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Rick Steves’ Travel Blog

Here you can browse through my blog posts prior to February 2022. Currently I'm sharing my travel experiences, candid opinions, and what's on my mind solely on my Facebook page. — Rick

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Video: British Pub Tips

While traveling through England, every night I’m eating at pubs and restaurants I recommend in my England guidebook. And I have to say, the eating has been excellent. Here’s a peek at the Dolphin Pub in Canterbury. (Notice the energy — things feel pretty good in England wherever we’ve gone.)

We’re just finishing our third TV episode in England this month, and we’re coming home with three brilliant shows. As usual, elements I really like need to be deleted, as 30 minutes of TV is only 3,000 words. Here’s the text that was in our Southeast England script but had to be pulled:

“England’s pubs offer a warm, friendly welcome and, for many, an essential part of any visit to Britain. Pub is short for “public house” — it’s the neighborhood’s extended living room. It’s a multi-generational affair and, while children aren’t served beer, the entire family is welcome. Whether you’re drinking or eating, don’t wait to be served. Go to the bar to order.

England loves its brews. Each village seems to have its own microbrew. Beer aficionados go for the real English ales and bitters. They’re from the long-handled pumps literally hand-drawn from kegs in the cellar. For a lighter, colder, and carbonated brew — ask for a lager. They fizz out of the short tap handles.

The standard serving is a full pint. While women routinely order a half pint, when a man does, it can make you the butt of jokes. But, if you don’t know the various beers and want to double your experience (and can endure the ridicule), ordering by the half pint (which costs exactly half as much as a full pint) lets you double your beer-exploration experience.”

This is Day 83 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

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Historic, Strategic Dover — Facing the English Channel

Dover is a godforsaken little town with piles of transit energy and mountains of history. Sometimes I like to stay in places that aren’t cute (and affluent because of their cuteness). Dover certainly fits that bill. And after dinner, I enjoy walking the long way home — along the port’s beach.

Being mindful of what’s around you enriches any walk in Europe. Here, I’m thinking about the ancient Roman lighthouse that caps the white cliffs. From the top of their lighthouse, the Romans would burn wet wood by day (for more smoke) and dry wood by night (for a brighter fire) to send their signals.

Much more recently, in World War II, those same white cliffs also protected Churchill’s men as they furiously defended their skies against the Nazis in the Battle of Britain. Hermann Göring would eyeball these cliffs from France, 23 miles away, aching to cross the English Channel. And it was “all hands on deck” as every boat owner in town mobilized to rescue more than 200,000 troops stranded in Dunkerque (or, as the Brits call it, “Dunkirk”).

Later, back at my hotel’s bar, I chatted with a local about how Brexit will make the English Channel just a little wider. Talking with him (and many others throughout my trip), I get the impression that most Brits seem to be — if not in favor of the idea — at least getting used to it.

This is Day 82 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

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East Dean’s Serene Village Green

Last year I spent two weeks traveling across South England, researching my Rick Steves England guidebook. At the same time, I collected lots of great ideas for this month’s TV shoot. For example, I fell in love with a tiny hamlet called East Dean, with a classic medieval village green and a darling little pub that rents rooms. So this year I’m back with my TV crew.

In this clip, we’re just setting up to record a bunch of promos for public television stations. (With me are producer Simon Griffith and cameraman Karel Bauer. I’m thankful to have such a talented and hardworking crew. For a behind-the-scenes look at how we make our show, you can join the three of us in Milan for our “The Making of Rick Steves’ Europe” special.)

In our scripts, I always find an informative way to slip in what month we’re traveling in. For this show, I’ll walk across this fine green and say to the camera, “We’re here in August. In Britain, I prefer traveling in peak season — long days, the best possible weather, enough people out and about to keep things lively…and there are rarely any tourist crowds.”

We’re here in the most crowded months in one of England’s favorite tourist regions. And, while there are plenty of tourists, I’m impressed by how few American travelers we’ve seen. In fact, in the last ten days of travel across South England, I’ve probably seen only 20 or 30 Americans. (I think they’re all in London, Bath, York, and Edinburgh.)

This is Day 81 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

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Just Hanging Out at the White Cliffs of Beachy Head

Forget the White Cliffs of Dover…I love the white cliffs of Beachy Head. Beachy Head is the scenic high point of the popular South Downs Way — a hiking path an hour or two south of London…and a world away from the big city.

We’re just finishing up 18 days of filming three brand-new public television shows in England, and I’m so thankful for the sunny weather we’re enjoying. The shows are looking just great — as you can see here.

In this clip, I just filmed the “tease” to start our Southeast England show from this queasy perch. (The “tease” is that goofy little clip before the formal show open, where I say hi and explain where I am — usually with something crazy or striking going on around me. For example, on this spot, I said, “We’re just hanging out on the South Coast of England.”)

Stay tuned. We’ll be releasing this show and nine others — Rick Steves’ Europe Season 9 — on public television starting in October.

By the way, hikers love Beachy Head and, sadly, so do distraught people ready to end their lives. As we filmed here, the Beachy Head chaplain was parked in the nearby lot, ready to counsel people ready to take a suicide leap. (About 20 people a year used to take their lives by jumping off these 500-foot cliffs. Now, in part because of the work of these chaplains, the number is lower.)

This is Day 80 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.

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Cornwall’s Geevor Tin Mine

The PBS series Poldark shows the heyday of Cornwall‘s tin-mining industry. But in the late 20th century, that industry collapsed. And today, the last mine to close is now open to visitors — dedicated to telling the miners’ story.

The Geevor Mine, which closed in 1990, represents the last hurrah not only of Cornish tin mining, but, in a sense, of Britain’s Industrial Age. Exploring it, I gained a better appreciation for the simple yet noble lives of miners. And my visit nudged me to consider more thoughtfully the plight of miners in the USA.

Causing you to see things differently — whether you tend to be liberal or conservative — is a powerful value of travel. If you travel and don’t find yourself reconsidering things you thought you understood in at least a little different light, perhaps the value of your experience is being needlessly blunted by a closed mind.

What are some ways that your travel experience has shaken your strongly held ways of seeing things?

This is Day 79 of my 100 Days in Europe series. As I research my guidebooks and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences and lessons learned in Vienna, the Alps, the Low Countries, England, and beyond. Find more right here on my travel blog.