The end-stones of this cruise, Prague & Paris, contain very interesting histories and sites. But the cities visited in between those two were also gems in their ways. We saw countless Castles, Cathedrals, and Palaces, hence the title, in essentially all the stops. We arrived two days prior to the Viking tours and stayed two days afterwards. We planned those days to see the sites we did not see with Viking (either not included or just not enough time). The Viking excursions and guides were all very good. One of our favorite days was in Wurzburg, a relatively small town with lots of history and sites, but less crowds than larger cities. The Bishop's Palace, the many ornate/unique churches, and the fortress/castle were well worth visiting. Viking provided a nice walking tour of the Bishop's Palace and the oldtown area. We opted for the afternoon Hike the Hills excursion, which stopped at a hilltop chapel and then hiked thru the vineyards into the fortress/castle. Prague is a very walkable city, and has low cost electric metro & trams for longer distances. We enjoyed Prague's unique historic sites. We visited some of the key Paris sites as part of our choice of Viking excursions, eg Versailles, Notre Dame, and then toured the Louvre, Montmartre, and Sainte Chapelle afterwards with different guides. Sainte Chapelle is not to be missed for its beautiful, large stained glass windows. Other sites on the Viking tours worth mentioning include the Rhine Castles, The Reims Notre Dame Cathedral, the Reichsburg Castle in Cochem.

The Viking accommodations are very clean and comfortable. This was a river boat, so the cabins are small, but well appointed. The food on board was excellent. They served regional fare, beers, and wines.