The WORST episodes of Rick Steves' Europe
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Rick Steves has been the "travel guinea pig" for American Public Television since Travels in Europe with Rick Steves debuted in April of 1991. In his program, Rick shows some out-of-the-way places the average traveler misses, offers countless travel tips, and always enjoys being immersed in the adventure.
#1 - London: Royal and Rambunctious
Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/12/2000
We whisper secrets across the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral and eat our way through Soho. Then we check out the treasures of the new British Library, roll with the drums at the Changing of the Guard, and cruise the Thames to Kew Gardens.
#2 - Slovenia and Croatia
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 11/19/2000
We discover that Dubrovnik is still the "jewel of the Adriatic" while nearby villages decorate their dreamy archipelago with small-town Venetian charm. Ljubljana is like Salzburg without tourists. The Julian Alps glisten with pristine lakes as Lipizzaner stallions are eager to strut their stuff.
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#3 - Travel Skills (2)
Season 1 - Episode 15 - Aired 12/10/2000
Beautifully filmed on location, this 3-part, 90-minute special distills Rick's 25 years of travel experience into practical tips on: planning a trip, overcoming the language barrier, getting around, finding accommodations, staying safe, and more. In this second of three shows focusing on travel skills, we'll visit Venice, Siena, and the Cinque Terre in Italy to learn about trip planning, packing, safety, and — perhaps the most rewarding skill of all — connecting with the locals. Going beyond the sights, Rick shares some practical tips to help make European travel fun and hassle-free.
#4 - Travel Skills (3)
Season 1 - Episode 16 - Aired 12/17/2000
Beautifully filmed on location, this 3-part, 90-minute special distills Rick's 25 years of travel experience into practical tips on: planning a trip, overcoming the language barrier, getting around, finding accommodations, staying safe, and more. In this third of three shows focusing on travel skills, we'll visit the Swiss Alps, Paris, and London while covering tips for finding the best accommodations, getting around in big cities, and enjoying Europe's cuisine. This information is key to making the most of your travel time and, if you're on a budget, can help you cut the cost of your travels in half.
#5 - Sevilla
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 11/27/2004
Sevilla, Spain, is the flamboyant city of Carmen and Don Juan. It's where bullfighting is still politically correct and where little girls dream of growing up to become flamenco dancers. Sevilla has soul-and we feel it in its lacy Moorish palace, massive cathedral, lavish royal tombs, labyrinthine Jewish quarter, and its people-filled streets. After munching tasty tapas, we head south for Andalusia's ultimate whitewashed hilltown, Arcos de la Frontera.
#6 - North Wales: Feisty and Poetic
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/14/2006
From towering Mount Snowdon and evocative medieval castles to grand Victorian promenades, North Wales is a poem written in landscape. We'll climb a mountain aboard a steam train, learn some Welsh, follow a miner deep into a slate mine, herd sheep with a very clever dog, and work in a pop pilgrimage to the Beatles' Liverpool.
#7 - England's Bath and York
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/7/2006
Medieval York and Georgian Bath — easy side trips from London — pack an exciting pair of sightseeing punches. We'll explore Roman hot springs, cruise quiet canals, marvel at England's finest Gothic church, and get a surprising dose of Viking history as we enjoy England's easy urban delights.
#8 - London: Historic and Dynamic
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/24/2012
In many-faceted London, we'll ponder royal tombs in Westminster Abbey, discover treasures in the British Library, enjoy the vibrant evening scene in Soho, uncover Churchill's secret WWII headquarters, join the 9-to-5 crowd in the new London, shop where the queen shops, and straddle the Prime Meridian in Greenwich.
#9 - Venice: City of Dreams
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/8/2012
After sorting through the monuments of Venice's powerful past, we'll trace its decline from Europe's most powerful city to its most hedonistic one. We'll cruise the Grand Canal, luxuriate in a venerable café, and savor fresh fish canal-side with Venetian friends. Becoming as anonymous as possible in this city of masks, we'll be dazzled by masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance and get intimate with the city of Casanova...on a gondola in the moonlight.
#10 - Venice and Its Lagoon
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/15/2012
Venice, more than any other European city, has an endlessly seductive charm. For centuries, it was nicknamed La Serenissima, "The Most Serenely Beautiful One" — and for good reason. Along with sampling the sumptuous art treasures of Venice and exploring its back-street wonders, we'll cruise its lagoon, stopping in fiery Murano for glass, pastel Burano for lace, and murky Torcello for a sense of where Venice was born.
#11 - The Best of Israel
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/1/2014
We start in Jerusalem, alive with religious tradition and passion — Christian, Muslim, and Jewish. We then visit cosmopolitan Tel Aviv, with its in-love-with-life beaches; ponder the sad fortress of Masada; and join pilgrims at biblical sights around the Sea of Galilee. We'll also pay our respects at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial, drop into an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and savor the local cuisine.
#12 - Egypt's Nile, Alexandria, and Luxor
Season 11 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/21/2020
Exploring the Nile Valley from north to south, we see the highlights of Egypt. In the fabled city of Alexandria, we venture through a market wonderland, smoke a shisha, and stroll a Mediterranean promenade. In Luxor, we explore the pharaohs' tombs and temples before sailing on a timeless felucca. Then we kick back on a riverboat cruise, enjoying iconic views of palm trees, minarets, and rustic villages. Our finale: Ramses II's magnificent temple at Abu Simbel.
