Best ways to spend your time at these 5 popular European cruise ports
French artist Claude Monet's lily pads at his garden in Giverny, France © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
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So you’ve booked your European cruise. Now what?
You’ve finally booked your European cruise! After booking your cruise, it’s now time to figure out how you will spend your time when your ship docks at each port. This can feel exciting yet overwhelming, especially since you might have never been to the cities/places where the ship is docking and you will have to learn how to navigate seeing attractions. Additionally, you have to keep in mind how much time it takes for you to get back to your ship.
Now, of course, you have the option to book excursions through your cruise line, but in my opinion, I feel like they limit the amount of attractions you can see. You might also think that excursions through the cruise line are much more expensive than exploring each city/port of call on your own. I’ve felt this way too. Whenever I’ve been on a cruise, I explore the places the ship docks on my own more often than on an excursion through the cruise line. After visiting to several European cities for the first time, I have learned through experience how to best spend time at several European cruise ports.
In this post, I’ll be covering how to make the most of your time at these cruise ports:
• Le Havre, France
• Zeebrugge, Belgium
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Warnemunde, Germany
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
Le Havre, France
This city has a cruise port that ships dock when in northern France.
When cruise ships dock in northern France, Le Havre is one of the two ports they dock in. Guests usually arrange to visit Paris when docked in northern France, if they wish. However, the downside to this is that Paris is a 2 hour and 30-minute drive (without traffic) from Le Havre and is about a 2 hour and 45 train ride from Le Havre. Booking an excursion to see Paris through the cruise line is an option that cruise lines offer, but this is often very expensive due to the fact that they take you on the long drive or train ride to get to and from Paris. For example, when my brother and I went on an excursion through a cruise line to see Berlin, it was a 3-hour train ride from the cruise port and back, and cost over $300 for each of us.
This, with the fact that you are limited in the amount of time you have to explore the city because your excursion group has to get back to the bus or train with enough time to spare to get back to the cruise port, can make your plans to see Paris more stressful than fun. Don’t forget this also applies if you decide to take the train or be driven to Paris on your own and not through the cruise line. If you do not want to be on a bus or train for almost 6 hours roundtrip to visit Paris, I recommend seeing these two cities instead:
• Giverny, France
• Rouen, France
These two cities are much closer to Le Havre, both in the Normandy region of France, of which Rouen is the capital. Giverny is a 1 hour and 35-minute drive from Le Havre, and Rouen is a 1-hour drive from Le Havre. There is about an hour's drive between both cities. When the last cruise I went on stopped at Le Havre for the day in July 2024, these are the places I went to instead of going to Paris.
In Giverny, a major attraction is seeing French Impressionist artist Claude Monet’s gardens, lily pads, and house. Whether or not you are a fan of Monet, I highly recommend seeing his property because everything was beautiful! I did not go inside his house (the line was at least 45 minutes long), but seeing his gardens and lily pads was amazing:
Monet's lily pads at his garden in Giverny, France © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Monet's garden in Giverny, France © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
While walking through the gardens, you also get to see gorgeous flowers up close and see streams flowing through the gardens around the lily pad pond:
© The Ultimate Vacation Guide
© The Ultimate Vacation Guide
© The Ultimate Vacation Guide
You can buy tickets to see Monet’s gardens and house online or when you arrive there. If you are going on a cruise that stops in Le Havre in the summer as I did and want to visit Monet’s house and gardens, you should get your tickets online or get to the house and gardens early when it opens so you do not have to wait in a long line. I already had tickets so I did not have to wait in line.
If you are a history lover, seeing Rouen will be a highlight. Rouen is known to be where Saint Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, and in her honor, there is a tall cross placed over where there is archeological evidence of her death. Right next to the cross is the Church of St. Joan of Arc where you can see beautiful stained glass windows.
Church of St Joan of Arc in Rouen, France © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Rouen also has several restaurants and is less crowded and “touristy” compared to Paris. There is also the historic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen, which started construction in 1030, and an art museum that holds several Monet paintings (some of which are paintings of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen). If you are looking for a nice but more quiet place to see France and spend time more like a local, definitely check out Rouen!
Zeebrugge, Belgium
Zeebrugge is a port city in northern Belgium, only a 25-minute drive from Bruges.
The good news is that you can easily visit Bruges from Zeebrugge. Going to Brussels is also an option, and it is an hour and 20 minute drive from Zeebrugge. This will cost you more money because it is farther from the port, whether you go on your own or on an excursion through the cruise line. Feel free to visit Brussels if you wish! In Bruges, there is a lot to see and do, from historic architecture to lots of chocolate shops, restaurants, and canal tours. When you get off of your cruise ship when you dock in Zeebrugge, there will probably be a bus that takes people from the port to Bruges and back for 25€ per person. This is what my family did when we got to Zeebrugge. It was very straightforward getting to and from Bruges, and the driver told us when the last bus takes everyone back to the Zeebrugge to get back on the port.
