Rick Steves' Europe Video

Nürnberg's Germanic National Museum is dedicated to sharing the cultural history of the German-speaking world. Across the river, the Albrecht Dürer House is a fine museum about the life of perhaps Germany's greatest painter. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

In 1209, St. Francis established the Franciscan Order in Assisi, Italy. His legacy survives to this day and can be found in chapels and monasteries in and around his hill town home. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Cotswold village churches welcome walkers to pop in and enjoy a thoughtful break. Inside Stanton's Church of St. Michael, you get a sense that this church has comforted this community in good times and bad. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Cornwall was part of a "Celtic crescent" that nearly circles England. The Cornish people spoke their own language, which thrived for centuries. Cornwall is a county of England, but many native-born locals consider themselves Cornish first, British second. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more...

In rural Tuscany, you feel an enthusiasm for tradition. The Zanda family raises a rare breed of pigs brought back from the edge of extinction by people who care about traditional agriculture. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Because of its former wealth, Venice is a city of palaces, and the most lavish face the Grand Canal. Enjoying the views from a vaporetto is the best way to really appreciate the front doors of this historic chorus line of mansions, most from the 14th and 15th centuries. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podc...

Veliko Tarnovo is Bulgaria's medieval capital. The ruins of its fortress are a reminder of the city's importance 800 years ago, and its craft street reveals a thriving folk culture. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Palazzo Vecchio is Florence's City Hall. While the exterior is medieval, Michelangelo's "David" (this one's a replica) seems to welcome you into the Renaissance world — and the dawn of our Modern Age. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Prickly with over-the-top spires, Romania's Peleș Castle ranks among Europe's finest Romantic Age palaces. It boasts one of the most dazzling late-19th-century interiors anywhere. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet made Verona, Italy, a popular destination, but a visit to the “House of Juliet” has nothing to do with the fictional star-crossed lovers; all this commotion was started by a clever tour guide back in the '70s as a way to attract visitors to Verona. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio progr...

The Thracian Plain, defined by Bulgaria's two major mountain ranges, was a busy funnel of trade throughout ancient times. This region is also called the "Valley of the Roses," and the rose harvest yields the blooms needed to create Bulgarian rose oil. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on t...

Siena's 13th-century Gothic cathedral, with its striped tower, is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and covered with art. A highlight is the church's Piccolomini Library: Brilliantly frescoed, it captures the exuberance and optimistic spirit of the 1400s, an age of humanism when the Renaissance was born. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks,...

Sevilla, Spain's Santa Cruz neighborhood comes with a timeless beauty. Explore, wandering among lanes too narrow for cars, whitewashed houses corralling peaceful squares, and wrought-iron latticework. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

To get a sense of how Venice was in earlier times, head to the Accademia Gallery, the best museum for Venetian Renaissance painting. The Venetian love of the good life shows itself in Venetian painting, and Paolo Veronese's "Feast in the House of Levi" is a perfect example. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs,...

The Loire River, gliding gently east to west, separating northern from southern France, has come to define this popular tourist region. The value of this river and the valley’s prime location, in the center of the country just south of Paris, have made the Loire a strategic prize for centuries — hence all the castles. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group...

A visit to Rome's National Museum at the Palazzo Massimo helps humanize the ancient Roman empire. The museum's collection tells the empire's story through art, and many aspects of ancient Roman life are represented. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Tuscany's countryside is dotted with elegant, aristocratic homes that augment their farming income by renting rooms to travelers. At Villa Belvedere, Rick stays with a family who makes wine on their property and enjoys a meal of locally-produced food. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on t...

Sighișoara, perhaps the most popular tourist town in all of Romania, is a delightful German town settled by German craftsmen in the 12th century. Within the town's protective walls, visitors explore cobbled lanes, enjoy pastel German-style facades, and sip beers on the main square. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio pr...

Spaniards consider the region of Andalucía to be the home of flamenco. While impromptu flamenco still erupts spontaneously in Old World bars, most travelers attend a show in Sevilla or other tourist destinations. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Rick and Venetian friends enjoy a fresh, local seafood dinner at I Figli delle Stelle Ristorante on the island of Giudecca. From this peaceful canalside perch, the hub-bub of downtown Venice becomes a romantically floodlit cityscape. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

Nicolae Ceaușescu took power in Romania in 1965, and through his 24-year dictatorship his ego ballooned. The culmination of his master plan was an immense palace with more than a thousand rooms, now the Palace of the Parliament. In late 1989, with winds of change sweeping the Eastern Bloc, armed revolution spread across Romania. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, s...

Munich's Alte Pinakothek — or "old painting gallery" — shows off Bavaria's best collection of European masterpieces from the 14th through the 18th centuries. Travelers can enjoy works by many great artists, ranging from Botticelli to Dürer. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destina...

In 1870 Rome became the capital of a newly united modern state of Italy. Shortly after that, the thunderous Victor Emmanuel Monument was built to honor Italy's first king. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

The Cluny Museum in Paris, France, has a rich collection of medieval art offers a rare peek into that mysterious age. Its centerpiece is a 15th-century series of tapestries called "The Lady and the Unicorn." At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

The back streets of Siena have changed little since the days of the Renaissance. Make a point to get away from the crowds and enjoy a quiet moment with the timeless magic of Siena. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.