24 nights South America from Southampton (London)

Cruises from Southampton are part of a storied maritime heritage. Famous ships have sailed from Southampton port and, before commercial air travel, it was the gateway to the world with Hollywood celebrities like Bette Davis and Elizabeth Taylor passing through to board a Southampton cruise. In its atmospheric Old Town, 12th-century churches, cobbled streets, and timber-framed houses like the impressive Tudor House & Garden sit side-by-side, surrounded by one of the most complete Medieval city walls in the UK where the Bargate – the ancient entrance – still stands intact. There are bustling marina-side bars, shiny shopping districts and a vibrant cultural quarter where the Mayflower Theatre puts on West End musicals and the SeaCity Museum catalogues Southampton’s seafaring past. Some of England’s most impressive landmarks are an easy drive away, including the Neolithic wonder Stonehenge, the picturesque spa city Bath or Buckingham Palace, Tate Modern and Tower Bridge in the bustling ca…

The fine port of La Coruña centres on a narrow peninsula that juts from Spain’s northern coast, 64km north of Santiago. A broad headland curves in both directions from the end of that peninsula to create two large bays: one facing across to Ferrol, and sheltering a large harbour, the other lying open to the Atlantic, lined by a long sandy beach. In the dynamic city in between, a five-minute walk by way of old stone alleyways, with tantalizing restaurants, tapas bars and nightspots jostling for attention, takes you from bustling modern port – where your MSC cruise ship awaits your return – to relaxed resort. The heart of La Coruña, poised between the old city and its modern sprawl just inland from the port, is the colonnaded Praza de María Pita. The narrow and atmospheric streets of the old town wind around the Romanesque churches of Santiago and Santa María del Campo, and are shielded from the sea by a high wall. The distinctive glass-fronted galleries of the sea-facing buildings, ris…

Cádiz is among the oldest settlements in Spain and one of the country’s principal ports. On an MSC Mediterranean cruise excursion, you can visit its old town, built on a peninsula-island, and remaining much as it must have looked in those days, with grand, open squares, sailors’ alleyways and high, turreted houses. Literally crumbling from the effect of the sea air on its soft limestone, it has a tremendous atmosphere – while slightly seedy, definitely in decline, it is nevertheless full of mystique. The Museo de Cádiz, the province’s most important, overlooks the leafy Plaza de Mina and incorporates the archaeological museum on the ground floor with many important finds and artefacts from the city’s lengthy history. Almost irresistible, even if you don’t normally go for High Baroque, is the attraction of the huge and seriously crumbling eighteenth-century Catedral Nueva. Cádiz is one of Spain’s top holiday cruise destinations for its cathedral, too, decorated entirely in stone, with…

The elegant central zone of Málaga – a stop-off on your MSC cruise of the Mediterranean – is largely pedestrianized with the focal point, marble-paved Calle Marqués de Larios, lined with fashionable stores, its most elegant thoroughfare. Plaza de la Constitución, Málaga’s main square, hosts a monumental fountain flanked by slender palms and the terraces of numerous cafés and restaurants. Málaga centre has a number of interesting churches and museums, not to mention the birthplace of Picasso and the Museo Picasso Málaga, housing an important collection of works by Málaga’s most famous son. Perched on the hill above the town are the formidable citadels of the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro, magnificent vestiges of the seven centuries that the Moors held sway here. Málaga is also renowned for its fish and seafood, which can be sampled at tapas bars and restaurants throughout the city, as well as at the old fishing villages of El Palo and Pedregalejo, now absorbed into the suburbs, where there’s…

Valencia and Castellón make up the three provinces of the Valencian Community, which covers 23,500 km² and is situated on the eastern coast of the peninsula. The coast is 485 km long and borders with Cataluña in the north and Murcia in the south. Alicante with its beautiful boulevard and pleasant shopping street is one of the most well known towns on the Costa Blanca. The coast of Alicante and the Costa Blanca owe its name to the beaches stretching for several kilometres and attract many sun worshippers and pleasure seekers.

The port city of Palma, an MSC Mediterranean Cruises destination, lies on the south coast of Mallorca. Founded in 124 B.C., Palma is celebrated for its medieval streets, jaw-dropping architecture, and ancient fortified walls. See buildings such as the Cathedral of Santa Maria which features designs by Gaudí and one of the world’s largest stained-glass windows, or the Gothic Bellver castle with its circular centre and eye-catching towers.

On the spectacular coastline of the French Riviera lies Marseille, an MSC Mediterranean Cruises destination. This atmospheric port city is known for its unique mix of grit and glamour, seen in its labyrinth of streets and historical architecture. Only a few miles from Marseille’s charismatic cafes and bustling Vieux Port, stunning cities are to be found. Visit Aix-en-Provence, birthplace of Cézanne, or take in the ancient beauty of Avignon.

