The best autumn river cruises in Europe

Ask us when to take a river cruise and, more often than not, we will point you towards autumn. The light softens, the riverside towns feel like themselves again, and the cooler air is far kinder for walking a vineyard path or a cobbled lane. If you travel for food, wine and scenery, the months from September into November are amongst the finest times to sail.

Here, in short, is where to go and why.

• The Douro for the most theatrical harvest of all, picked by hand on near-vertical terraces above the water.
• The Rhône and Saône for two great wine regions, Burgundy and Provence, joined at the table in Lyon.
• Bordeaux for the most famous châteaux on earth and the wide waters of the Gironde.
• The Danube for the Wachau valley in its autumn colours, with Vienna and Budapest at either end.
• The Rhine for castle after castle above terraced Riesling slopes, at their best in clear autumn light.

The Douro

Few rivers put on a show like the Douro in autumn. From the middle of September into early October the vindima, the grape harvest, takes over the valley. Pickers work the sometimes near-vertical terraces by hand, the air fills with the smell of fermenting fruit, and at some of the old quintas the grapes are still trodden by foot in granite lagares, music and all. The vines turn copper, amber and rust, and the low autumn light along the river draws photographers from miles around. Several lines run sailings timed to the picking. The season has its own table too: chestnuts, wild mushrooms, game and the first olive oil of the year, all made for the robust Douro reds and a glass of port. Most cruises run seven nights, round trip from Porto. This is also the time of year when the summer heat drops and sightseeing is at its most comfortable, meaning these sailings book up early, so plan well ahead.

The Rhône and Saône

This is two rivers and two moods, joined at Lyon, which happens to be the best place to eat in France. Head north on the Saône and you are in Burgundy, with Beaune and its tiled Hospices at the centre, the grand names of the Côte d'Or within reach and the gentler hills of the Mâconnais and Beaujolais beyond. Turn south on the Rhône and the country opens into Provence: the Roman theatre at Vienne, the Papal Palace at Avignon, the amphitheatre at Arles and the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Autumn is the vendange across both regions, which makes it the busiest and arguably the most exciting time to come. It also brings what Lyon does best: the first black truffles in the markets near Grignan, game and wild mushrooms on the menus, with the stalls of Les Halles at their most tempting. For anyone who loves food and wine in equal measure, little compares.

Bordeaux: the Dordogne, Garonne and Gironde

Bordeaux is best understood as a meeting of waters. The Garonne and the Dordogne join just north of the city at the Bec d'Ambès to form the Gironde, the largest estuary in Europe, and ships sail a round trip from Bordeaux, working between the two banks. Those banks carry some of the most famous wine names on earth. West lies the Médoc, with the great châteaux of Margaux, Latour, Lafite and Mouton Rothschild; east, across the water, the medieval village of Saint-Émilion with its UNESCO-listed monolithic church, Pomerol just beyond. Autumn is the vendange, when the château doors stand open and the cellars are at their most absorbing. The region's other pleasures are in full season too: oysters from the coast, the city's own caramelised canelé and long lunches paired with first growths. There is history in the glass here, from the days when Eleanor of Aquitaine brought the region to the English crown and the wine trade began in earnest.

The Danube

The Danube is the river most people picture first, and autumn brings out its quieter, more rural side. The cities are reason enough at any time: Vienna with its palaces and coffee houses, Bratislava tucked beneath its castle, Budapest stretched along the water and at its best lit up after dark. But the heart of an autumn cruise is the Wachau, the UNESCO-listed run of Austrian wine country between Melk and Krems. Terraced vineyards climb from the river, the Grüner Veltliner and Riesling are coming in, and the wooded hills turn red and gold. The villages are some of the prettiest in Europe, including Durnstein, with its blue-and-white church tower and the castle ruins where Richard the Lionheart was held. The crowds are far thinner than in July, and a glass of new white wine on deck, valley sliding past, is hard to better. Time it for late November and the first Christmas markets are opening in Vienna and Budapest.

The Rhine

For sheer concentration of scenery, nothing in Europe quite matches the Rhine Gorge. Along the sixty-odd miles between Rüdesheim and Koblenz the river cuts through slate hills crowded with more than forty castles, the Riesling planted on slopes so sheer they can only be worked by hand. In autumn the vines turn rust and bronze, the picking is under way, and the wine towns hold their harvest festivals. Rüdesheim is the classic stop, with the wine taverns of the Drosselgasse, a cable car up to the Niederwald monument and a warming Rüdesheimer Kaffee laced with brandy. Watch for the Lorelei rock where the river narrows, the toll castle of Pfalzgrafenstein marooned on its island and the rival fortresses of Burg Katz and Burg Maus. The cooler air suits the active options too, a vineyard walk above the town or a cycle between villages. Many Rhine cruises run from Amsterdam to Basel, some taking in the Moselle, whose terraces produce Riesling every bit as good.

A little planning goes a long way with an autumn river cruise. The best wine-themed sailings fill months ahead, and the experience varies a good deal from one river and one cruise line to the next. That is where we come in. Tell us what matters to you most, whether it is the wine, the scenery, the food, or simply sailing when the rivers are quieter, and we will help you find the ship and the voyage that suit you.

You can browse all of our European river cruises or call us for honest, tailored advice.