Follow the Danube through the places and stories along its banks.

The ports are only part of the journey.

A river journey links places that are often described separately. Passau's old town gives way to vineyard slopes, Vienna's waterfront and Budapest after dark. Farther east, Belgrade, the Iron Gates and the Danube Delta change the pace and character of the route. Sailing the Danube follows these transitions through a traveller's narrative.

Historical background and local traditions sit alongside scenes of life on the river. Photographs and orientation maps help readers picture where the story takes them, while brief practical notes accompany the account. The maps provide geographic orientation; they are not nautical charts.

Beyond a list of ports

An itinerary can tell you where a ship stops without giving you much sense of the places between those stops. Readers looking forward to a Danube journey may want the history, atmosphere and local context that a schedule leaves out.

What the book offers

The book brings the route together as an illustrated travel narrative. It connects cities and landscapes with historical background and everyday observations, offering a way to become familiar with the river before travelling or to return to it through reading.

• Follow the route from Passau through the Iron Gates to the Delta and the Black Sea
• Explore 55 photographs and five orientation maps
• Read brief notes on cruise selection, packing, life on board and photography
• Understand river-travel terms with the glossary

For readers drawn to European travel writing, river journeys and the places along the Danube. Suitable for reading before a trip, after returning or entirely from home.