Destinations Europe New to cruising

Weekend cruise breaks in Europe

If your appetite for travel outweighs your days of annual leave, our cruises sailing over the weekend are the perfect way to satisfy your wanderlust. Here’s a taste of the European destinations you can easily explore with us, simply by taking a weekend cruise from Southampton on our Queens.

3 min 31 Dec 2025

Cristina Azorin

Cunard writer

The Netherlands

Rotterdam

With its modernist architecture, forward-thinking Rotterdam offers a weekend filled with surprises. It’s daring design style is an architect’s dream. Visionary and edgy, it showcases a more contemporary side to the Netherlands than it’s commonly known for.

Stepping inside the Markthal food hall feels like entering a surrealist Sistine Chapel, where giant fruits, flowers, and insects canvas the ceiling (all 11,000 square metres of it). You’ll be equally entranced at the Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen, a publicly accessible art storage facility, encased within a mirrored building. Be sure not to skip past the rooftop forest on your visit – the panoramic views are something else.

Down by the waterfront, the former dockworkers district, Katendrecht, has been reborn as a fashionable foodie destination where once derelict warehouses now house hip restaurants. There’s even a permanently docked cruise ship on site (now a hotel) – just one of many quirky additions to this newly invigorated neighbourhood. Many of our weekend sailings to Rotterdam also call overnight, opening the door for you to enjoy an evening ashore in the city or even a shore experience to Amsterdam.

Belgium

Zeebrugge

Just 20 minutes from the charming Medieval city of Bruges, coastal Zeebrugge couldn’t look and feel more different from its historic, and arguably more famous, inland neighbour. Stepping ashore here immediately greets you with the freshness of the North Sea breeze, accompanied by the chatter of sea gulls and the clanging of ropes, courtesy of anchored fishing boats.

There are fewer places more scenic to stretch your legs. The promenade laps the sandy beach for miles, all-the-while tempting you with cafés and bars in which to disappear and admire the sea views. The yacht-lined marina and humbler lighthouse make for a pleasant spot to pause for a photo, while the seafront Maritime Theme Park offers an interactive insight into Belgium’s naval history, with exhibits including a Russian submarine.

Of course, it’s impossible to talk about taking a weekend cruise to Zeebrugge without mentioning Bruges. Its close proximity to Zeebrugge makes it perfect for a day trip from port and we offer a wide range of Shore Experiences including return travel to and from the city. Journeying here really does give the impression of stepping into another century or the pages of a fairytale. It’s a magical destination, perfect for whiling away a morning or an afternoon.

Germany

Hamburg

Baroque churches, glass skyscrapers, and historic merchant houses are just some of the architectural influences you can look forward to on a weekend cruise to Hamburg. One of only three German city-states (the others being Berlin and Bremen), Hamburg is home to more than 2,500 bridges – a total that eclipses Venice, Amsterdam, and London combined.

It’s a flat and pleasantly walkable city, which counts the UNESCO-listed warehouse district of Speicherstadt and the iconic Elbphilharmonie concert hall among its proud claims to fame. The latter also offers spectacular panoramic scenes from its complimentary viewing platform, accessed by escalator from the ground floor. An alternative (some say better) bird’s eye view of Hamburg can also be enjoyed by climbing the tower of St. Michael’s Church.

Another Hamburg highlight comes in the form of Miniatur Wunderland. Billed as the world’s largest model railway, the delightful displays include small scale replicas of Las Vegas, Venice, and the Grand Canyon, among many other iconic destinations. It’s somewhere children will certainly enjoy, but the ingenuity, attention to detail, and engineering is enough to instil a sense of childlike wonder in even the most grown-up of visitors.

France

Le Havre

Le Havre may not be the first destination that springs to mind when you’re thinking about a weekend city break in France, but this coastal gem in Normandy has so much to offer. Rebuilt from the ashes of WWII, the entire city now holds UNESCO World Heritage status – an honour bestowed to only 250 cities worldwide.

It’s situated at the mouth of the Seine River, directly across from the city of Honfleur, which in itself is worth a visit. Where Honfleur smacks of traditional French charm, however, Le Havre feels futuristic in comparison; its buildings and boulevards a neat arrangement of orderly lines and concrete structures that fans of brutalist architecture will adore.

You can get an insider’s view of this post-war vision for modern living at the Auguste Perret Show Flat, which feels equivalent to taking a portal directly back to the 1950s. One of France’s largest collections of impressionist artworks, including contributions by Monet (a Le Havre native) can be viewed at MuMa (Musée d’art moderne André Malraux). St Joseph’s Church, with its stunning stained-glass spire, is another Le Havre landmark not to be missed. As is Les Jardins Suspendus, a hanging botanic garden housed in a former fort.

Cherbourg

Cherbourg is a perfect short break destination for a weekend getaway from Southampton. Compact and walkable, the city’s historic architecture blends charming squares and old stone buildings with peaceful green spaces and an aquarium housing over 4,000 marine animals.

Just outside the city centre you’ll find Château des Ravalet, a romantic Renaissance castle with beautifully manicured gardens. Cherbourg also boasts a maritime museum, La Cité de la Mer, where you can explore France’s first nuclear submarine, as well as the Fort du Roule & Musée de la Libération, a WWII-era fort offering an insight into Cherbourg’s role in the conflict.

A weekend cruise to Cherbourg is also the ideal opportunity to join one of our Shore Experiences to Mont Saint-Michel, a UNESCO World Heritage Site located a couple of hours from the city. One of France’s most iconic landmarks, the story of this medieval island commune, crowned by a stunning gothic abbey, dates back to 708 AD. The jumble of cobbled streets lined with half-timbered houses, is a wonderful place to explore, where storybook scenes await around every corner.

Explore our weekend cruises, sailing in 2027

A weekend cruise on our Queens offers an escape where so much is included. Travel. Accommodation. Selected dining. Activities and entertainment. You can even bring as much luggage as you like, so long as you’re sailing both ways.

Discover our weekend cruises, sailing in 2027 or, if you have more time to spare, why not explore some of our five night or longer itineraries, offering you the same benefits of a short break, but with even more time to indulge, relax, and explore.