Innsbruck, a rare city in the Alps and once a key outpost of the Habsburg Empire, retains its imperial grandeur — and offers an engaging folk museum. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Some of Europe's least-expensive foods are also its tastiest: pizza in Naples, Venetian cicchetti, barnacles in Portugal, Vienna's open-faced sandwiches, Turkish pide, and tapas in Spain. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
London offers visitors some of the world's most fascinating museums, including the British Museum, Churchill War Rooms, Tate Modern, and British Library. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Glencoe's valley offers some of the Scottish Highlands' best scenery and hikes, and a good dose of history. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Italy is home to iconic churches in Monreale and Siena, St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, and the grandest church on earth — St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Tour du Mont Blanc circumnavigates Europe's highest peak. The accommodating trail is flexible — enjoyed by hikers with a wide range of abilities. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick tours the grand palaces of Spain including Alcázar, The Alhambra, El Escorial, and Madrid's Royal Palace. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick visits some of Europe's great open-air folk museums in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, plus England's Blists Hill Victorian Town. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
In Greece, Rick visits Delos, Epidavros, the Sanctuary of Olympia, and Athens' Acropolis and Ancient Agora. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick explores Rheinfels Castle, Burg Eltz, Hohensalzburg Fortress, "Mad" King Ludwig II's Hohenshwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles, and the ruins of Ehrenburg and Schlosskopf Castles. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick tastes a variety of Europe's street food, including a gyro in Athens, pickled herring in Haarlem, a salted lemon drink in Sicily, and fresh frites in Bruges. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick visits England's churches and cathedrals, from the folksy Church of St. Michael in the Cotswolds to London's royal Westminster Abbey. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick tours the medieval Cluny Museum, covers the classics at the Louvre and Orsay, and ponders Impressionism at the Rodin Museum and Orangerie. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Rick tastes paprika and pickles in Budapest, eats like a local in Frankfurt, chats with the salesmen at Sicily's noisy Ballarò Market, and shops with a friend along the Rue Cler in Paris. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
The village of Oia is the quintessence of Greek Island charm: an idyllic ensemble of whitewashed houses and blue domes, all with striking viewpoints. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
The Brenner Pass zips drivers across the Alps in about 30 minutes to Reifenstein Castle, which offers an intimate look at medieval castle life. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Glasgow's busy Buchanan Street is the middle of a Z-shaped pedestrian boulevard nicknamed the "Golden Zed." With the top shops in town and a variety of street musicians, Buchanan Street has a lively vibe. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Switzerland's Lauterbrunnen Valley is a textbook example of a glacier-shaped valley. Towering high above are the icy Jungfrau, Mönch, and Eiger peaks. At the base of the peaks, Kleine Scheidegg has hearty food for hikers and rustic 19th-century hotels. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
Fado is the folk music of Lisbon's rustic neighborhoods. Since the mid-1800s, it's been the Portuguese blues — mournfully beautiful and haunting ballads about lost sailors, broken hearts, and bittersweet romance. For European travel information, visit https://www.ricksteves.com.
One of the world’s oldest mountain resorts, Chamonix has long made it easy for romantics to enjoy its alpine wonders—starting with a cogwheel train to the Mer de Glace glacier. Nowadays, visitors can stroll inside the “sea of ice” while noting poignant markers indicating how dramatically it’s shrinking. For European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
Teeming Cairo, straddling the Nile, is the capital of Egypt and one of the leading cities of the Muslim world. With 20 million people, greater Cairo pulses with energy. For European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
Mykonos is the epitome of a Greek island town — a seafront village crouched behind a sandy harbor, thickly layered with blinding white stucco, bright blue trim, and colorful bougainvillea. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
Part 5 of 5, this clip celebrates how, by traveling thoughtfully, we can connect with different cultures and end up building bridges rather than walls. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
When traveling, it's easier than you think to find authentic cultural experiences. Join Rick at a family-run hotel in the Austrian town of Hall in Tirol for an evening of traditional Tirolean culture, from tasty spaetzle to rousing folk music and dancing. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
In Glasgow's trendy West End, step into a pub for a traditional session — not a formal concert, but a casual gathering of musical friends. For the price of a beer, you'll get an evening of live music and good conversation. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
The colorful Pena Palace, located in the town of Sintra, is the Versailles of Portugal. In the mid-19th century, the flamboyant Prince Ferdinand built this fantasy, mixing Gothic towers, Renaissance domes, Moorish minarets, and Disney playfulness. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
In Switzerland's Berner Oberland region, a train takes visitors through mountain tunnels up to the highest railway station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch. At more than 11,000 feet, spectacular views of the Aletsch Glacier and majestic alpine peaks await, along with hiking paths, ice tunnels, and shops and restaurants. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
Part 4 of 5, this clip celebrates how on the road, like pilgrims, we can seek meaning, and how leaving home, we can learn more about ourselves. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
The Dolomites, Italy's dramatic rocky rooftop, offer some of the best mountain thrills in Europe. Here, the region's Austrian history survives in a warm, blue-aproned, felt-hat-with-feathers way. The Tirolean village of Kastelruth is a good home base for your exploration of the Alpe di Siusi, Europe's largest alpine meadow. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
Taking a multi-day Nile cruise gives you a firsthand look at some of the famous river's most scenic stretches, with timeless slices of natural beauty and seemingly ancient scenes interrupted only by other boats. Travelers have few options other than to sit back, relax, and live at the pace of the Nile. For more European travel information, visit ricksteves.com.
