Travel With Rick Steves

Hear what kind of cross-cultural issues emerge when Europeans marry Americans, then listen in as we discuss the allure of a road trip around America's Great Plains, where unobstructed views make the sky seem closer. And get tips on the best places to visit in Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic for a sense of life behind the Iron Curtain, now a generation in the past. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Journalist Zach Saint George describes the slow-motion migration of several North American tree species seeking to evade environmental threats. Then Wired founder Kevin Kelly lets us in on a massive photography project to document traditions disappearing across a quickly modernizing Asia. And writer Seth Kantner explains what he loves about living off the land near the Arctic Circle, in the wide-open spaces of northwest Alaska. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear about the importance of extended family in Greece, where the honor of being named a godmother comes with real responsibilities, and learn about some of Athens' most interesting neighborhoods — many of which are enjoying an exciting new vitality. Then listen in as an Arab-American Peace Corps veteran describes what he's come to admire about the Islamic religion of many of his friends. And consider the meaning of Tibetan prayer flags, and hear how to properly display them. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get to know some of the most notable of Italy's many patron saints, and why they remain important to so many. Then hear what journalist Tim Egan spent his time contemplating on his walk along the medieval Via Francigena — the pilgrimage path from Canterbury to Rome. And learn about the role of relics in many religious traditions, and why, for centuries, millions of faithful have journeyed for a first-hand encounter with them. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Learn about the thoughtful design behind America's elegant city parks of the 19th century, which continue to provide green space for millions of urban dwellers, then get some tips for exploring Europe on one of its long-distance hiking trails. And hear about the massive archaeology museum, built to display a vast collection of ancient Egyptian riches, that's set to open in Giza later this year. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

We'll take an up-close look at some of Paris' most beautiful bridges as well as its most intriguing specialty museums and galleries, where you can escape the crowds — and are sure to discover something new in this always-surprising city. Then we'll head south to savor the relaxingly rural, yet assuredly sophisticated charms of Burgundy. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear about how a locally operated tour can add depth and conviviality to your next trip to the Emerald Isle, then learn about the sophisticated ways ancient Celts mapped out their pre-Roman world. And get tips for exploring scenic West Cork — an untamed alternative to the tourist-trodden Ring of Kerry — and other highlights of Ireland's south coast. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

English actor Martin Clunes recommends some of his favorite smaller British isles among the many he visited while filming a travel documentary. Then Rick checks in with Italian-food expert Fred Plotkin to celebrate the completion of their new guide to Italy's regional cuisine. And a Florence-based tour guide lets us in on her favorite food and wine shops for showing off her city's culinary delights. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

We'll take an audio stroll along the Danube waterfront in elegant, Old World Budapest, then contemplate the prehistoric stones that stand amid the stark beauty of Scotland's remote Orkney Islands. And listeners share their most memorable instances of a stranger's kindness changing an overseas trip for the better. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

We look at the top sites where you can experience firsthand the groundbreaking contributions of Spain's greatest artists. Then tour guides from Wales and Bosnia share the facets of their nationalities that mean most to them — such as the Welsh fortitude for enduring the blustery climate that produces such beautiful landscapes, and Bosnians' knack for using humor to defuse the thornier aspects of life in the Balkans. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear how ancient pagan traditions spice up carnival season in the Basque Country and the Balkans — two regions that celebrate the days preceding Ash Wednesday with raucous festivals. Then get two Sicilians' take on what sets Sicily's island culture apart from the rest of Italy. And consider your next armchair journey as Harvard professor David Damrosch recommends authors whose works can transport you to China, Japan, Iran, Brazil, and sub-Saharan Africa. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Historian Laurence Bergreen takes us to 18th-century Venice — the time of Casanova, when this "Most Serene Republic" had become the Sin City of Europe. And the head of the Young China Group think tank lets us in on what he wishes Americans knew about today's China and what he expects to see as it emerges from the pandemic, and explains the key challenges it's facing in our changing world. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Author Mark Adams reveals four possible Mediterranean locations where the legendary lost city of Atlantis could have been. The former U-S Ambassador to Switzerland tells us what it's like representing American interests in a country known for its neutrality. Plus, a longtime resident of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula describes what to look for when you venture out beyond Cancun. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Explore two of Europe's less-crowded scenic peninsulas! Rick visits with local tour guides from Pula, on Croatia's Istrian Peninsula, and from Ireland's Cooley Peninsula, an hour north of Dublin in County Louth. Plus marine conservationist Jonathan White explains what he's discovered about the power of the tides around the world — and how they affect you, even if you don't live near the shore. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Soak in the history and the splendor of Bath, where Georgian architecture and mineral waters make it one of England's most attractive cities. Get a behind-the-scenes look at what happens when a travel writer researches guidebooks. And hear how Peter Wortsman's Jewish heritage forces him to grapple with some powerful ghosts from the past in Berlin. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

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. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

A tour guide from Mexico City describes some of the most pleasant surprises he enjoys sharing about his adopted home. Then the author of the "Thousand Places to See Before You Die" series explains why culture shock can be the highlight of your next overseas vacation. And a young orchestra conductor describes some of his favorite European venues for enjoying a classical-music concert. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Consider new ideas for greeting the new year by learning about some of the unusual traditions — and a few superstitions — with which Swedes, Croats, Scots, and the Welsh celebrate this time of year. Then hear about the multicultural food and music that enliven the streets of New Orleans' neighborhoods. And join us as we remember the late historian David McCullough with a look back at his examination of how the Wright Brothers changed the way we see the world. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

We'll hear how the traditional Christmas markets of Germanic Europe set the mood for the season. And we'll learn about Christmastime events that bring everybody out on the streets of Madrid and Dingle, and cozy holiday celebrations in homes on Sicily and Scotland's Hebrides. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

In the first of two holiday-themed shows, Rick's guests recall their childhood Christmases in the Netherlands, Italy, and New Mexico. Then more friends join us to describe what you're likely to find this time of year in Austria, Australia, Japan...and Antarctica. Plus, we'll hear about how the English tradition of "wassailing" developed as a way to guarantee a good apple harvest — or at least an occasion to enjoy a warm drink with neighbors. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.