Destination: Paris

With my staff and guides tuning in to see how I’d do after nearly 20 years of not actually leading one of our tours, I have to say I did it: I finished our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour with as many travelers as I started with, I enjoyed it, and I learned our methods firsthand. (Actually, I cheated, with three weeks of wonderful help from co-guides Ben Cameron and Trish Feaster.)

Tour guiding has its mundane side…such as entering all the receipts into our guides’ not-so-beloved accounting software.

The tour’s over: It’s the Best of Europe in 21 Days…and, the morning after, our group is all smiles, still enjoying each other, and ready to tackle more of Paris. These are great travelers!

We include a two-day Paris Museum Pass with our tour. And that means the city is wide open for our travelers on the day after the tour. Here Ginger and Carl, guidebook and passes in hand, are ready for more Paris. (Probably the single most appreciated travel tip I offer is my encouragement for travelers to take advantage of the wonderful Paris Museum Pass. It pays for itself in a couple of admissions, and you get to skip all the lines and go directly into whatever sight you like. With a Museum Pass, Paris becomes your high-culture playground.)

Photo: thetravelphile.com / facebook.com/thetravelphile

Thanks again, Ben and Trish, for the guide guidance. You guys were great to co-guide with.

One of my great joys as a tour guide is teaching art and architecture in a way that makes it both fun and meaningful. And a good way to do that is by building a Gothic church out of 13 tourists. Join me here with my happy tour group, just before going into Sainte-Chapelle in Paris (a cathedral of glass built about 750 years ago to house the Crown of Thorns), as I prep my group for this wonderful experience.

Video: thetravelphile.com / facebook.com/thetravelphile

I am so happy that each year our team of guides at Rick Steves’ Europe Tours share their passion for European history, art, and culture in creative ways like this with nearly a thousand tour groups — each one as fun-loving, curious, and eager to learn as mine has been. Happy travels!

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guided our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour.)

Europe’s greatest museum is the Louvre in Paris. It was a thrill to take our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour group there to enjoy its unforgettable collection of paintings.

Paris is relaxed in October. And — even on the once-each-month free day, with heightened security and a sizable line — we got the group inside with just a 20-minute wait.

Just gathering our group under the iconic pyramid entrance was exciting.

Experiencing the Mona Lisa is more than just seeing a famous painting. It’s a spectacle, with seething crowds and a commotion of cameras. It’s the only painting anywhere where you actually hear its crowds before you see it.

Along with seeing the iconic paintings of the Louvre, I enjoy just wandering and finding works that are overlooked and underappreciated — like this one, entitled Death of Mondale.

After we led our group through the highlights of the Louvre’s collection, our tour members were free to explore. We like our travelers to be capable and independent — and they are. Here, Larry and Fran recharge with a coffee and review the many options within an easy walk of the Louvre.

(Thanks for following along here on my blog and on Facebook as I guide our Best of Europe in 21 Days tour.)