Travel with Rick Steves

Hear how the US Civil Rights Trail, with 100 stops across 14 states, was organized to help all Americans get an up-close look at the movement to dismantle Jim Crow laws across the South. And listen in as ecologist Chris Morgan describes changes he's observed on Norway's Svalbard archipelago — halfway between the mainland and the North Pole — which indicate how our warming climate is a threat to life in the Arctic.

Three American-born tour guides who have settled in Europe tell us what it's like to make a new home in a foreign country. Then, a lifelong resident of Italy's Veneto region helps us explore the Venice Lagoon as an ever-changing ecosystem shaped by climate change, local history, and the distinct cultures of its islands.

Join us for a special hour with American author and environmental activist Terry Tempest Williams as she invites us to consider the interconnectedness of the natural world, and discusses what we gain from recognizing and engaging with all that's around us — including a heightened appreciation of the good in our world.

A pair of tour guides from Greece tell us how the island of Crete offers a natural experience unlike any other. Then travel writer Mark Adams describes his 3,000-mile voyage along the coasts of Alaska to follow what the Harriman Expedition saw in 1899. And a Dutch biologist explains how urban evolution is happening faster than we used to think all over the world.

New York Times reporter John Branch tells us how one family in southern Utah keeps a cowboy tradition alive at rodeos across the West. Then an award-winning travel journalist recommends itineraries for scenic road trips and sites to explore across California. And an environmental history scholar pays tribute to the American bald eagle, whose recovery from the brink of extinction is an environmental success story that can inspire ev...

An Athenian theater director discusses drama's role as a building block of civil society since ancient times, and recommends some Greek destinations that are especially fascinating for the theatrically inclined. Then a pair of tour guides offer their picks for lesser-known Greek islands that promise a break from the bustle and expense of tourist centers such as Mykonos and Santorini. And an outdoor enthusiast lets us in on the wisd...

On our Mother's Day edition, we hear what it was like to relocate a Midwestern family to the Croatian village their great-grandparents came from. An American who married a Frenchman tells us what it’s like raising a child in Paris. We go on a sentimental family trip to San Francisco, and hear how mamma is center stage in Sicily. Plus Rick pays tribute to his late mother, who influenced him to become a traveler.

The founder of a food-tour company tells us in delicious detail about some of his favorite eats to enjoy on the streets of Rome. Then a British tour guide shares how to take in London's historic core as well as its changing landscape on a visit to the boroughs of The City and Westminster. And a tour guide from Lisbon illuminates the contrasts between Portugal's bustling cities and the more traditional way of life that persists in t...

One of Rick's longtime cohorts shares her road-tested advice on what you need — and don't need — to put in your suitcase for a successful overseas trip. Then a brother-and-sister pair of Swedish tour guides share their picks for places to explore beyond Stockholm, from easy day trips to coastal wilderness adventures. Plus, listeners chat with Rick about what made their recent travels feel special.

We hear why the city of Potsdam — home to elegant Prussian palaces and parklands, all in quick reach of central Berlin — is worth a day's visit. Then we get a sense of what life was really like for the emperors of ancient Rome, with the help of classicist Mary Beard. And we travel back to 1978 with Rick and his longtime buddy Gene Openshaw as they retrace their post-college adventures along the infamous "Hippie Trail" f...

A tour guide from Orvieto explains why his Umbrian hill-town home is well worth a stop on your Italy itinerary. Then a rail enthusiast looks at train travel in Europe and beyond and considers how — and why — the US set off upon a different track. And a British journalist takes us along as she rides the rails on a lively journey across India.

The Grand Tour was a rite of passage for the aristocracy, and the adventuresome spirit behind it lives on in modern European itineraries. A longtime travel publisher traces the evolution of this fantastic voyage. Then Rick Steves' Europe guidebook researcher Cameron Hewitt takes a look back on the ways travel has evolved over the past quarter century. And as the Sagrada Família stretches ever closer toward completion, one of the pr...

Debbie and Michael Campbell, aka the "Senior Nomads," offer listeners their expert advice on traveling full-time during retirement. And tour guides from Britain, Poland, and Germany reflect on how politics and media shape public conversation about current events within their own and neighboring nations.

An American expat in Oslo shares some of the quirks and customs of life in his adopted home. Then, a wilderness and history author recounts what he found exploring four blank spots on the US map. And an ethnobotanist describes the healing properties of different kinds of herbs around the world — some of which might be growing in your own backyard.

Tour guides from the north and south of Ireland let us in on their picks for sights and experiences that will make a first trip to the Emerald Isle a memorable one. Plus, an Irish American singer explains the importance of music to the Irish and how the island's history is found in its folk ballads and songs.

Get tips for experiencing what remains of Aztec culture in modern-day Mexico City. Then hear about what recent excavations in Pompeii are revealing about first-century life in the Roman Empire. And join a historian in considering how the cultures of France's many neighboring countries have long shaped and enriched its identity.

Rick engages a panel of European tour-guide friends to find out how they're responding to recent changes in the political relationship between their countries and the US, and to discuss the home-grown populist pressures that have been gaining followers in Europe. Plus sculptor Richard Rhodes recommends European destinations with especially impressive stonework — from famous buildings to little-known sites that have endured th...

Estonia's medieval charm, beautifully preserved naturescapes, and Baltic culture are cultivating a burgeoning tourism scene. Bradt guidebook author and Estonian authority Neil Taylor lets us in on the abundant appeal of the former Soviet republic. And a certified Cicerone — that's "craft beer expert" — takes us on a tour of European suds and helps us tap into the best pints across the continent.

Astronomer Philip Plait — who fell in love with Saturn after first viewing the gas giant, with its mesmerizing rings and moons, through a telescope as a child — shares some of the amazing discoveries we've made about the planet in recent years. Then actor Martin Sheen describes how his travels in the developing world have opened his eyes, and his heart, to the needs of others. And a Florence-based tour guide and culinar...