Lucerne and the Majestic Rhine

Vacations By Rail's Lucerne and the Majestic Rhine combines Alpine mountain railways with a leisurely Rhine river cruise. The journey begins with two nights in Lucerne, a medieval lakeside town where guests board the Rigi Railway, known as the Queen of the Mountains, and the Pilatus Railway, the steepest cogwheel railway in the world, both offering panoramic views of Lake Lucerne and the Swiss Alps. The river cruise then departs downstream through Germany, crossing the UNESCO World Heritage Rhine Gorge with its castles, forests, and vineyard-covered slopes. Stops include the Rhine Valley town of Königswinter, where the Drachenfelsbahn cog railway ascends the Drachenfels summit, and Cochem, surrounded by the Moselle River and crowned by Reichsburg Castle. The tour concludes in the fairytale village of Rüdesheim, where guests choose between wine tasting or a visit to Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet. A professional tour manager leads the group throughout, making this a relaxed, guided experience suited to couples and photographers seeking both mountain scenery and river romance.