Life
Rick Steves’ Europe: Stockholm: Sleek and progressive yet steeped in tradition
When sightseeing my way through Stockholm, I take full advantage of the local tradition of the fika: Sweden’s…
Life
Rick Steves’ Europe: Mountain fun in Switzerland’s Appenzell
They say you should set your watch back 10 years when in Appenzell, Switzerland’s most traditional region.
Life
Salema, a peaceful pocket on Portugal’s lively south coast
It’s just the place to mix with the locals, work on tans and enjoy some very fresh octopus.
Life
Rick Steves’ Europe: Time to relax in Germany’s Black Forest
Baden-Baden offers the ultimate spa experience. There’s one catch for body-conscious Americans — you have to disrobe.
Life
Taking in beautiful Vernazza from Lorenzo’s view
The hilltop cemetery in the Italian Cinque Terre village offers and unbeatable vista of a timeless setting.
Life
Roaming the Alps brings cultural insights along with the views
The Swiss have great respect for Alpine traditions and culture — and contempt for tourists who disrespect both.
Life
Rick Steves’ Europe: Europe tears down walls — and builds bridges
The walls of antiquity — and of the Cold War — were symbols not of strength, but of…
Life
Berlin’s Reichstag: Teary-eyed Germans and a big glass dome
For tourists unaware of history, the restored Reichstag building in Berlin, which reopened to the public in 1999,…
Life
Strolling Istanbul: The most thrilling and affordable of Europe’s great cities
Of the great cities of Europe – London, Paris, Rome and Istanbul – Istanbul offers the most thrills…
Life
Rick Steves on Blackpool, Britain’s working-class playground
With kitsch and greasy spoons galore, it’s been a (guilty) pleasure for Brits for 150 years.
Life
Rick Steves’ Europe: 90 seconds of medieval madness in Italy
The Palio di Siena horse race through the streets of Siena is a cherished summer tradition that goes…
Life
Strolling Istanbul, one of the world’s timeless great cities
It’s proof that traditional cultures are things to value and preserve, not stifle with modernity.
Life
Rick Steves on what Italians really think about American food
They like our breakfasts, but they’re not fans of our mozzarella-filled lasagne and our overly complicated salads.
Life
Rick Steves on Munich, where thirst is worse than homesickness
A boisterous, belching Bavarian beer hall is possibly the most convivial place on Earth.
Life
Rick Steves: Blossoming Estonia sings the song of freedom
Once an oppressed backwater of the Soviet Union, the small Baltic nation is now prosperous and proud.
Life
Rick Steves’ Europe: History and mystery in Glastonbury
The 500-foot-tall hill supposedly was visited by Jesus’ uncle, and is a source of the Holy Grail myths.
Life
Rick Steves: Students, saints and Scarpette in Italy’s Padua
It’s a great place to experience Italy, both the winds of its past and the (sometimes raunchy) delights…
Life
Rick Steves on Pamplona, and feeling the bull’s breath on your pants
The chaotic, violent and very brief running of the bulls endures in this corner of Spain.
Life
The high life and humble devotion on Montenegro’s Bay of Kotor
A dinghy trip to an island reveals the kind of discovery that makes traveling magical.
Life
Tasting the Tuscan good life — and its prosciutto
But to experience Tuscan life at its finest and most authentic, you must venture off the tourism track.