Rick Steves's Blog, page 14

We had big plans for Poland in 2020: Filming two TV shows there this summer, and launching our inaugural Poland tour this fall. While both projects may have to wait (were still deciding), Ive got Poland on the brain.

Even if weve had to postpone trips to Europe, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

My first impression of Kraków...

When this pandemic is all over, I cant wait to get back to Europe. And the first hike Id like to take is high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, in Switzerland, with my friend Olle. Ive been thinking back on one of my favorite such hikes.

Even if weve had to postpone trips to Europe, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

Its a...

If theres any European travel experience that might actually be safe in the age of coronavirus, its walking the Camino de Santiagowhich was always all about solitude, well before anyone heard the phrase social distancing.

Even if weve had to postpone trips to Europe, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

Standing on the main...

Because my travel roots are as a budget backpacker (where a good picnic is the answer to a prayer), it took me decades to recognize the value of a fine meal. Now I can enthusiastically embrace a long, drawn-out dinner splurge as a wonderful investment of both time and money. Nowhere is this truer than in France. I cant wait to get back there for another blowout dinner.

Even if weve had to postpone trips to Europe, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Here...

Through the ongoing coronavirus crisis, were looking for bright spots. And one of the brightest comes in the form of updates from our tour guides around Europe. Hearing from our European friends is a great reminder that we are all in this together and we will be together again, when the crisis is over.

Continuing our weekly series, heres what weve been hearing from our guides this week:

In Athens, Filippos Kanakaris describes the Orthodox Easter celebration that took place in Greece earlier...

European travel is a sensory experienceespecially Italy, and especially Naples. And in these sensory-deprived times, I find myself thinking back on happy memories in one of Italys most vivid, most intense, and most sensory cities.

Even if weve had to postpone trips to Europe, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

Strolling through...

Europes remote corners are a delight. And when in Portugal, I love to head to Alentejo, and a fine little town called Évora.

With so many of us stuck at home for the foreseeable future, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

Alentejo is a vast and arid land the bleak interior of Portugal, where cork seems to be the dominant...

There are places in Europe where I go to do what I call convalesce places that, when Im burned out or feeling spent, I can go to be calm and recharge. Englands Cotswolds is one of those places. As a travel writer, I try not to use the word quaint. But in the Cotswolds, I just cant help myself.

With so many of us stuck at home for the foreseeable future, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of...

These days, on Sunday mornings Ive been attending church by Zoom-ing in from my couch. But Im dreaming of some of my favorite European churchgoing experiences. And near the top of the list is the organ loft at Paris St. Sulpice.

With so many of us stuck at home for the foreseeable future, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

On...

Who could use a beach break? In the interest of flattening the curve, Im steering clear of beaches for now. But I can still daydream about my favorite beach in Europe

With so many of us stuck at home for the foreseeable future, I believe a daily dose of travel dreaming can actually be good medicine. Heres another one of my favorite travel memories a reminder of whats waiting for you in Europe at the other end of this crisis.

The flatbed fish truck rambles into the village tooting the 1812...