Rick Steves' Europe Video

The Kelvingrove Art Gallery is Glasgow's best museum. Like a Scottish Smithsonian, it features everything from natural history exhibits to fine art, including pieces by the 19th-century Scottish Romantics and Art Nouveau architect (and Glaswegian) Charles Rennie Mackintosh. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

In Northern Ireland, Orangemen parades fill village and neighborhood streets with Protestants from Easter through September. The long-established Orange Order — with their signature orange team color — works to defend British rule, and these parades are like pep rallies for the cause of continued union. More info about travel to Northern Ireland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/ireland/northern-...

Sicily's sprawling, gritty capital of Palermo boasts colorful markets and bustling shopping streets that signal a fun-loving city in regeneration. Take an evening stroll through the landmark Quattro Canti and discover Palermo's trendy, inviting neighborhoods. More info about travel to Sicily: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/sicily

In Rome, pop into churches to see art in situ — not hanging on museum walls, but exactly where it was meant to be enjoyed — including magnificent Michelangelo sculptures, dazzling Byzantine mosaics, and impressive Renaissance frescoes. More info about travel to Italy: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy

Made from huge stones that were quarried, carved, and moved from as far away as Wales, Stonehenge has amazed visitors for thousands of years. And throughout that time, it's continued to work as a functioning celestial calendar, lining up with the rising and setting sun on the longest day of the year. More info about travel to England: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england

With one of Scotland's best distillery tours and plenty of character, Oban is a basket of Scottish traditions. And it's ideally situated for day trips to three of the most worthwhile Inner Hebrides: Mull, Iona, and Staffa. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

Plenty of character is packed into Lisbon — and much of it is edible. One treat you're sure to find in any Lisbon restaurant, market hall, or café is bacalhau (salted cod), a Portuguese favorite. More info about travel to Portugal: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal

Glasgow is Scotland's most underrated destination. With an energetic cultural scene and unique flair for art and design, this rejuvenated city is bursting with history, pride, and a love of life. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

Sicily's many rulers — from the Greeks to the Arabs to the Spanish — have each left their mark on the island's capital, Palermo. You can still see that impact today through the city's distinctive architecture and in the faces of its residents. More info about travel to Sicily: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/sicily

Alabaster and wine are traditional specialties in the Tuscan hill town of Volterra. Drop by a local workshop or wine bar to see Volterra's masters at work (and enjoy the fruits of their labor). More info about travel to Italy: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/Italy

The fascinating and remote Orkney Islands, off the north coast of Scotland, offer some of the best prehistoric sites in northern Europe, including 5,000-year-old homes and burial mounds. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

Experience the decadence of Paris' belle époque ("beautiful age") at sights like the Opéra Garnier and the Jacquemart-André Museum. More info about travel to France: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france

In 1755, a devastating earthquake reduced Lisbon to rubble. The city's downtown was eventually rebuilt in a symmetrical grid plan, with broad boulevards and inviting squares — a style known as "Pombaline," named for the prime minister who oversaw the reconstruction. More info about travel to Portugal: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal

For centuries, Kraków's Kazimierz neighborhood was the heart of the city's Jewish community. Today, the spirit of the rich Jewish tradition lives on in this revitalized and vibrant part of town. More info about travel to Poland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/poland

On the Isle of Skye, peat was a vital resource for hundreds of years. People would use it to heat their homes, as a fuel source for cooking, and to add a smoky flavor to whisky. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

Step back into the 1890s at Blists Hill Victorian Town, an open-air museum in Ironbridge Gorge that re-creates the area as it was during its Industrial Revolution heyday. More info about travel to England: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/england

An agriturismo — a working farm that offers BnB-type accommodations — is an ideal home base for exploring the Tuscan countryside. At these cozy lodgings, you'll find rustic furnishings, warm hospitality, and the chance to slow down and taste rural life in Italy. More info about travel to Italy: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy

Escape the crowds and experience some of Scotland's most dramatic scenery on the Isle of Skye's Trotternish Peninsula. With jaw-dropping cliffs, unique geologic formations, and windswept views, it's worth getting out of the car and taking a hike. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

The emotional intensity of Spanish culture is experienced most rivetingly in the music and dance of its people: flamenco. While Sevilla is the home of flamenco, Madrid draws Spain's top artists, making it a great city to enjoy an exhilarating performance. More info about travel to Spain: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/spain

Coimbra is a great place to catch a fado performance. Fado is a uniquely Portuguese style of music — soulful and nostalgic, with singers telling tales of unanswered love. And while most fado is sung by women, in Coimbra, it's usually performed by men. More info about travel to Portugal: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal

For a taste of Scotland's west coast, take a day trip from Oban to the islands of Mull, Iona, and Staffa. Here in the Inner Hebrides, you can immerse yourself in pristine scenery, 1,500 years of Christian history, and dramatic sea caves. More info about travel to Scotland: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/scotland

Like many second cities throughout Europe, Porto is a hard-scrabble town that recently emerged from a post-industrial funk to become trendy, revitalized with a fresh and creative energy while evoking Old World charm. More info about travel to Portugal: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/portugal

At the Valley of the Temples, time-travel back to when Sicily was a Greek colony. While little survives of ancient Agrigento, you can wander through the remains of a few grand temples, including the largest Doric temple of the ancient world. More info about travel to Sicily: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/sicily

Bern's 15th-century cathedral — which boasts Switzerland's highest church tower — underwent major changes during the Reformation, when Protestant iconoclasts removed the then-Catholic church's religious imagery. More info about travel to Bern: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/switzerland/bern

Experience Paris's past at the Carnavalet Museum, where you can admire the former monarchy's opulence and relive its downfall during the French Revolution. More info about travel to Paris: https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/paris