Rick Steves' Europe Video

The rebuilt center of Lisbon, known as the Baixa, is today a flat, inviting shopping area of grid-patterned streets. The main boulevard is a pedestrian only zone, lined by post-earthquake structures/architecture that allowed Lisbon to do a lot of rebuilding without a lot of money in the years following the earthquake. Today, trams, funiculars, and the city's famous 20th century elevator move touri...

600 years ago, Brussels was nothing more than a handy place to buy a waffle on the way to Bruges. Then, it was given free trade status and its economy took off. By 1830, it was the capital of an exuberant and newly independent country booming with the industrial age. Today, with over one million people, it is the headquarters of NATO and the capital of the European Union. For more information on t...

Portugal's south coast was once known as Europe's last undiscovered tourist frontier. Lagos, the major town on this stretch of Algarve coast, is now well discovered, the darling of tour brochures, and as enjoyable as a big city resort can be. Capital of the Algarve in the 13th and 14th centuries, Lagos was the starting off point for the first great Portuguese maritime expeditions. West of Lagos, t...

In 711, Muslim Moors swept in from Northern Africa and conquered the Iberian Peninsula, ruling Spain for five centuries and inspiring a Europe-wide crusade among Christians to re-conquer the land. Though Muslim rule stretched as far as France, bit by bit the Moors were pushed back, and eventually expelled from Western Europe in 1492, but not before leaving a distinct mark on Andalusian culture. A...

Belgium is right up there with Germany, England and the Czech Republic as one of the great beer countries. And, when it comes to variety, Belgium is number one. Join Rick for an entertaining and informative tour of a Belgian brewery. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information on destinations and mo...

Immerse yourself in the high and vast plateau of central Spain. Visit the sunny, sandstone city of Salamanca and the finest square in spain - Plaza Mayor. Savor some of Europe's best people-watching and take in the centuries old troubador tradition of "Tuna Bands." For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel in...

Nîmes arena, which is still in use, is considered the best conserved from ancient Rome. It's another example of fine Roman engineering and propaganda. The arena still hosts colorful pageantry and macho-men still face dangerous beasts, a la Provencal style — meaning the bull dies of old age, not via the sword. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode description...

The Antrim Coast is one of the most popular and scenic drives in the whole of Ireland. Homesteads are pristine; visitors explore desolate trails, evocative castle ruins, and dramatic beaches. A popular vacation getaway from Belfast, the leading attraction along the coast is the Giant's Causeway, a 4-mile long stretch of shoreline famous for its bizarre rock columns. For more information on the Ric...

In the 13th century, the University of Paris was founded on the south bank of the Seine River. Soon after, the area became to be known as the Latin Quarter for the language passers-by would hear on the street. Today the Latin Quarter makes up the core of Paris' Left Bank, offering a variety of ethnic restaurants, tangled lanes, and the city's famous cafe scene. For more information on the Rick Ste...

The Prado Museum in Madrid houses paintings that give an eye-pleasing overview of Spain's rich history from its golden age to its slow fade. Highlights include multiple works by Titian, Bosch's Garden of Earthly Delights, Velazquez's Las Meninas, and Goya's Second of May. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, tr...

Along the 75 miles of Atlantic coast you'll find countless memories of the largest military operation in history. It was on these beautiful beaches at the crack of dawn Jun 6, 1944 that the Allies finally gained a foot-hold in France and Nazi Europe began to crumble. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel...

On the rugged Southwestern tip of Portugal, Cape Sagres was the closest travelers could get to the edge of our flat Earth in the days before Columbus. Today, merchants sell their wares next to a lighthouse that marked what was referred to as the end of the world, while fishermen brave dizzying cliffs for the catch of the day. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including ep...

Montepulciano welcomes visitors with views, villas, and vino. Streets are lined with nobel palazzos because Florentine nobility favored Montepulciano as a breezy and relaxed place for a summer residence. Thanks to aristrocratic egos, each palace was built to outdo its neighbor. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating statio...

Perched on a pinnacle, in a grand canyon, the traffic-free village of Civita is Italy's classic hilltown. In a town so full of history, exploring Civita becomes a cultural scavenger hunt. Every lane tells a story, from 12th century arches to one-time Renaissance palaces and Roman temples. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participa...

San Gimignano, with its distinctive skyline, stands like a medieval mirage on its hilltop. With walls built in the 13th century and 12 surviving towers, what was once a stop for pilgrims en route to Rome is now a popular tourist destination. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information on destination...

First made famous as the vacation hideaway of Roman emperors, and once the haunt of romantic-age aristocrats during their grand tour of Europe, the isle of Capri is a great day trip from Naples, Positano, or Sorrento. The small island, 4 miles by 2 miles, offers plenty to see and do, including the fabled Blue Grotto. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode des...

Tuscany is named after the Etruscan people who lived here centuries before the region was conquered by ancient Rome. Over 2500 years ago, long before anybody had heard of Julius Caesar, and back when Rome was just a small town, the Etruscan civilization flourished in this part of Italy. What little we know about the Etruscans we've learned mostly from their fresco-covered tombs. For more informati...

Arguably Britain's most rugged and beautiful area, Snowdonia National Park is nature at its wild and Welsh Best. Britain's second largest park, with over 800 square miles of pristine hiking country, and a dozen of its highest peaks, is one of Wales' scenic wonders. Each year, half a million people scale Mt. Snowdon, the park's centerpiece and tallest mountain in England or Wales. For more informat...

Serious connoisseurs of the Scottish spirit will want to pop into Cadenheads Whisky Shop. Founded in 1842, Cadenheads prides itself on bottling fine whisky from casks straight from the best distilleries without all the compromises that come with more profitable mass production. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating statio...

Vienna's parks have been filled with the sound of music for centuries. In the late 1800s, Johann Strauss, the waltz king himself, directed wildly popular concerts. Today, the tradition continues to the delight of music lovers from around the world. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information on dest...

While there are many evocative cemeteries in Europe, this one, with its emotional portrayals of the departed and their heavenly escorts in the melodramatic art styles from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is in a class by itself. It’s a vast garden art gallery of proud busts and grim reapers, heart-broken angels and weeping widows, soldiers too young to die, acres of grief, hope and memorie...

Famous for its colorful ceramics and gleaming cathedral, Orvieto, Umbria's grand hill town, sits majestically high above the valley floor on a big chunk of volcanic stone. The cathedral's lively façade and mass of mosaics houses the Chapel of St. Brizio — Orvieto's must-see artistic site. Inside the chapel, Luca Signorelli's frescoes of the apocalypse depict events at the end of the world and refl...

York offers a fascinating collection of great sites mixed with an easy-going pedestrian ambience all lassoed within its formidable wall. Its rich history goes back to ancient Roman times when York was a provincial capital, the northernmost city in the Empire. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel informat...

Constructed in the early 1600's, Salzburg's cathedral was one of the first grand Baroque buildings north of the Alps. Immersed in pure Baroque grandeur, visitors experience harmonious art and architecture while taking in a Mozart Mass. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel information on destinations and...

Life in Pompeii stopped in its tracks in 79 a.d. when the thriving city was buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. Today, excavations of this once booming city offer the best look anywhere at ancient Rome and remains of homes give a glimpse into Roman lifestyles. For more information on the Rick Steves' Europe TV series — including episode descriptions, scripts, participating stations, travel inf...