13 European Rivers And Waterways For Travel

The Elbe River: Germany

TripSavvy / Christopher Larson

The Rhine and Danube Rivers are the most popular rivers to cruise in Germany, but those who are fascinated by 20th-century history or by Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation will love an Elbe River cruise between Prague and Berlin. The 680-mile long Elbe has seven locks, but five are in the Czech Republic upstream from where river cruises embark in Melnik and the other two are downstream from where the ships disembark at Magdeburg for the drive to Potsdam and then Berlin. The Elbe eventually flows into the North Sea near Hamburg. 

Elbe River cruise tours include hotel stays in Prague and Berlin, two of Europe's great cities. Most of the cruise is in eastern Germany, and cities like Dresden, Meissen, and Wittenburg all have their own special charm. After being almost completely destroyed during World War II and now rebuilt, Dresden is a marvelous city to visit, with one of the world's great museums. Meissen has its fine porcelain, and Wittenburg has Martin Luther and the Reformation. Seeing the improvements in these eastern German cities since the reunification of the country in 1990 is impressive.

 

The Elbe River is often shallow, so cruise lines sailing the Elbe use smaller ships with a shallower draft for these cruises.