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#13 - Ethiopia: A Development Story
Season 11 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/30/2020
Venturing beyond Europe, and with local experts as his guides, Rick uses Ethiopia as a classroom for understanding global hunger and extreme poverty — and how to beat it. Together, we witness the importance of water, education, empowering women, and nutrition during a child's first thousand days. And we see firsthand the impact of globalization and climate change. Our souvenir: A vivid appreciation of how ending hunger is possible — and how smart and modern development aid is the key.
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#14 - Iran: Historic Capitals
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/10/2009
Iran's rich history goes back millennia, to the days when Persepolis was home to the "king of kings." In this episode, we explore three historic capitals of Iran: Persepolis, with its splendid monuments; Shiraz, with the tombs of Iran's most beloved poets; and Isfahan, with its extraordinary mosques and endearing people.
#15 - Rome: Ancient Glory
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/6/2012
Part one of three on the Eternal City, this episode resurrects the rubble and brings back to life the capital of the ancient world. Focusing on the grandeur of classical Rome, we'll marvel at the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the empire's exquisite art. Then we'll go offbeat by bicycle to see the Appian Way and marvels of Roman engineering.
#16 - Iran: Tehran and Side Trips
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/3/2009
As he's done with previous programs on Israel, Egypt, and Eastern Turkey, Rick takes us beyond Europe to a place that's rich with history...and mystery. In this first of two half-hour shows on Iran, Rick dodges traffic in Tehran, enjoys the tranquility of a nearby village, and encounters both anti-American propaganda and a warm welcome from everyday Iranians.
#17 - Germany's Fascist Story
Season 11 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/7/2020
Traveling across Germany, we learn how fascism rose and then fell, taking millions of people with it. Visiting actual locations — from Munich to Nürnberg to Berlin — we trace the roots of Nazism in the aftermath of World War I, when masses of angry people were enchanted by Hitler. We explore the totalitarian society Hitler built, and see the consequences: genocide and total war. Learning from Germany's fascist story, we can recognize that hateful ideology as well as the tricks of wannabe dictators in our own age.
Watch Now:iTunes
#18 - Croatia: Adriatic Delights
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/9/2010
Sampling the very best of Croatia, we explore the fabled Dalmatian Coast, take a hike through Plitvice Lakes National Park, zip into Zagreb, and end with the Istrian Peninsula and its enchanting port town of Rovinj.
#19 - Rome: Back Street Riches
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/20/2012
In this third of three shows on the Eternal City, we'll explore this grand metropolis — so rich in art and culture — on a more intimate scale, delving into its back lanes and unheralded corners. Venturing through the crusty Trastevere district, visiting the historic Jewish Ghetto, and enjoying art treasures in a string of rarely visited churches, we uncover charms of hidden Rome that compete with its marquee sights.
#20 - Eastern Turkey
Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/5/2000
After a Mount Ararat sunrise, we visit Abraham's 4000-year-old home town, tour one of the world's biggest dams, cheer on grease wrestlers, meet the gods atop Mount Nemrut, and dance with new friends in a village.
#21 - Rome: Baroque Brilliance
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/13/2012
This second of three shows on Rome reveals a city busy with life and bursting with Baroque. We'll ramble through the venerable heart of Rome, admire breathtaking Bernini statues, ponder sunbeams inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, and mix and mingle with the Romans during an early-evening stroll. Following an exquisite Roman dinner, we'll join locals after dark, lacing together the Eternal City's most romantic nightspots.
#22 - French Riviera: Uniquely Chic
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/30/2004
A longtime favorite escape of Europe's elite, the Riviera coastline still sparkles with yachts. In fairytale Monaco we listen to the graceful reshuffling of personal fortunes at the casino. Then we follow in the footsteps of 19th century aristocrats along Nice's promenade des Anglais, and visit the picturesque, artist hangouts of Chagall, Matisse and Picasso.
#23 - Copenhagen
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/2008
Denmark's capital is the most fun-loving in Scandinavia. As we get to know Copenhagen, we'll discover reminders of its Viking history and see reflections today of its proudly independent ways. We'll stroll down Europe's first great pedestrian boulevard, ogle crown jewels in the palace treasury, and take a bike ride through an inspirational hippie squatter community, finishing at Copenhagen's full-time carnival, Tivoli Gardens.
#24 - Italy's Amalfi Coast
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/4/2006
Just south of Naples, we'll experience the breathtaking Amalfi Coast, the trendy resort of Positano, the limoncello charms of Sorrento, the ancient Greek temples at Paestum, and the iridescent Blue Grotto hidden beneath the enchanting Isle of Capri.
#25 - Italy's Riviera: Cinque Terre
Season 8 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/15/2014
Exploring Italy's most remote and romantic stretch of Riviera, we visit five tiny port towns: dramatic Vernazza, surrounded by vineyards; reclusive Corniglia, high on its bluff; pastel Manarola; hardscrabble Riomaggiore; and the pint-sized resort of Monterosso. Fishing for anchovies, sipping wine out of rustic barrels, and savoring twinkling Mediterranean vistas, we enjoy the ultimate Riviera adventure.