châteaux slumbering amid lush vineyards. Pedal between the vines on guided cycling excursions, drool over the cheeses in the market at Libourne and gaze from the sun deck at the passing countryside, with salty sea breezes from the nearby Atlantic hanging in the air. You'll sail three waterways: the Gironde estuary, and the Dordogne and Garonne rivers, with the city of Bordeaux sprawling elegantly along the banks of the latter. Bordeaux is one of the few ports in Europe where ships on ocean cruises dock alongside smaller riverboats. Here, check out the grand 18th-century architecture, the classy shops and the cleverly designed Cité du Vin wine for countrysideThere are many reasons to cruise the Seine, not least the glorious countryside of Normandy, with apple orchards, weeping willows and thatched cottages lining the banks. You'll call at historic Rouen and have a chance to visit the poignant D-Day landing beaches and cemeteries. Cruises also take in the Palace of Versailles and, in season, Monet's house and garden at Giverny. Best of all, though, you're usually docked close to the centre of Paris at the beginning and the end of the cruise, with all its magnificent sights a stroll away, from the Champs-Élysées and Montmartre to the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower. Add this all together and a voyage on the Seine has to be one of the loveliest cruises in Europe in terms of scenery and history — and the most effortless way to enjoy Paris and the surrounding countryside. • The best of Paris Best for dramatic scenery The Elbe is tricky for most river cruise ships to navigate but a generation of shallow-draft boats and paddle-wheelers is able to take you from edgy Berlin to medieval Prague. A typical cruise visits Wittenberg, including a look at Martin Luther's house, Meissen, of pottery fame, and elegant Dresden. The landscape is especially spectacular as you head south from here, cruising through 'Saxon Switzerland', where the river slices through dramatic sandstone mountain ranges. Some river cruises end in Melnik in the Czech Republic, while others join the Vltava River and sail into the heart of historic Prague. Either way, you can easily bolt on a stay in Prague as an extension to your trip. • Best river cruises for solo travellers• The world's best rivers to cruise on Best for a Christmas cruiseWhile many European cruises sail from Amsterdam to Basel along the Rhine, others leave the river near Mainz and sail the navigable stretch of the Main. This takes you as far as Bamberg, where the Main-Danube canal begins, to continue your journey to Nuremberg. The river flows through forested hills and past lush water meadows. Between Frankfurt and Würzburg, you'll visit a typical village along the way for a guided walking tour past half-timbered houses straight out ofGrimms' fairy tales. A cruise in winter is particularly scenic, the banks cloaked in snow and the Christmas markets in full swing. Frankfurt, Germany's financial centre (its nickname is 'Mainhattan'), is a largely modern city with a sensitively restored medieval heart and lively pubs lining the riverbank. In the elegant university town of Würzburg, meanwhile, you'll visit the Residence, one of Europe's most opulent baroque palaces. • Best Christmas market cruises Best for seeing the Black ForestOne of Europe's longest and most important waterways begins its journey high in the Swiss Alps and finds its way to the North Sea in the Netherlands. The Rhine is yours to discover on a romantic river cruise — a voyage that can cover the Netherlands, Germany and Austria all on one sailing, on a trip that can last up to 23 days. Whichever direction you choose to head in, and whichever cruise ship you choose, you'll pass lush vineyards, medieval towns and dramatic rocky gorges with stops to explore the cities of Strasbourg, Koblenz and Cologne. It's also possible to go beyond the typical Black Forest routes and wind along the Moselle. • Best Rhine river cruises Best for sun-soaked French landscapesIf you'd like to experience France in microcosm, a cruise along the Rhône is going to tick all the boxes. Sailing one of Europe's finest rivers will take you to the vineyards of Burgundy and charming Avignon, showcasing some of the country's finest landscapes on the way. Highlights include winding through Burgundy and the sun-soaked countryside of Provence. You'll explore Lyons, with its grand boulevards and quaint old town, the medieval streets of Avignon and its opulent papal palace, and the stupendous Roman amphitheatre in Arles — and much for food and drinkWine tasting, gourmet cuisine, beautiful landscapes … the treasures of the Douro River are easy to discover on a luxurious river cruise, usually from Porto or