Rick Steves at a bullfight ring, sevilla

Guidebook author and travel TV host Rick Steves is America’s most respected authority on European travel. Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. At 18, Rick began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons.

In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves’ Europe, which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a staff of 80 full-time, well-travelled employees at his headquarters in Edmonds, Washington. Rick self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door (updated annually), in 1980.

To date, Rick and his team have published over 50 guidebooks on European travel. Additionally, Rick hosts America’s most popular travel series on public television, a weekly syndicated column, and posts free travel information available through his travel center and website.

Rick Steves at  Hohenschwangau Castle, Germany
[Rick Steves at Hohenschwangau Castle, Germany]

Rick Steves spends roughly a third of every year in Europe, researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and discovering off-the-beaten-path travel destinations. He also leads a successful European tour program.

Rick’s weekly hour-long national public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, airs across the USA and has spawned a popular podcast. Rick has also created a series of audio walking tours for museums and neighborhoods in Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, London, and Athens.

Rick will travel to BC next month to present two talks (in Vancouver and Victoria), sharing lessons he’s learned from a lifetime of travel. His entertaining, information-packed lecture aims to help travelers stretch their travel dollar, avoid crowds, pack smart, and eat and sleep well. After spending a third of his adult life living out of a rucksack in Europe, Rick knows exactly how to enjoy maximum travel thrills!

Rick Steves Europe logo

Europe Through the Back Door with Rick Steves

Date: Sunday, October 26, 2 to 4 pm
Venue: Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre, 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver
Tickets: $25 (inc. service fee) available via Tickets Tonight or via phoning 1.877.840.0457

Rick will also present his talk on Saturday, October 25, 2 pm at Victoria’s Conference Centre.

Rick Steves’ Europe logo and photos reprinted with permission via ricksteves.com.

2 Comments

  • Comment by Henry | @fotoeins — October 28, 2014 @ 3:27 pm

    I just saw your post days after his lecture here in Vancouver. Speaking to a “full room” at the Yaletown Roundhouse Community Centre, he certainly had everyone’s attention about Europe, the Middle East, and travel in general. Were you there as well?

  • Comment by Ariane Colenbrander — October 28, 2014 @ 4:04 pm

    Yes, I was, @fotoeins. He has a passion for discussing travel, and is politically motivated to see an end to dumbed-down television, only airing his shows on Public Television channels in the US. I like his style. He certainly portrays an individual who is passionate about what he does and adores his adventures with the locals. I also posted a few photos of Rick on Facebook.

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