Rick Steves' Europe Video

There's much more to Florence than the touristy zone north of the Arno River. To discover rustic, old Florence cross the river and dive into the colorful Oltrarno district. Wander the back lanes and you'll find artisans practicing centuries-old crafts like picture framing, violin making and more. Finish your day at a Florentine steakhouse, which as any meat lover knows means sampling the tender, l...

The European train system works great for locals and travelers alike, with well-signed stations, easily accessed schedules, and efficient connections between popular destinations. First-time train travelers get the hang of it faster than they expect. Generally, European trains go where you need them to go and are fast, frequent, and affordable. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV se...

One of Europe's great experiences is a Venetian gondola ride. An expensive rip-off for some, this peaceful glide through the canals is a traditional must for romantics. Wait till early evening, when the crowds diminish and the light is right. Choose a gondolier whose personality you enjoy, settle on a price, hop in, sit back and enjoy the magic of Venice. A visit to a gondola workshop provides a f...

Survey London's skyline (or a Tube map), and it becomes clear that this grand city is shifting east. The thundering heart of this new London is the Docklands. Nestled around a hairpin bend in the Thames, this area was a gritty, bustling harbor and warehouse district back in the 19th century, when Britannia ruled the waves. Neglected for decades, today it's been gentrified into a futuristic, skyscr...

Rick tags along with a local woman as she shops in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower on Rue Cler, picking out fresh ingredients for that night's dinner party. Paris abounds with atmospheric street markets like this, each oozing with small-town charm in the middle of the big city and providing a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach. Rue Cler is chock-full of shops and stalls specializing in produ...

In its heyday, Rome ruled a vast empire that stretched from Scotland to Egypt. The Roman Forum was the political, religious, and commercial heart of the city. Rome's most important monuments, temples and halls of justice were built here. As Rome's empire expanded, these few acres of land near the Tiber became the navel of the civilized world. All roads did lead to Rome. For more information on the...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings).

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). This three-part special distills Rick Steves' 30 years of travel experience into 90 minutes of practical advice on how to have a fun, affordable, and culturally broadening trip to Europe. In Part II, we'll compare independent travel to group travel, and we'll cover tips...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). This three-part special distills Rick Steves' 30 years of travel experience into 90 minutes of practical advice on how to have a fun, affordable, and culturally broadening trip to Europe. In Part I, we'll learn how to get settled once in Europe, then how to travel by tra...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). In this episode, we'll sample the treasures of Venice's Accademia Gallery and explore the city's back-street wonders. Then we'll we cruise its lagoon, stopping in fiery Murano for glass, pastel Burano for lace, and murky Torcello for a sense of where Venice was born. For...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). In this episode on Venice, we'll cruise the Grand Canal, luxuriate in a venerable café, and savor fresh fish canalside with Venetian friends. We'll also be dazzled by masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance and get intimate with the city of Casanova...on a gondola in th...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings).

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). In this week's episode, we'll visit many-faceted London, where we'll ponder royal tombs in Westminster Abbey, discover treasures in the British Library, enjoy the vibrant evening scene in Soho, uncover Churchill's secret WWII headquarters, join the 9-to-5 crowd in the ne...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). Returning to Europe's "City of Light," we ride a unicorn into the Middle Ages at the Cluny Museum, take a midnight Paris joyride in a classic car, get an extremely close-up look at heavenly stained glass in Sainte-Chapelle, go on a tombstone pilgrimage at Père Lachaise C...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this Fall on public television (check your local listings). In this first of two episodes on Paris, we'll cruise the Seine River, visit Napoleon's tomb, and take in the Louvre. Then we'll feel the pulse of Paris — shopping in village-like neighborhoods, attending church in a grand pipe organ loft, and celebrating the mother of al...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this October on public television (check your local listings). In this second of two episodes on Florence, we'll enjoy more of the exquisite artistic treasures of the city that propelled Europe out of the Middle Ages. Then we'll side-trip to a couple of rival cities and cultural capitals in their own right, Pisa and Lucca, where...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this October on public television (check your local listings). Fifteenth-century Florence was the home of the Renaissance and the birthplace of our modern world. In this first of two episodes, we'll gaze into the self-assured eyes of Michelangelo's David, enjoy Botticelli's Birth of Venus, delve into the 3-D wonders of Ghiberti's...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this October on public television (check your local listings). In this third of three shows on the Eternal City, we'll explore this grand metropolis — so rich in art and culture — on a more intimate scale, delving into its back lanes and unheralded corners. Venturing through the crusty Trastevere district, visiting the historic J...

The seventh season of Rick Steves' Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this October on public television (check your local listings). This second of three episodes on Rome reveals a city busy with life and bursting with Baroque. We ramble through the venerable heart of Rome, admire breathtaking Bernini statues, ponder sunbeams inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, and mix and mingle with the R...

The seventh season of Rick Steves’ Europe — 14 new episodes — debuts this October on public television (check your local listings). Part one of three on the Eternal City, this episode resurrects the rubble and brings back to life the capital of the ancient world. Focusing on the grandeur of classical Rome, we marvel at the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the empire's exquisite art. Then we go offbeat...

Trinity College — founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I in the center of Dublin — has long been Ireland's most prestigious college. The big draw on campus for tourists is the precious Book of Kells, a beautiful monk-decorated copy of the four Gospels from about the year 800. Trinity's Old Library is stacked to its towering ceiling with old books including a rare edition of the Proclamation of the i...

Trebinje, nestled along a river in a fertile valley just over the border from Dubrovnik, is a showcase town of the semi-autonomous Serb state called Republika Srpska. It's a pleasant and relatively affluent town with a leafy main square that hosts a fine Saturday market. Overlooking the town from its hilltop perch is the striking Nova Gračanica church, with its gorgeously vibrant world of Orthodox...

Europe's most famous amusement park is Tivoli Gardens, an ideal place since 1843 to see Danes at play. One admission price lets you lose yourself in a Hans Christian Andersen wonderland of rides, restaurants, games, marching bands, roulette wheels, and funny mirrors. By day it's a children's fantasyland, but as night falls Tivoli becomes more adult-oriented. Day or night, with or without kids, the...

Terezín, an hour north of Prague, was built by the Habsburgs in the 1780s as a fortified town with (still intact) massive state-of-the-art, star-shaped walls designed to keep out the Prussians. In 1941, the Nazis removed the town's 7,000 inhabitants and brought in 60,000 Jews, creating a concentration camp — a propaganda model "Jewish town." Life in this sham town appeared tolerable to human right...

The town of Amalfi is perched on Italy's stunning Amalfi Coast just south of Naples. Amalfi has a proud history that peaked in the 10th century when it was a maritime trading power with a fleet that rivaled Genoa, Pisa and Venice. That's why the town boasts an art-filled cathedral grander than a town of 7,000 would merit. Today, Amalfi lives off tourism and invites visitors to enjoy "la dolce vita...