The WORST episodes of Rick Steves' Europe
Every episode of Rick Steves' Europe ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Rick Steves' Europe!
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 - Romania
Season 9 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/5/2016
We'll tour Romania's vibrant capital, Bucharest, with its "Little Paris of the East" architecture and lingering reminders of a brutal communist dictator. Then we'll head into Transylvania, where we'll visit fortified churches, cobbled merchant towns like Sighișoara, and castles made famous by an imported German king and the real-life Dracula. Finally we'll explore Maramureș, where everyday life still feels like an open-air folk museum.
#2 - Italy's Verona, Padua, and Ravenna
Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/22/2014
In the shadow of Venice, we visit three great cities. Padua is famed for its venerable university, precious Giotto frescoes, and pilgrim-packed Basilica. Verona is a hit with aficionados of Roman ruins and Romeo and Juliet fans. And Ravenna, with its shimmering mosaics, was once the western bastion of the Byzantine Empire. We enliven each stop with a tasty dose of Italian dolce vita.
#3 - Amsterdam
Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/29/2014
Europe's best-preserved 17th-century city, Amsterdam is quaint and jarring, traditional and modern. Filled with history and happy-go-lucky, it's a delight to explore. Uniquely entertaining Amsterdam shows us Rembrandts and Van Goghs, more bikes than cars, flirting prostitutes, and pot-filled coffeeshops — all under tall, skinny facades leaning out below quaint church towers.
#4 - The Netherlands: Beyond Amsterdam
Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/6/2014
By train, bike, and boat, we visit the top Dutch sights outside of Amsterdam: from Haarlem to Rotterdam, and from Delft to the Zuiderzee. Along the way, we enjoy charming towns with fragrant cheese markets, soggy polderland, mighty dikes, and windmills both new and old. Rolling through the Netherlands and connecting with its people, you can't help but think, "Everything's so... Dutch!"
#5 - Prague
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/13/2014
The capital of the Czech Republic, Prague is the best-preserved Baroque city in Central Europe. We experience its massive castle, beloved statue-lined bridge, evocative Jewish Quarter, and thrilling 20th-century history while enjoying its infectious love of music and perhaps the best beer in Europe. With a beautifully preserved Old Town, Prague deserves its nickname: the Golden City of a Hundred Spires.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#6 - Berlin
Season 8 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/20/2014
A tumultuous 20th century left Berlin filled with powerful sights — from evocative memorials, to surviving bits of its communist and fascist days, to its glass-domed Reichstag. We enjoy its now-trendy east side, its people-friendly riverfront, and its vibrant social scene. Reunited Berlin — perhaps the fastest changing and most happening city in Europe — is entertaining more visitors than ever.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#7 - Germany's Hamburg and the Luther Trail
Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/8/2016
Join host Rick Steves as he explores Hamburg, the largest port in Germany both historically and today. Then he travels south through central Germany, exploring the history and culture of the region that created Martin Luther and changed the world.
#8 - Germany's Dresden and Leipzig
Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/15/2016
Saxony, part of the former East Germany, remains a secret to most travelers. We'll visit the two great cities of the region: the capital city of Dresden, with the opulent palaces and art treasures of the Wettin dynasty, and Leipzig, with its Bach heritage, a massive monument to the day Europe beat Napoleon, and museums remembering its communist heritage.
#9 - Germany’s Frankfurt and Nürnberg
Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/22/2016
Skyscraper-studded Frankfurt — with so much commerce it's nicknamed "Bankfurt" — has a delightful-to-explore old center. We'll also visit Nürnberg, a capital for both the First Reich (the Holy Roman Empire) and the Third. From its towering castle and playful fountains to its Nazi Documentation Center and maze of underground bomb shelters, Nürnberg is a fascinating study in contrasts.
#10 - Bulgaria
Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/29/2016
Bulgaria is a fascinating, rapidly changing corner of Europe, where shiny BMWs compete for lane space with horse-drawn carts. This nation’s European dream is still taking shape from its roots in a custom-blend of Ottoman, Orthodox, and Soviet soil. Explore Bulgaria’s modern capital of Sofia, and its trendy second city of Plovdiv, then stroll through rustic mountain villages with the tang of wood smoke in the air. Relax in valleys of vineyards and sleek seaside resorts. Be pleasantly surprised by the rich local cuisine — an offbeat blend of Slavic and Mediterranean — and taste wines that are the toast of the Balkans. Throughout, marvel at Bulgaria’s ancient Tracian tombs, impressive Roman ruins, mystical medieval monasteries, and traditional mosques — nowhere in Europe will you see such colorful, perfectly preserved treasures of iconic religious art.
#11 - 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.
#12 - Assisi and Italian Country Charm
Season 9 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/12/2016
In the Italian countryside, we'll connect with rustic, traditional culture: enjoying an agriturismo (farmhouse inn), seeing how prosciutto and pecorino cheese are made, and hiking to the bottom of deep and ancient wine cellars. We'll end in Assisi — the hometown of St. Francis — which retains its spiritual aura to this day. Like pilgrims, we'll explore its stony center before trekking to its awe-inspiring basilica, built on the tomb of the beloved saint.
