Rick Steves' Europe Video

Martin Luther went to law school in Erfurt, Germany, and today, this half-timbered medieval town remains an charming destination that Luther himself would recognize. This is the land of fairy tales and the Brothers Grimm, fine woodcarvers, and fanciful puppets. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and...

Once a Benedictine monastery, St. Michael's Mount was later a fortified castle, and eventually a stately home. Nearby is Penzance — a blue-collar transportation hub and Rick's favorite home base in the area. 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.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! The far southwest of England is a world unto itself, with a persistent Cornish culture. We'll explore a world of flowers springing from towering hedges, a tin-mining heritage going back to biblical times, salty pirates' towns and fishing villages, and the Land's End of England. Then, side-tripping deep into the va...

The White Cliffs of Dover overlook the English Channel. Sitting atop those cliffs is the impressive Dover Castle — the site of England's primary defensive stronghold from ancient Roman until modern times. 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.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! Arcing along the southeast coast of England, we’ll travel from Canterbury (with its famous cathedral) to Dover (stoutly fortified from Roman times to the Battle of Britain). Then we’ll hike the trails that top the towering chalk cliffs of the South Downs, wander into the beachy resort of Brighton (England’s Coney...

As with many fairy-tale regions in Europe, the present-day beauty of England's Cotswolds was the result of an economic disaster — in this case, the collapse of the wool industry. The fine Cotswold towns fell into a time warp, creating a rustic charm that is the basis of today's new prosperity from tourism. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guide...

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! The quintessence of charming England is the “West Country”: quaint Cotswold villages with their fine churches, manor homes, and gastropubs; Wells, England’s smallest cathedral town; and the New Age capital of Glastonbury, with its legends of the Holy Grail and King Arthur. We'll finish by pondering the dramatic pr...

Each July and August, the entire city of Siena, Italy, readies itself for its big Palio horse race. During the race, life stops for the frantic three laps…just 90 seconds. 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.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! Siena, once a proud and independent city-state, retains its confidence and unique traditions. We’ll enjoy a front-row seat at its wild horse race — the venerable Palio — and marvel at cultural treasures from the days when it rivaled Florence for leadership of Tuscany. Then we’ll head into wine country for a little...

Italy's Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi rises where St. Francis was buried in 1230. For eight centuries it's been one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in all of Christendom. 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.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! In the Italian countryside, we'll connect with rustic, traditional culture: enjoying an agriturismo (farmhouse inn), seeing how prosciutto and pecorino cheese are made, and hiking to the bottom of deep and ancient wine cellars. We'll end in Assisi — the hometown of St. Francis — which retains its spiritual aura to...

Romania's capital, Bucharest — with about two million people — is a sprawling tangle of buildings. First-time visitors are struck by its eclectic mix of architecture and recently rejuvenated Old Town. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on many European destinations.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! We'll tour Romania's vibrant capital, Bucharest, with its "Little Paris of the East" architecture and lingering reminders of a brutal communist dictator. Then we'll head into Transylvania, where we’ll visit fortified churches, cobbled merchant towns like Sighișoara, and castles made famous by an imported German ki...

Founded in the 10th century, Rila Monastery was a stronghold for Bulgarian faith, language, and culture during nearly 500 years of Ottoman rule. And today, it remains the country's revered national treasure. 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.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! Bulgaria, so mysterious to most Americans, has a vivid identity as a crossroads of the Balkans. We’ll trace the country's complex history, from ancient Thracian tombs to medieval Orthodox Christian monasteries to Soviet monuments. And we’ll enjoy an intimate taste of contemporary culture: the yellow brick road of...

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! Skyscraper-studded Frankfurt — with so much commerce it’s nicknamed “Bankfurt” — has a delightful-to-explore old center. We'll also visit Nürnberg, a capital for both the First Reich (the Holy Roman Empire) and the Third. From its towering castle and playful fountains to its Nazi Documentation Center and maze of u...

The city of Nürnberg, Germany, was a favorite of Adolf Hitler's. A short tram ride from the center is a collection of important Nazi sites, including Zeppelin Field, Nazi Congress Hall and Nazi Documentation Center. 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.

WWII bombs destroyed much of Leipzig and the Communists followed that with four decades of neglect. But in the generation since 1989, the people of Leipzig have dramatically remade their city. 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.

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! Saxony, part of the former East Germany, remains a secret to most travelers. We’ll visit the two great cities of the region — the capital city of Dresden, with the opulent palaces and art treasures of the Wettin dynasty, and Leipzig, with its Bach heritage, a massive monument to the day Europe beat Napoleon, and m...

Hamburg's re-energized HafenCity district seems a city in itself, mixing its maritime heritage with striking modern architecture. Hamburg has created a healthy mix of business, culture, and leisure — convenient for the modern citizen without a car. 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...

Check your local public television station for this new Rick Steves’ Europe episode! Hamburg, Germany’s mighty port city, has risen from the ashes of World War II with a gleaming new skyline and a brisk creative energy. From there, we visit the great historic sights of Martin Luther and the Reformation (Erfurt, Wittenberg, and Wartburg Castle) before finishing in the capital of Franconia: wine-lov...

The Capitoline Museums in Rome, Italy, help you imagine life before the fall of Rome. The museum's collection of great art from antiquity includes Michelangelo's statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the Drunken Faun. 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 ancient fortress in Masada, Israel served as a refuge of last resort back when the Jews were the rebellious subjects of Roman occupation. Masada’s rebels methodically took their own lives, and today, that mass suicide is the symbol of Israel’s staunch “they’ll never take us alive” commitment to freedom. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guid...

Prague's Strahov Monastery is most noted for its large library — a Baroque center of learning, with ornate reading rooms and old-fashioned science exhibits. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of these books before the Information Age swept through Europe. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and...

The Zelve Open-Air Museum in Cappadocia, Turkey, serves as a great example of how ancient Turks used whatever natured offered them to create thriving communities. Caves served as ancient condominiums with holes dug out as cooking pits. 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.