Destinations Rick Steves Visited On His Favorite Trip To Europe Of All Time

If there's anyone travelers should listen to about taking a trip to Europe, it's Rick Steves. The popular travel guide, author, and television host has been teaching the world about travel for decades, so he has some pretty well-reasoned opinions about his most and least favorite places in Europe. That said, he was once just a young adult, fresh out of high school and taking his first trip to the continent without older adults to lead the way. Steves wrote about his trip backpacking through Europe on his website and was interviewed about his so-called "best trip ever" by Rocky Mountain PBS.

The life-altering experience took place in 1973 when Steves was about 18 years old. He went on the trip with his friend Gene Openshaw, who he has since written many guidebooks with over the course of his 40-some-odd-year career. The 10-week trip, which he dubbed "Europe Through the Gutter," was the perfect example of a youthful backpacking tour, often requiring the pair to use money sparingly and totally immerse themselves in the place they were in. "[I]t was really a $3 a day trip," Steves told Rocky Mountain PBS. "And we were just like street urchins. Once you get older and risk-averse and wealthier, you can't have that experience again. And it was just great." While age may have been a factor, the places Steves visited undoubtedly shaped his impressions of Europe, inspiring him to focus the bulk of his future travels on the continent.

It's no secret that Rick Steves has an ongoing love affair with Italy. He has written extensively about the country for many years. Perhaps this lifelong admiration of Italy was solidified on that fateful trip over 50 years ago. Steves posted a transcript of his postcard home from that time on Facebook, detailing how extremely busy he and Gene Openshaw were during their stop in Rome. According to the postcard, his itinerary included spending time at the Colosseum, the Forum, and a local flea market.

In addition to these sites, the travel expert mentions going to the Capitol, Mussolini's headquarters, Saint Peter's Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums, the Appian Way, and the Spanish Steps. Steves and Openshaw even got tickets to two operas — "Tosca" and "Aida" — at least one of which they got through their landlord at the time. According to the Facebook post, Steves managed to fit in all the sites between Sunday morning and Tuesday night. Even though a lot of the places Steves and Openshaw went to during this short period are among the most touristy attractions in the city, most travelers might be remiss if they skip them on their first trip to Rome, the best city to start your Italian vacation.

In addition to Rome and other major Italian cities, Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw traveled to Geneva, Monte Carlo, Paris, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Spain, Germany, and even beyond Europe to Morocco. It's no wonder that Steves' tours can be difficult — packing several sites, cities, and even countries into one trip seems to be the norm for the travel guru. The "Europe Through the Gutter" trip included adventures that many teenagers probably only dream about, full of bullfights, partying, exhausting train rides, art, food, castles, and even a night where they got kicked out of a casino. Steves mentioned in his interview with Rocky Mountain PBS that his early no-frills trips influenced how he conducted tours at the beginning of his career: "People would take my first tours and I would put them in bad hotels just so they would experience a bad night's accommodations so that they'd be more thankful for what they had when they got home. ... And it was a stupid kind of tour-guiding. But the sentiment was good, for us to get out of our comfort zone so we could appreciate what we have and be more thankful and also recognize there's a lot of suffering and a lot of need outside of our comfort area."

Steves also noted in the interview that over-tourism has significantly impacted travel, which is why he recommended getting out of the major cities if you're going on a long European trip like he did as a teenager. "Everybody goes to Paris. It's a great city, but what about Lyon? Everybody goes to Edinburgh. Great city, but what about Glasgow? They say a funeral in Glasgow is more fun than a wedding in Edinburgh," the PBS host said while denouncing social media influencers who may not truly be travel experts. He added that many places around the world are ignored because of safety concerns thanks to sensational media coverage, which undermines the point of traveling in Steves' eyes. "[T]he irony is the less we travel, the more we should be afraid. And if we're really afraid, we need to get out there and get to know our neighbors. That is critical," he said.