River cruises put an elegant spin on touring Europe

A trip to Europe has universal appeal, but not everyone feels ready for the practical side of the proposition. For some travelers, the challenges of independently planning a trip to countries where they might not speak the language is enough to put them off. However, the increasingly popular option of river cruises gives you the best of a European travel experience with a minimum of effort.

Some travelers want to delve deeply into one country and its culture, while others want to experience a sampling of countries to enjoy the unique attributes of each. In either case, there are river cruises that can give you a unique perspective on the places you're visiting. Tour operators like Tauck offer itineraries and options to meet all interests, whether you're interested in scenery, architecture or culinary arts.

Options like Tauck's "French Waterways and Vineyards" river cruises take you through France's legendary Rhone Valley. While there, you can get a taste for the local territory through wine sampling, but the cruise also gives you opportunities to savor culinary delights in Paris and other, smaller towns along the way. Music lovers can take a cruise along the Danube that holds musical performances on board, but also features unique on-shore excursions that highlight the musical history and highlights of the places you'll visit, from Baroque salons where Mozart played to an evening in private palaces.

Whether you're a first-time visitor to Europe or an experienced jetsetter, offerings like those from Tauck give travelers unusual access to people and places that are essentially off-limits to most other tourists. From expert-guided tours of palaces and monuments to exclusive dining and entertainment opportunities ashore, a river cruise often holds much more than your standard vacation - and with the convenience of having everything preplanned and arranged. Not only are you able to have truly unique experiences, river cruises like Tauck's offer as much as 40 percent savings over independently planned trips.

Many European vacations show you just the big cities, and while those places are certainly important, visiting smaller locales can often give you a better feel for the country and a richer experience. With shore excursions in both small towns and large cities, river cruises can give you a more complete view of the countries you visit, and more chances to find the nuances of each location.

Seeing the sites of Europe, at any age, can be far easier than you might have imagined. Whether you want to cruise from Budapest to the Black Sea or Paris to Provence, taking a river cruise can make the journey more memorable.