Despite its pummelling by the Luftwaffe and some disastrous postwar urban sprawl, the 1,000-year-old city of Southampton has retained some of its medieval charm in parts and reinvented itself as a 21st-century shopping center in others, with the giant glass-and-steel West Quay as its focus. Core of the modern town is the Civic center, a short walk east of the train station and home to the excellent Southampton City Art Gallery that’s particularly strong on contemporary British artists. The Western Esplanade runs alongside the best remaining bits of the old city walls. Rebuilt after a French attack in 1338, they incorporate God’s House Tower, at the southern end of the old town in Winkle Street, which currently houses the Museum of Archaeology. Best preserved of the city’s seven gates is Bargate, at the opposite end of the old town, at the head of the High Street; it’s an elaborate structure, cluttered with lions, classical figures, and defensive apertures. A shore excursion on your MSC Northern Europe cruise from Southampton can be the opportunity to discover the capital of England, London. For the visitor, London is a thrilling place. Monuments from the capital’s glorious past are everywhere, from medieval banqueting halls and the great churches of Christopher Wren to the eclectic Victorian architecture of the triumphalist British Empire. You can relax in the city’s quiet Georgian squares, explore the narrow alleyways of the City of London, wander along the riverside walks, and uncover the quirks of what is still identifiably a collection of villages. The capital’s great historical landmarks – Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and so on – draw in millions of tourists every year.

A day at sea gives you the opportunity to recharge before docking at your next port. Enjoy the many amenities your ship has to offer by pampering yourself with a relaxing spa day, catching an entertaining show with talented performers, or savoring an evening of fine dining at one of our many restaurants. Stick to your fitness goals by heading to the gym or hitting the mat for a mindful yoga session. Peruse a variety of shops to discover fashionable outfits, accessories, and jewelry. With endless attractions and activities, your sea day experience will be one for the books. Day At Sea Highlights: • Whether you want to bask in the sun or jump in the water to cool off, a day at the pool is time well spent. A wide selection of pools allows you to choose the perfect environment while attendants stand by to meet your every need. • Take your taste buds on a trip around the world with our extensive dining options. Boasting buffets, international cuisines, a wellness corner, and more, your ship offers a variety of delicacies to satisfy pallets of all preferences. • Try your luck in the casino where you can win big on the slot machines or put your poker face to the test at one of the table games. Regardless of your skill level, you’ll find yourself on the edge of your seat as you take your chance hitting one of the jackpots. SUBSCRIBE TO OUR

Hamburg, Germany is a prominent European port on the river Elbe, bridging continental Europe and Scandinavia. This destination boasts magnificent buildings overlooking the harbor, numerous canals, and the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district. MSC Cruises excursions offer plenty of exciting things to see including: • Speicherstadt: the Warehouse Town • Hamburg by Land and Sea • Lübeck Speicherstadt is the world's largest complex of warehouses, spanning an area of over 155 square acres. Built between 1883 and 1927, its home to remarkable Neo-Gothic brick buildings — including museums. Explore its labyrinth of alleys, canals, and bridges on an MSC Cruises excursion, where you’ll learn more about this renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site and its world-famous architecture. Hamburg is renowned for its elegant boulevards, stately buildings, and emerald green parks. On an MSC Cruises excursion you’ll enjoy a breathtaking tour of the canals, the riverside, and other fascinating city landmarks. Begin with a captivating drive through Hafen City and the Speicherstadt — the historic warehouse quarter. Next, admire Hamburg's waterways by boat and the magnificent views of its skyline. Discover City Hall, Planten un Blomen botanical park, the trendy Jungfernstieg area, and the iconic St. Michael's Church. A view of 17th-century houses in the Krameramtsgasse closes this delightful tour. Lübeck, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a charming old city on the river Trave, characterized by its remarkable Gothic architecture. Take a scenic MSC Cruises excursion to one of the most beautiful ports in Germany where you’ll discover elegant alleyways, courtyards, and the remains of a medieval development. Admire the renowned Holtenstor (Holsten Gate), the Hospital of Holy Spirit, and the world's largest mechanical organ at St. Mary’s Church. Finally, enjoy a delicious German lunch before returning to Hamburg.

A day at sea gives you the opportunity to recharge before docking at your next port. Enjoy the many amenities your ship has to offer by pampering yourself with a relaxing spa day, catching an entertaining show with talented performers, or savoring an evening of fine dining at one of our many restaurants. Stick to your fitness goals by heading to the gym or hitting the mat for a mindful yoga session. Peruse a variety of shops to discover fashionable outfits, accessories, and jewelry. With endless attractions and activities, your sea day experience will be one for the books. Day At Sea Highlights: • Whether you want to bask in the sun or jump in the water to cool off, a day at the pool is time well spent. A wide selection of pools allows you to choose the perfect environment while attendants stand by to meet your every need. • Take your taste buds on a trip around the world with our extensive dining options. Boasting buffets, international cuisines, a wellness corner, and more, your ship offers a variety of delicacies to satisfy pallets of all preferences. • Try your luck in the casino where you can win big on the slot machines or put your poker face to the test at one of the table games. Regardless of your skill level, you’ll find yourself on the edge of your seat as you take your chance hitting one of the jackpots.