Canal tours in Bruges are not very long, so there is more than enough time for you to take a canal tour and then walk around. The Belfry of Bruges, Basilica of the Holy Blood, and the Market Square are popular attractions to see in Bruges and are worth a visit!
Canal in Bruges © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Belfry of Bruges © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
If you want to explore Bruges for yourself on your next cruise, click here to schedule a drive from the port to Bruges to make sure you get a spot!
Tip: When in Bruges, eat at Manhattn's Burgers.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen, the capital city of Denmark, is a beautiful city only a 45-minute drive to Sweden. The Copenhagen cruise port is only a 20-minute drive from the city, so you will have plenty of time to explore as much of the city as you like when you are there. It is very easy to navigate their (electric) subway system as well. My attraction/landmark suggestions:
• Rosenborg Castle
• Walking through the Østre Anlæg park
• Nyhavn
• A canal tour through the city
The Rosenborg Castle is a beautiful, well-preserved Renaissance castle where several members of the Danish Royal Family lived. Most of the rooms in the castle are almost the same way they were when the castle was built in the 1600s. The Østre Anlæg park features lakes and sculptures where you will see plenty of locals hanging out and relaxing. Nyhavn is a famous harbor in Copenhagen, which you might already recognize from photos, as it’s one of Copenhagen’s most photographed areas. Here, you will see tons of locals and tourists shopping and eating. The canal tour I went on when in Copenhagen was an hour long, and there were amazing views of the city and landmarks, especially of the Opera House and the Royal Library.
Canal in Gammel Strand, Copenhagen, an area with plenty of shops and restaurants © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Nyhavn in Copenhagen © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
I want you to experience the charm of Nyhavn for yourself and see in person what you’ve probably already seen in photos. Click here to check out amazing tours of Nyhavn!
Tip: When in Nyhavn, I recommend you try gelato at Elis.
Warnemunde, Germany
Warnemunde is a town on the Baltic Sea in Germany. Feel free to go to the beach after you leave your ship; it is very close to where your ship will be docked. When I was in Warnemunde, there were a bunch of food trucks along the walkway near the beach. If you want to see Berlin, the train or car ride will be long (as I mentioned earlier), but look here to find numerous tours that take you from Warnemunde cruise port to Berlin for a lot less than what your cruise line is probably charging.
Conveniently, there is a Warnemunde train station, so you will not have to walk far to get to the station to go to Berlin, whether you are going on your own or through the cruise line. Your cruise might dock at the Rostock cruise port instead of Warnemunde (this originally happened with my cruise). If your cruise docks at the Rostock cruise port instead of Warnemunde, you can easily get to the Rostock train station from the ship to travel to Berlin as well!
Street in Warnemunde, Germany © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Amsterdam, Netherlands
When your cruise ship docks in Amsterdam, it will (likely) dock at Amsterdam Cruise Port, not far from the Amsterdam Centraal train station.
When you get off the ship, you will probably see taxis waiting outside the port offering to drive you into the city. They are quite expensive, so I recommend you take the 15 to 20-minute walk to the city instead. Luckily, Amsterdam has a nice subway system, which is what my family used to get around the city. I highly recommend taking the subway to get to your attractions, unless an attraction is not close to a station (take an Uber instead). There are a lot of attractions to see in Amsterdam. I recommend:
• Anne Frank House
• Van Gogh Museum
• Royal Palace of Amsterdam
• The Rijksmuseum
• Canal tour
Of course, choose what you want to do, but these are my top five. If you are very interested in seeing the Anne Frank House, you have to research when to purchase tickets online so you get them in time before they sell out for the day you will be in Amsterdam. You might have to get up very early depending on the time zone you live in to purchase tickets before they sell out (this is what my family had to do to get tickets).
Even though you might decide to do a canal tour if you visit Bruges, I think you’ll also enjoy a canal tour in Amsterdam, seeing how all of the canals run through the city. I remember walking through the city and seeing a canal at every turn!
Original entrance to the Anne Frank House © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Vase with Irises Against a Yellow Background (1889) by Vincent van Gogh at the Van Gogh Museum © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
Canal in Amsterdam © The Ultimate Vacation Guide
I want you to be able to see history for yourself at the Anne Frank House and Van Gogh Museum, as well as see Amsterdam’s world-famous 17th-century canals as I have. Look through different tours of each of these attractions here!
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