Boats on the Moselle, from an hour's trip to a whole day

Looking at the Moselle from a terrace is lovely. Looking at it from the water is something else, because from a boat you suddenly see how the vineyard slopes, the villages at their feet and the German bank opposite fit together. The government portal sells it as the relaxed way to hop from port to port, and on this one I agree.

Who runs the boats

Two Luxembourg companies operate scheduled trips. The first is the Remich fleet. Navitours has been on the town quay for more than thirty years with the Riverdiva, the Roude Léiw and the Muselschëff, and since May 2024 trips have been sold as Navi-Tour, a new firm set up by former staff that shares its office. The 82-metre RiverDiva is the party and wedding boat; for visitors, the ones that matter are the Klenge Prënz and the MuselSchëff.

The second is the Moselle tourist association, the Entente, with the Princesse Marie-Astrid, the most famous name on the river. Today’s boat was built in 2010, carries 500 passengers, 220 under cover, and is the fifth of the line. One of its predecessors hosted the signing that gave borderless Europe its name, and I’ll come back to that one.

From Remich, an hour or a whole day

Everything leaves from the Quai de la Moselle in Remich, right on the riverside promenade. The main product is the one-hour sightseeing trip, March to October, past Stadtbredimus, Bech-Kleinmacher and Schwebsingen, the country’s only marina and the nature reserve. On some days it stretches to 75 or 120 minutes, down to the three-nations point at Schengen. It needs at least 15 passengers, and the individual fare is shown in the online booking rather than published as text.

For something longer, from May to September there are lock trips, at Stadtbredimus or at Schengen and Apach, where you watch the boat rise or drop several metres. They cost €21 to €26 an adult as of September 2026. And all year there’s a day cruise to Sierck-les-Bains in France and to Ehnen, leaving at 12:00 and back around 17:15, for €33 an adult and €16 for ages 6 to 12.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Remich on Booking.com and filter by area before price.

The Princesse Marie-Astrid and its outings

The Entente sails from Easter to late September and keeps a few specials for October. In 2026 there’s a Friday culinary cruise until 9 October, at €22 without the meal, and on Sunday 11 October a trip to Saarburg for its Goldener Oktober, €32 return. In July and August it runs Wednesdays to Trier, €28 return, which to my mind is the nicest way to do the Luxembourg to Trier day trip.

Its office is at 10 route du Vin in Grevenmacher, and the programme notes that on some sailings you come back by bus, lines 271 or 333 from Grevenmacher. Two practical touches I like. Under-6s don’t pay and 6 to 11-year-olds pay half. And bikes go free when there’s room, so you can sail downstream and cycle back along the path that follows the water.

The treaty boat, moored at Schengen

This is where the story gets tangled. On 14 June 1985 five countries signed the Schengen Agreement aboard the second Marie-Astrid. From 1992 to 2021 that boat worked the Danube as the MS Regensburg, until the Luxembourg state bought it, restored it and brought it home. It’s now called the Prinzessin Marie-Astrid Europa, it’s kept seaworthy but lives at the museum’s quay in Schengen, and you board it on the European Museum Schengen ticket. Standing in the signing room is, for me, the most moving moment on the whole river.

To sleep close to everything, search places to stay in Remich on Expedia and filter by area before price.

What I’d choose

For a first visit, the one-hour trip from Remich and nothing more. It doesn’t take long, you don’t need to book a meal and it fits neatly around a cellar visit. If you already know the valley, or you’re travelling with someone who’d rather not walk, the day cruise is a good plan. And if your trip falls in October, I’d look at the Saarburg Goldener Oktober first, as it’s the last long sailing of the year. The rest of the Luxembourg Moselle Valley, on dry land, is in the region guide. If you’re coming over from the UK by train through Brussels or Paris, the boat is an easy add-on to a first day in Luxembourg City.

If you are short on time, see the best tours in Remich and pick one that fits your day.

Where the bus does not go, a car does: compare car hire in Luxembourg before you arrive rather than at the desk.

If you still need a way in, check the best ticket deals to Luxembourg from where you are.