Book a cruise with a ticket to see André Rieu – plus 20 fascinating facts

Did you know that you can enjoy a river cruise with a guaranteed ticket to an André Rieu concert? A classical music extravaganza you will never forget...

Image credit: Marcel van Hoorn

Affectionately known as “The King of Waltz”, André Rieu brings his unique take on classical music to huge audiences around the globe via his sell-out concerts. The 76-year-old violinist has sold more than 40 million CDs and DVDs and performed to over 15 million people globally. He boasts a host of awards including three BRIT Awards for Classic Album of the Year and the prestigious World Music and Silver Clef Awards. Since 2017 Saga have been offering dedicated André Rieu river cruises allowing passengers to take in one of his unforgettable concerts in the spectacular Vrijthof square in Maastricht while enjoying the splendours of the Dutch waterways. There’s no better way to enjoy this incredible musician.

Image credit: Marcel van Hoorn

On our 7 night all inclusive cruise of the Dutch waterways aboard Spirit of the Rhine you can take in beautiful Dordrecht, with its Grote Kerk straight out of a Dutch painting, and visit the sights of Amsterdam, which may include the Royal Palace on Dam Square, the floating flower market and a trip aboard a glass-topped canal boat (depending on itinerary). Medieval Utrecht and historical Nijmegen and Roermond are also on the itinerary, before you arrive in Maastricht for the concert - André Rieu and the Johann Strauss orchestra in Vrijthof Square.

Image credit: Marcel van Hoorn

If you want to make an extra memorable Christmas in 2026, experience the theatrical extravaganza of the André Rieu Christmas concert on a 5-night, all-inclusive river cruise. Take a walking tour around ancient Roermond, then continue to Maastricht to explore its cobbled old town and Gothic-style churches. In the evening you will take your seat for a spectacular André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra performance at the MECC Maastricht. This trip also visits Arnhem, best known for being the city at the centre epic war film A Bridge too Far.

And to get you in the mood, here are 20 fascinating facts about the man himself...

1. He lives a castle – Rieu’s home is Huis De Torrentjes (castle with the small towers) in Maastricht, Holland. The story goes that the famous French musketeer d'Artagnan once enjoyed breakfast there, shortly before being killed in battle in 1673.
2. He’s a polyglot – Besides his native tongue Dutch, Rieu also speaks English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. He’s also planning to learn Portuguese by reading all the Tintin books in translation.
3. He began playing the violin at the age of five
4. He currently plays a 1732 Stradivarius. Such original instruments are extremely valuable - a Joachim-Ma 1714 Stradivarius sold for £8.6 million earlier this year.
5. He has the largest privately owned and funded orchestra in the world – Rieu’s Johann Strauss Orchestra has grown from 12 members at the first concert in 1998 to 60 members in 2025 with up to 75 playing on larger stages.
6. He adores the fairytale aesthetic – The members of his Johan Strauss orchestra are always clothed in black tie or huge princess-style pastel silk and satin ballgowns. Rieu designs these himself and has them made to measure at a cost of around £3,000 a gown. Each female musician has five dresses per tour.
7. He’s a keen cook and baker – Rieu took up baking in lockdown and watches baking clips by pastry chefs like Cees Holtkamp on YouTube. He often treats his orchestra to bakes such as bossche bolletjes (chocolate cream puffs) and cheese croquettes. Rieu harvests fresh produce from his garden – his tomato crop last summer featured one weighing in at a whopping 800g. He also enjoys making juice from his grapes. And his favourite dish? Italian speciality ossobuco.
8. He’s friends with Sir Anthony Hopkins – The musician and the actor connected over a shared love of waltz. One of his finest memories was playing and conducting the piece And The Waltz Goes On composed by Sir Anthony, who before becoming an actor dreamed of a career as a composer. "I was absolutely gobsmacked when I heard his composition," said Rieu. "Its world premiere, in the presence of its composer was in Vienna; that moment, I will treasure the rest of my life!"
9. He’s happy to share the limelight – Rieu frequently collaborates with diverse performers. Guests who have shared the stage with him include legends from the world of opera and pop such as Katherine Jenkins and Jermaine Jackson along with left-field entertainers like David Hasselhoff, the group Los Del Rio (famous for the song La Macarena) and Dame Edna Everage (the late Barry Humphries). Rieu loves to invite young talent on stage including violin prodigy Akim Camara and Emma Kok, winner of the Dutch version of The Voice Kids, who brings the house down with her renditions of Voilà and Earth Song.
10. He loves butterflies – Buying cocoons in Costa Rica, he hatches them in his purpose built orangerie. At any one time, Rieu will have 200-250 fluttering around. Blue Morpho, one of the largest butterflies in the world, is his favourite, but he proclaims them "naughty because they always close their wings when I’m trying to photograph them".
11. He has a big heart – Rieu quietly supports many causes. For example, he personally covered the cost of surgery for a 9-year-old girl suffering from a brain tumour. He also played at the bedside of an 87-year-old whose dying wish was to hear live music one last time and covered the medical bills for every dog at a New Jersey shelter facing closure. He cares for the members of his orchestra, supporting them through health scares and even cancelling a fully-booked UK tour after Ruud Merx, his friend and trombonist, suffered a heart attack.
12. He travels in style – The interior of the coaches which transport the orchestra between venues are clad in luxurious pink suede. They also travel with their own fitness trainer, doctor and three cooks.
13. He has a lively sense of humour – Rieu loves to make audiences laugh with stunts based around pieces of music. While performing in Vienna, Rieu challenged his brass section to play the piece Perpetuum Mobile while eating plates of wiener schnitzel, Austria’s national dish.
14. He has no plans to retire – "As I like my job very much, there aren’t any thoughts of slowing down. I do not work, I have fun."
15. His idol is Johann Strauss II – "He proved it’s possible to be a musician and a businessman." Rieu often wonders what Strauss would think of him: "He would be angry that he doesn’t get paid! Because Verdi, you see, was much cleverer. When I play Verdi, I still have to pay his publisher. But this gift of Strauss I have completely for free."
16. Rieu annually plays to 700,000 people across the world –The company has four complete sets of instruments, costumes and technical equipment, one based in Maastricht, one elsewhere in Europe, one in America and one in Asia, reducing the risk of issues if anything gets held up. A single set consists of nine trucks full of equipment and instruments and costumes – the crew travels in three converted buses each with 12 beds.
17. He once appeared in Neighbours – Rieu is hugely popular in Australia and in 2009 while doing a series of concerts in Melbourne, he was approached by producers to do a cameo as himself. He arrived in a limo to serenade the character Rebecca Napier with Ramsay Street residents all waltzing.
18. He loves the Blue Danube – It’s the hold music on his home phone.
19. He rewards his loyal fanbase – Rieu regularly greets crowds seated at surrounding restaurants as he walks into the Vrijthof and gifts superfans and regular Rieu travellers with cushions for their seats embroidered with his name, fountain pens or engraved spoons.
20. He has big dreams – He has said he’d like to perform at the North Pole in order to draw attention to climate change and would like to play on the moon as soon as it’s possible to travel there.

Find out more about river cruises with Saga.