#13 - Siena and Tuscany's Wine Country
Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/19/2016
Siena, once a proud and independent city-state, retains its confidence and unique traditions. We'll enjoy a front-row seat at its wild horse race — the venerable Palio — and marvel at cultural treasures from the days when it rivaled Florence for leadership of Tuscany. Then we'll head into wine country for a little dolce vita under the Tuscan sun.
#14 - West England
Season 9 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/26/2016
The quintessence of charming England is the "West Country": quaint Cotswold villages with their fine churches, manor homes, and gastropubs; Wells, England's smallest cathedral town; and the New Age capital of Glastonbury, with its legends of the Holy Grail and King Arthur. We'll finish by pondering the dramatic prehistoric stone circles of Stonehenge and Avebury.
#15 - Southeast England
Season 9 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/3/2016
Arcing along the southeast coast of England, we'll travel from Canterbury (with its famous cathedral) to Dover (stoutly fortified from Roman times to the Battle of Britain). Then we'll hike the trails that top the towering chalk cliffs of the South Downs, wander into the beachy resort of Brighton (England's Coney Island), and push on to Portsmouth, whose naval heritage has left it with the best collection of historic sailing ships anywhere.
#16 - The Heart of England
Season 10 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/6/2018
The heartland of England has sights that put the "Great" in Britain — its venerable universities, its royal heritage, and reminders of its industrial might. At Oxford and Cambridge, we’ll see where kings and prime ministers studied. At Blenheim Palace — Winston Churchill’s birthplace — we’ll connect with English aristocracy. At Ironbridge Gorge, we fire up memories of the Industrial Revolution. And all along the way, we’ll be driving on the left and polishing our pub etiquette.
#17 - Lisbon
Season 10 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/13/2018
Lisbon, built with the riches of Portugal's New World discoveries, has a rustic charm. We'll remember great navigators, eat lots of cod, enjoy pastries hot out of the oven, stroll the city's back lanes and its reinvigorated waterfront, marvel at an exquisite church built with spice taxes, and enjoy some soulful fado music. Then we'll side-trip to Sintra to explore the fanciful castles of Portuguese royalty and climb hilltop ramparts with grand views.
#18 - Portugal's Heartland
Season 10 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/20/2018
Let's dance on the beach at Nazar, marvel Batalha's abbey, revel with students in Coimbra, savor port wine, and get to know Portugal's fascinating second city of Porto.
#19 - Travel Skills: Cruising
Season 10 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/27/2018
Setting sail on the Mediterranean, we'll explore the ins and outs and pros and cons of cruising. We'll learn how to get the most out of a cruise and exercise our independence to make smart use of limited time on shore by planning well, avoiding lines, and eating quick-but-local meals on the go. Along with the joys and efficiencies of cruising, we'll consider the downsides, including the inevitable congestion and commercialism that comes with mass tourism.
#20 - Greek Islands: Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes
Season 10 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/3/2018
We'll island-hop through the Aegean, sampling three classic Greek getaways — Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes — and basking in their dramatic beauty. We'll tour ancient ruins, trace the vestiges of the Crusaders, sample rustic cuisine, savor classic Greek-island views, and compare beaches — from the ultimate party beach to idyllic quiet hideaways. And we'll see how a cruise ship can be an efficient way to link up great island stopovers.
#21 - European Travel Skills Part II
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/29/2012
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.
#22 - Florence: Heart of the Renaissance
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/27/2012
Fifteenth-century Florence was the home of the Renaissance and the birthplace of our modern world. In this first of two episodes, we'll gaze into the self-assured eyes of Michelangelo's David, enjoy Botticelli's Birth of Venus, delve into the 3-D wonders of Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise, appreciate Fra Angelico's serene beauty, and climb the dome that kicked off the Renaissance. Then we'll cross the Arno to where Florentine artisans live, work, and eat...very well.
#23 - Florentine Delights and Tuscan Side Trips
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/3/2012
In this second of a two episodes on Florence, we'll enjoy more of the exquisite artistic treasures of the city that propelled Europe out of the Middle Ages. Then we'll side-trip to a couple of rival cities and cultural capitals in their own right, Pisa and Lucca, where we'll marvel at a tipsy tower, circle a city on its ramparts, and enjoy some Puccini in his hometown.
#24 - Paris: Regal and Intimate
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/10/2012
In Paris, amidst all of its grandeur, the little joys of life are still embraced. In this first of two episodes on Paris, we'll cruise the Seine River, visit Napoleon's tomb, and take in the Louvre. Then we'll feel the pulse of Paris — shopping in village-like neighborhoods, attending church in a grand pipe organ loft, and celebrating the mother of all revolutions with a big, patriotic Bastille Day bang.
#25 - Paris: Embracing Life and Art
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/17/2012
In this second of two episodes on Europe's "City of Light," we'll ride a unicorn into the Middle Ages at the Cluny Museum, take a midnight Paris joyride in a classic car, get an extremely close-up look at heavenly stained glass in Sainte-Chapelle, go on a tombstone pilgrimage at Père Lachaise Cemetery, and savor the Parisian café scene. Few cites are so confident in their expertise in good living — and as travelers, we get to share in that uniquely Parisian "joie de vivre."