Rick Steves

Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre towns, is aglow at night.

Rick Steves on the Cinque Terre, the Riviera of Italy

It’s a world of ancient terraced vineyards, little pastel ports, rustic cuisine and twinkling vistas.

Riomaggiore, one of the Cinque Terre towns, is aglow at night.
Salema's fishermen share their beach with travelers.

Rick Steves on Portugal’s sunny mecca for tourists and locals

As we’ve had to postpone our travels because of the pandemic, I believe a weekly dose of travel dreaming can be good medicine. Here’s one… Continue reading

Salema's fishermen share their beach with travelers.
The port town of Hydra.

Rick Steves on the sounds of cockcrow on sleepy Hydra

The end of night is marked by a dissonant chorus of cat fights, burro honks and what sounds like roll call at an asylum for crazed roosters.

The port town of Hydra.
Strolling atop the wall overlooking Dubrovnik.

Rick Steves on walking the city walls of Dubrovnik, Croatia

After years of war and strife, life here is once again very good — and filled with promise.

Strolling atop the wall overlooking Dubrovnik.
Beach bungalows at Ærøskøbing.

Rick Steves on Aerø, Denmark’s ship-in-a-bottle island

This charming little isle in the Baltic Sea takes “cozy” to delightful new heights.

Beach bungalows at Ærøskøbing.
Basso living (life on the street) in Naples.

Rick Steves’ memories of charming, appalling Naples

Italy’s third-largest city is also its grittiest. But its “beautiful chaos” is well worth savoring.

Basso living (life on the street) in Naples.
Bikes: the preferred transport.

Rick Steves on pedaling through bike-friendly Amsterdam

If you’re touring Netherland’s capital, rent a bicycle so you can feel the cobbles beneath two wheels.

Bikes: the preferred transport.
Bath’s ancient Roman baths, now a museum.

Rick Steves on historic spa resort Bath: England’s cover girl

Since ancient Roman times, when the town was called Aquae Sulis, its hot mineral water has attracted society’s elite.

Bath’s ancient Roman baths, now a museum.
Leave it to cleaver.

Rick Steves on the unforgettable pleasure of dining in Italy

In Italy, the cuisine is revered — and the quality of the ingredients is sacred.

Leave it to cleaver.

Rick Steves on why the Edmonds Theater is a community treasure

It offers an extra-large bag of small-town memories, the Edmonds native writes.

A gate in Tangier’s old town.

Tangier well worth a visit — but not with a tour group

Avoid the day-trippers’ groups and hire a private guide to show you the tantalizing Moroccan city.

A gate in Tangier’s old town.
Nazaré hugs its wide beach on the Atlantic. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)

Rick Steves on seaside traditions in Portugal’s fishing town

Perched on a far corner of Europe, Nazare is one of the traveler’s favorite beach towns in the world.

Nazaré hugs its wide beach on the Atlantic. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)
The wide sidewalks of the Champs-Elysées invite strolling. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)

Rick Steves on the Champs-Elysees, the grand Parisian promenade

With its sprawling sidewalks and well-dressed pedestrians, this grand boulevard is Paris at its most Parisian.

The wide sidewalks of the Champs-Elysées invite strolling. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)
"The gondoliers, they get the girls." (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)

Rick Steves’ Europe: Italian males: Macho men or momma’s boys?

An Italian woman’s view: They’re constantly chasing pretty girls, but that they really want is a wife just like their mothers.

"The gondoliers, they get the girls." (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves' Europe)
Not only the dialog and idioms in England will seem funny to Americans . The ladies’ millinery is pretty zany, too. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves: the Queen’s English is just one of many accents

The nation’s many dialects and idioms delight — and often confuse — American travelers.

Not only the dialog and idioms in England will seem funny to Americans . The ladies’ millinery is pretty zany, too. (Rick Steves, Rick Steves’ Europe)
Gimmelwald, Switzerland, survives as a farming village because it’s located in a government-designated avalanche zone. (Dreamstime)

Rick Steves: For a true Swiss Alps experience, go to Gimmelwald

Protected by law from the ravages of hotel developers, the village carries on with timeless traditions.

Gimmelwald, Switzerland, survives as a farming village because it’s located in a government-designated avalanche zone. (Dreamstime)
Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, now a symbol of peace and reunification. (Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves: Today’s Berlin is freedom’s victory dance

Checkpoint Charlie is now a capitalist sideshow. You’ll be sold fake bits of the wall, WWII gas masks and DDR medals.

Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, now a symbol of peace and reunification. (Rick Steves’ Europe)
Romantic Venice with the Rialto Bridge. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)

Rick Steves on the woman who lost her mind in Venice

Overcome by the city’s exquisite beauty, she developed a classic case of Stendhal Syndrome.

Romantic Venice with the Rialto Bridge. (Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli, Rick Steves’ Europe)
Rick Steves on haggis, and other quirky foods of Europe

Rick Steves on haggis, and other quirky foods of Europe

From pigs’ ears in Spain to horsemeat in France and spicy sheep intestines in Turkey, try dishes that make a menu unique.

Rick Steves on haggis, and other quirky foods of Europe
Rick Steves on Greece’s underrated Peloponnese peninsula

Rick Steves on Greece’s underrated Peloponnese peninsula

Hordes of tourists flock to the Greek islands, unaware of the salty pleasures awaiting on the bluff.

Rick Steves on Greece’s underrated Peloponnese peninsula