Lisbon in Portugal to the Spanish city of Madrid. Enjoy the medieval architecture and bountiful local tastes of Porto's wine regions, and drift through the peaceful Iberian countryside. Possible shore inclusions allow you to discover the most beautiful towns and monasteries in Portugal along the way, including the ceramic-laden Lamego and Barca d'Alva, with its 13th-century castle. Some cruises also visit Salamanca in Spain, where you could try a flamenco show and tour the city — a historic beauty with a fascinating past. • The best of Portugal Best for varietyThe Danube River has been the lifeblood of central Europe for centuries and there's no better way to experience it than on a river cruise. Wake up each morning in a new destination — such as the charming cities of Vienna and Bratislava, home to some of Europe's most stunning Christmas markets — and spend your days admiring the ever-changing countryside of Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. You'll soon see how Budapest, the 'Pearl of the Danube', earned its nickname: on the western bank of the Danube you'll find the medieval city of Buda, and on the opposite bank is Pest, with its fabulous neo-gothic architecture and fistful of Unesco world heritage sites. • Best Danube river cruises Best for unique sailingsThe Vltava is shallow enough in places to wade across, so it's understandably not an option for the ships of most river cruise lines. But the lightest vessels can sail here, heading deep into the countryside of the Czech Republic. A voyage on the Vltava is certainly an unusual experience, offering an intriguing insight into forested Bohemia as you head south from Prague to Stechovice, known for its gold mines and pottery, and the former Habsburg hunting lodge, Konopiste Castle, once the home of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There's time in Prague itself too, to see the Charles Bridge, the castle and the atmospheric old town. • Read our full guide to Prague Best for hunting for the Loch Ness MonsterThe Caledonian Canal follows the natural fault line of the Great Glen, which slices through northern Scotland. A cruise along it means sailing over silent lochs, framed by brooding mountains, forest and heather-clad hillsides, on a voyage that takes you between Oban, on Scotland's west coast, and Inverness in the northeast. You'll explore the sea lochs of the west, stopping at Loch Leven and the Highlands village of Glencoe, before sailing the length of Loch Linnhe and into the canal itself. One of the highlights here is Neptune's Staircase, an extraordinary flight of eight locks. You'll also sail the length of narrow Loch Ness, sheer-sided mountains plunging into the deep, dark, peaty waters that conceal the secret of 'Nessie'. • Discover our full guide to Scotland Best for impressive architecture The very name Andalusia conjures up images of flamenco and sherry, of narrow winding streets through historic old towns. It's not normally associated with cruising, but it is possible to experience the charms of southern Spain and see some of its greatest classical cities on a river cruise. You'll typically wander the elaborate Alcazar and beautiful gardens of Seville, discover the sherry bodegas of Jerez, spend time in the coastal city of Cadiz, and discover Cordoba's celebrated mosque-cathedral. • Discover our full guide to Andalusia Best for la dolce vitaThere's no better way to explore the world's most famous city on water than from a cruise between Venice and Mantua, or vice versa, on the Po River. You'll glide to some of Italy's prettiest towns including Chioggia, with its winding canals and gelato-coloured buildings, and Adria, an Etruscan town known for its archaeological museum. Excursions included along the way will see you snooping around the gothic Doge's Palace in Venice, enjoying a private wine tasting in the cellars of the Bagnoli Estate and dining ashore at the 17th-century villa Ca'Zen, where Byron wrote some of his best poetry. Best for history lovers Flowing through nine counties, the Thames is England's longest river and passes some of the country's most fascinating historical sites. After meeting fellow guests over (what else?) a traditional afternoon tea in central London, you'll transfer to an eight-passenger barge and sail to Hampton Court Palace to tour Henry VIII's apartments, cruising onwards through Runnymede to Windsor Castle. Other history-heavy highlights include the 11th-century village of Hurley, the Tudor manor house of Dorney Court and the impressive Cliveden estate, as well as an optional trip to the Olde Belle, one of the oldest hotels in the world. Additional reporting by Richard Mellor and and Siobhan Grogan • Best cruises with fewer than 200 passengers
