Travel With Rick Steves

Friends from Madrid, Rome, London and Lisbon tell us about their cities' traditions for the Christmas season.  And we’ll hear how the holidays are celebrated in Bulgaria, the Swiss Alps, Austria and the Low Countries. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

To keep you well-fed while traveling around the holidays, American Road Food experts Jane and Michael Stern recommend over-the-top dining venues for sharing a family meal. Also, Rick checks in with Phil Keoghan, the host of TV's "The Amazing Race," as it wraps up another season, racing around the world, and we'll hear how people enjoy Christmas away from home on vacation in Switzerland, Venice, Bavaria, and in Prague. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Hear how the Dutch and the Swedes get their holiday season started. Get advice for blending in with the locals next time you're in Paris.  Also, get tips for enjoying the expanded pedestrian zones on the streets of Madrid. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

You don't have to go inside a museum to experience great art. We look at some of the ways Europeans love to embellish their every-day scene.  Also, Robert Edsel shares stories of the people who helped rescue the masterpieces of Western art from the Nazis, during and after World War Two, and how their work continues today. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Ireland's Celtic Tiger economic boom improved the quality and variety of what the Irish like to eat. We'll look at trends in Irish cuisine from its culinary capital of Kinsale in County Cork. We'll also examine the effects of the Columbia River's massive hydropower dams that fuel the Pacific Northwest, where the price of cheap energy goes beyond what shows up on the electric bill. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

If texting a phone message is the biggest workout your hands get all day, Ferenc Mate shares the rewards of relying on one another, instead of our gadgets. Dan Austin describes his journey into becoming a "road trip pilgrim," and how a low-budget bike journey changed his view of the world.  Plus, listeners share teachable moments they encountered while traveling in Germany. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Lisa Napoli tells us about her stint helping to start a radio station in the formerly isolated former-kingdom of Bhutan. Photographer Phil Borges describes how much things have changed on a recent return to rural Tibet, and what's threatening its indigenous people. Also, author Pico Iyer explains the appeal of spending time in some of the world's least likely places for tourism. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

This week features strange encounters in England and France.  Terrance Zepke describes some of the most haunted places in America that she's investigated, from a former asylum in Appalachia to underground Portland.  Plus, Kate Hopkins delves into the bittersweet history of candy, and shares her well-researched opinion on who makes the best chocolates in Europe. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

The countryside of Hungary is a sentimental favorite for relaxing family vacations. Rick gets suggestions for tapping into the recreation Hungarians treasure and checks in with listeners planning family trips to the UK and Ireland. Also, get tips for exploring the Basque Country of Spain and France. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Helping to melt the age-old rivalries between two popular regions of Italy, locally-based guides help us take a closer look at Tuscany, and its neighbor Umbria.  They're both classic destinations for exploring Italy’s scenic medieval hill towns and countryside.  And listeners share reports of faux pas and misunderstandings they experienced in Italy, and what they learned from their travels.  For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

With a little help from expert guides, sightseeing in the ancient world of the Mediterranean takes on a whole new dimension.  We'll also get tips for visiting Tangier, on the Morrocan side of the Straight of Gibraltar, and for holidays along Turkey's alternative coast on the Black Sea. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

The woman who practically invented the idea of a "bucket list" with her best-seller "One Thousand Places to See Before You Die," updates us on some of her latest favorites around the globe. We'll also meet an American who taught art at a women's college in Kuwait, and hear what the experience taught her. And we'll explore the high points of a visit to Northern Germany. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Follow the lead of a seasoned traveler, and you'll discover new ways to make your next vacation terrific. Andrew McCarthy will share how actors on location find ways to connect with the locals, and Fred Plotkin illustrates how to plug into the excitement at some of his favorite opera venues in Europe. Also, Rick helps listeners planning trips to Barcelona and Paris. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get your thrills on a whitewater river raft, in the pages of a great novel set in an exotic locale, or sampling the fried pigs ears at a tapas bar in Spain For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

If you dread the mug shot that passes as your passport photo, you're not alone. We examine how the passport became the required document for international travel to and from the U.S. Also, three American tour guides offer tips for Americans who are thinking about moving to Europe, and tell us how they fit into living in France, Spain, Germany and Italy. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Paul Theroux describes what a trip the length of Africa taught him, 40 years after serving with the Peace Corps in a village in Malawi. Frugal Traveler Seth Kugel tells us what it was like to spend a week in a small Mexican town he picked at random, well-off the tourist grid. Also, Neil Taylor explains how much the Baltic countries have brightened up to visitors in 20 years, since they shook off Soviet Communism. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Francis Tapon describes his three-year excursion into every country in the eastern half of Europe. He shares how the Balkans and the former Soviet states are the next travel frontier, where tourists don't outnumber the locals. Also, listeners check in with Rick for help in finalizing their vacation plans. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Some things haven't changed much over the years in Appalachia. Rock the cradle of country music, from kitchy Dollywood, to all-day mountain music jams along Virginia's "Crooked Road." Tony Horwitz explores how John Brown's 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, still haunts us today. Also, we'll hear how fun it is to hike the Appalachian Trail. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

Get better acquainted with Southeast Asia and Ireland through the eyes of its artists. We'll explore how understanding the stories behind paintings, and knowing the role of important architectural sites, can help frame your appreciation for anyplace you visit. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.

The future of the United Kingdom is on the table when Scotland votes in 2014 on whether or not to form a completely independent government from the rest of Britain. Rick discusses the issues behind the push for separatism, with friends from Scotland, Wales, and England. Also, we'll hear how the European Union makes it easier for citizens to make a new life in one of the other member countries of the E-U. For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.