One of the busiest cruise ports in the Mediterranean, the seaside city of Barcelona is known for its iconic architecture, colourful culture, and world-class drinking and dining. Explore Antoni Gaudí’s surreal Sagrada Família, the famous boulevard of the Ramblas, the medieval Barri Gótic, and the Museu Picasso. But there’s even more to discover in this sprawling Spanish city, an MSC Mediterranean Cruises destination: from hidden tapas bars and fabulous food markets to Europe’s biggest football stadium.

As you arrive in Funchal on an MSC cruise, your ship will cast anchor in a bay protected by mountains rising straight up behind the port. The name, Funchal, derives from that of the fennel plant, the funcho still used today in the traditional sweets known as rebuçados de funcho, that one can find anywhere on the island of Madeira. An excursion will take you around the town centre, to visit historic churches, from the A Sé Cathedral, with its inlaid ceiling, to the majestic Church of the Incarnation, to the church of Carmo without a vault. Another MSC excursion will take you up to the village of Monte, from where one can admire a spectacular view of the Funchal bay. You can visit its 18th century church and the tomb of the last Austrian emperor, Charles I, and stroll around the magnificent botanic gardens. But if you like heights, there’s nothing more impressive than the Cabo Girão and its 589 metre tall cliffs, amongst the highest in the world, at the foot of which lie the cultivated…

Arrecife is a city in the Canary Islands (Spain) situated in the east of the island of Lanzarote of which it has been the capital since 1852. The city gives its name to the nearby international airport. Lanzarote, the northernmost and easternmost of the Canary Islands, is situated in the Atlantic Ocean, 115 kilometres off the coast of Africa. The climate, dry and mild throughout the year, is highly suitable for all kind of outdoor sports. Lanzarote is different, not only compared to the other islands, but to everything else on this planet. This extraordinary landscape seems to be of another world, and the inhabitants of the islands use to say that God forgot of Lanzarote on the Seventh Day of the Creation. Lanzarote is of volcanic origin, as the other islands of the archipelago as well, but here volcanoes have been active still in 18th and 19th century. Great parts of its surface are covered with ashes and lava, and Lanzarote's inhabitants made a great effort to cultivate this land, w…

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas is a city (and municipality) on the island, Gran Canaria, which is one of the Canary Islands (Spain) located 210 kilometers off the northwestern coast of the African continent within the Atlantic Ocean. It is also the capital city of the province of Las Palmas and the co-capital of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands, sharing this status with Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The city was founded on June 24, 1478, with the name "Real de Las Palmas" by Juan Rejón, head of the invading Castilian army, before engaging in war with the local Guanches (aboriginal people of the Canary Islands). In 1492, Christopher Columbus anchored in the Port of Las Palmas (and spent some time on the island) on his first trip to the Americas. He also stopped on the way back to Spain. Today, a museum is named after him -Casa Colón - in the Vegueta area of the city. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is today a cosmopolitan city. It has five beaches (Las Canteras, Las Alcaravan…

High above the enormous bay of Todos os Santos (All Saints), where your MSC cruise ship awaits your return, Salvador de Bahia has an electric feel from the moment you arrive. This is the great cultural and historical centre of Brazil, where Afro-Brazilian heritage is strongest and where capoeira, candomblé and samba de roda were created. MSC South America cruises offer excursions to the centro histórico of this magical place, a melange of narrow cobbled streets, peeling purple walls, grand Baroque churches, kids kicking footballs, rastas, locals sipping bottled beer on plastic chairs, the wafting aroma of herbs and the almost constant beating of drums, especially as the sun sets. Beyond the old town Salvador is a vast, sprawling city, with a vibrant beach life, modern skyscrapers and plenty of favelas. The centro histórico is the traditional heart of Salvador; it’s built around the craggy, 70m-high bluff that dominates the eastern side of the bay, and is split into upper and lower sec…

As you’ll be able to appreciate when you cruise the Atlantic Ocean with MSC Cruises, in its position on the southern shore of the magnificent Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro has, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most stunning settings in the world. Extending for 20km along an alluvial strip, between an azure sea and forest-clad mountains, the city’s streets and buildings have been moulded around the foothills of the mountain range that provides its backdrop, while out in the bay there are many rocky islands fringed with white sand. The aerial views over Rio are breathtaking, and even the concrete skyscrapers that dominate the city’s skyline add to the attraction. As the former capital of Brazil and now its second-largest city, Rio has a remarkable architectural heritage, some of the country’s best museums and galleries, superb restaurants and a vibrant nightlife – in addition to its legendary beaches. A shore excursion on your MSC South America cruise can be the opportunity to vi…