Your MSC cruise will lay anchor in the largest port in the world, Rotterdam, a no-nonsense working-class city lying at the heart of a maze of rivers and artificial waterways that together form the outlet of the rivers Rijn (Rhine) and Maas (Meuse). After devastating damage during World War II, Rotterdam has grown into a vibrant, forceful city dotted with first division cultural attractions. Your MSC cruise of Northern Europe will give you the opportunity to see that the immense land reclamation work hasn’t obliterated its earthy character though: its tough grittiness is part of its appeal, as are its boisterous bars and clubs. Amongst the most interesting attractions to enjoy during your vacation in Holland, is Rotterdam’s Kunsthal, the museum of contemporary art, and the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum, which has an outstanding art collection including representative works from almost all the most important Dutch painters: both are in the city’s designated culture zone, the Museumpark. Other interesting sites to visit on an MSC excursion are the Oude Haven, the city’s oldest harbor, ravaged during World War II but sympathetically redeveloped, and Delf's Haven, an antique harbor that managed to survive the bombs pretty much intact. Rotterdam also boasts a string of first-rate festivals, including the much-lauded North Sea Jazz Festival and the colorful Summer Carnival. The postwar period saw the rapid reconstruction of the docks and, when huge container ships and oil tankers made the existing port facilities obsolete, Rotterdammers promptly built an entirely new deep-sea port, the Europoort, jutting out into the North Sea some 16-miles to the west of the old town. Completed in 1968, the Europoort is able to welcome the largest ships in the world, amongst which also the MSC cruise ships.

Crowds tend to overwhelm Bruges nowadays – its reputation as a perfectly preserved medieval city has made it the most popular tourist destination in Belgium – but you’d be mad to come to Flanders. With an MSC Northern Europe cruise and miss it: Bruges’ museums hold some of the country’s finest collections of Flemish art, and its intimate, winding streets, woven around a skein of narrow canals and lined with gorgeous ancient buildings, live up to even the most inflated tourist hype. When you step ashore from your MSC cruise, the obvious start to an exploration of the city is the two principal squares: the Markt, overlooked by the mighty belfry, and the Burg, flanked by the city’s most impressive architectural ensemble. Almost within shouting distance are the three main museums, among which the Groeninge offers a wonderful sample of early Flemish art. Another short hop brings you to St. John's Hospital and the important paintings of the 15th-century artist Hans Memling, as well as Bruges’ most impressive churches, the Church of Our Lady and St. Salvator's Cathedral. Further afield, the gentle canals and maze-like cobbled streets of eastern Bruges – stretching out from Jan van Eyckplein – are extraordinarily pretty. The most characteristic architectural feature is the crow-step gable, popular from the 14th-18th century and revived by the restorers of the 1880s, but there are also expansive Georgian-style mansions and humble, homely cottages. Time and again the eye is surprised by the sober and subtle variety of the cityscape, featuring everything from intimate arched doorways and bendy tiled roofs to wonky chimneys and a bevy of discreet shrines and miniature statues.

As you sail on your MSC cruise to France, you’ll come to Le Havre, the country’s second-largest port, which takes up half the Seine estuary. However, the town itself, home to almost 200,000 people, is a place of pilgrimage for fans of contemporary architecture. Le Havre – “The Harbor” – is the principal trading post of northern France and a port of call of our MSC Northern Europe cruises. Following its near destruction during World War II, Le Havre was rebuilt by a single architect, Auguste Perret, between 1946 and 1964. The sheer sense of space can be exhilarating: the showpiece monuments have a winning self-confidence, and the few surviving relics of the old city have been sensitively integrated into the whole. While the endless mundane residential blocks can be dispiriting, even those visitors who fail to agree with Perret’s famous dictum that “concrete is beautiful” may enjoy a stroll around his city. A shore excursion on your MSC Northern Europe cruise can also be the opportunity to discover Rouen, the capital of Upper Normandy, one of France’s most ancient cities. Standing on the site of Rotomagus, built by the Romans at the lowest point where they could bridge the Seine, it was laid out by Rollo, the first duke of Normandy, in 911. Captured by the English in 1419, it became the stage in 1431 for the trial and execution of Joan of Arc, before returning to French control in 1449. Rouen today can be very seductive, its lively and bustling center well equipped with impressive churches and museums. North of the Seine at any rate, it’s a real pleasure to explore. As well as some great sights – Cathédrale de Notre-Dame, all the delightful twisting streets of timbered houses – there’s history aplenty too, most notably the links with Joan of Arc.

Despite its pummelling by the Luftwaffe and some disastrous postwar urban sprawl, the 1,000-year-old city of Southampton has retained some of its medieval charm in parts and reinvented itself as a 21st-century shopping center in others, with the giant glass-and-steel West Quay as its focus. Core of the modern town is the Civic center, a short walk east of the train station and home to the excellent Southampton City Art Gallery that’s particularly strong on contemporary British artists. The Western Esplanade runs alongside the best remaining bits of the old city walls. Rebuilt after a French attack in 1338, they incorporate God’s House Tower, at the southern end of the old town in Winkle Street, which currently houses the Museum of Archaeology. Best preserved of the city’s seven gates is Bargate, at the opposite end of the old town, at the head of the High Street; it’s an elaborate structure, cluttered with lions, classical figures, and defensive apertures. A shore excursion on your MSC Northern Europe cruise from Southampton can be the opportunity to discover the capital of England, London. For the visitor, London is a thrilling place. Monuments from the capital’s glorious past are everywhere, from medieval banqueting halls and the great churches of Christopher Wren to the eclectic Victorian architecture of the triumphalist British Empire. You can relax in the city’s quiet Georgian squares, explore the narrow alleyways of the City of London, wander along the riverside walks, and uncover the quirks of what is still identifiably a collection of villages. The capital’s great historical landmarks – Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Tower of London, and so on – draw in millions of tourists every year.