Travel With Rick Steves

The most popular storyteller of our time, author James Patterson, shares insights from the people who work behind the scenes to turn Las Vegas into America's ultimate fantasy destination. And a Morocco-based tour guide recommends letting yourself be amazed by the night sky in the Sahara Desert, a view that's guided travelers for millennia. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A deep-sea diving instructor from Australia explains why he's not afraid of sharks — well, most of them. Then a Cuba travel expert looks at the places and experiences you can explore beyond Havana, as well the rules that govern travel to Cuba for US travelers. And a guide from Italy helps us step into a day in the first century, frozen in time, at the ruins of Pompeii on the slope of Mount Vesuvius. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear the unlikely story of how Spanish grew from a Latin dialect in northern Iberia to become one of the world's most important and widely spoken languages. Then get tips for enjoying your first trip to Spain, and for getting the most out of a visit to the Prado's massive art collection in Madrid. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get tips for enjoying elegant, easily navigated Vienna, Austria's capital and the epicenter of a once-mighty empire. Then hear a Bosnian describe what his country, a generation after its infamous war, has to teach us about getting along with our neighbors — and why the nation is now blossoming as a travel destination. And get acquainted with the fascinating ancient structures atop Athens' Acropolis. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A tour specialist from Cairo explains how you can cruise through five thousand years of history on the Nile River in Egypt. Author Pico Iyer suggests paradise on earth might be in some of the most unexpected places. He tells us about his sojourns from the Himalayas to Sri Lanka to experience what South Asia had to show him. And hear how Sophy Roberts searched for the historic "lost pianos of Siberia," and what she actually found. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get some travel advice from the former U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria, who recommends his favorite vacation getaways in the Balkans. Then listen in as a climate scientist describes the efforts that have worked — and some that haven't — in combatting the pollution that causes climate change…and what you can do now to make a difference. And hear how Germany's pop music has evolved to reflect a half century of intense cultural transformation. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Brighten your holidays with an international perspective on Christmas celebrations: Learn about Europe's Old World holiday traditions, and meet some of Santa's cousins, as some of Rick's friends drop by to discuss the sometimes sublime, often quirky ways they observe the season in Bavaria, Sardinia, Croatia, Stockholm, Amsterdam, and Rome. And get a taste of a tropical Christmas in Costa Rica. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear about why cod is so popular among the Portuguese — especially at this time of year — and get a taste of the culinary treats to try in and around Naples. Then find out how the Irish gear up for the holidays, and what listeners enjoy about traveling overseas during the Christmas season. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A columnist for the Irish Times discusses the dramatic recent changes in public opinion and attitude in Republic of Ireland, and how he's seen it become a modern, progressive nation over his lifetime. And a journalist from Utah tells us how to find some of the roadways the ancient Romans built to connect outposts of their empire — all the way to Istanbul. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A former US ambassador to Switzerland shares her insights into what makes the Swiss tick — and what their society gets right. Then an astronomer helps us imagine what sort of views we'd enjoy if we could travel to planets in our solar system. And a guidebook author from Anchorage tells us why south-central Alaska can be a fun place for a winter visit. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Tour guides from Lisbon paint audio pictures of the vivid art that colors the streets of Portugal, then a journalist and former diplomat tells of how curiosity led him to meet with healers in the jungles of Nicaragua and Belize. And travel writer Richard Grant explains how a particularly bitter Yukon winter in Dawson City inspired Jack London to write one of his most famous tales of the North. Plus, Rick's in-house art expert gives us a close-up appreciation of Leonardo's Mona Lisa. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A culinary historian tells us what's traditionally been on the Thanksgiving table over the years. The head of the World Food Program USA updates us on the work that goes into feeding the world's most impoverished communities. Also, we remember Tucson-based travel writer Tom Miller. And we get a taste of the variety of sausages people enjoy year-round in Germany. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear about the risks and heroism it took to protect Europe's art treasures during World War II. Then vicariously eat your way through four of Italy's lesser-known regions — where specialties include elaborate seafood stews, spreadable salamis, and some of the world's best sheep's-milk cheeses — with Italian-food expert Fred Plotkin. And listen in as two Belgians discuss the hearty comfort food of their homeland. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A Jerusalem-raised Palestinian tour operator explains how he works to reconcile divided communities — in his home country, and far beyond. Then two Spanish tour guides consider what makes their country one of the world's most popular destinations among tourists, and what they want visitors to experience there. And a historian discusses the legacy of Shawnee chief Tecumseh, and why, in the early years of the US, he was so admired even by the settlers he opposed. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

At a time of year when, according to some cultures, the worlds of the living and the dead come a little closer together, a historian joins us to explain how vampire stories arose from eastern European legends of the "un-dead." Then Irish writer Fintan O'Toole describes the role of the supernatural in Celtic traditions and in more recent Irish literature. And listeners describe eerie encounters they've experienced while traveling in Europe. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A creative-writing professor discusses Icelandic mythology, as told in the Viking-inspired sagas — and how a summer backpacking trek around the island nation helped him understand the role these tales play in Iceland's modern-day culture. Then futurist and Wired founder Kevin Kelly looks back on his journeys to document, over nearly 50 years, many of the traditions and features now quickly vanishing across Asia. And experts share advice for fall travels to England's gardens and stone circles, and for understanding British slang. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Tour guides from Hungary discuss their country's love of paprika and set us straight on what makes for good goulash. Then the literary director of the Library of Congress and bicultural author Marie Arana examines the cultural divide between the US and Latin America, and explains its thousand-year-old historical roots. And we learn why the lesser-known region of Galicia, in Spain's northwest corner, is where Spaniards go to escape from heat (and tourist crowds). For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get a sneak peek at some of the surprises you might encounter when exploring one or more of Indonesia's 13,000 islands. Then hear from a journalist about how his fellow Italians pulled together — with a uniquely Italian spirit — to cope with the earliest days of the Covid pandemic. And pick up tips for visiting some of the Czech Republic's most intriguing historic locations beyond Prague. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Commercial pilot and very frequent flier Mark Vanhoenacker shares stories from his many brief excursions to cities around the world. Then Cuba travel expert Christopher P. Baker discusses how the island has been faring since the pandemic shut down its tourism industry and relays the latest on government requirements for Americans interested in visiting. And Rick hears from more listeners who've been resuming — and adjusting — their international adventures post-pandemic. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Take a look at the historical attractions of southeast Louisiana that are easy day trips from New Orleans. Listen in to a German journalist comparing how his fellow Germans approach contemporary political and social issues versus the polarizing ways many Americans react to hot button issues. Plus, hear listeners share tales of how they've been able to get back to traveling again since pandemic restrictions were lifted. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.