Hi from Rick: Experiencing the Best of Europe
Hi Traveler,
My first trip of 2024 is a virtual European festival…and you're invited: a region-by-region celebration of Europe, accompanied by some of my favorite guides.
Next Monday, January 22, we'll be kicking off our annual Festival of Europe: Eight nights in a row, on our Zoom tour bus, exploring every corner of the Continent. We have free and fun virtual sessions each night (6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET). You can check out the full schedule and register at Festival of Europe.
What'll give our festival the same special ingredient that gives our Rick Steves tours sparkle: great guides. For each session, we'll be joined by some of our favorite guides, Zooming in (yes, in the middle of the night, their time) from all over Europe.
And I can't wait! Federico will be joining us from Spain to talk tapas and flamenco, while Cristina will make a case for Portuguese barnacles and fado. Jeanie Carmichael will put the great in Great Britain, while Lolly Spence will wax poetic about the Emerald Isle. And our friends Holger Zimmer from Germany, Virginie Moré from France, and Péter Pölczman from Hungary will each share a passion for their homeland in our weeklong celebration of Europe.
And don't miss our festival finale: a (virtual) party from my house on Monday, January 29, where — with my fun-loving and travel-crazy colleagues — we'll toast to your upcoming travels. I'll be sharing some travel tales, showing off my favorite souvenirs, playing my piano, and giving out free Rick Steves tours to a couple of Festival of Europe attendees (could be you!).
In this month's Tour News, you'll find a slideshow of my 10 favorite places and experiences from our original Best of Europe in 21 Days tour, tour member raves about our three different "Best of Europe" itineraries, interviews with a handful of guides who lead our multi-country Europe tours, and a short video from an actual Rick Steves Best of Europe in 14 Days tour.
If you're joining us in Europe in 2024, or just dreaming, be sure to join us for our Festival of Europe. There's no better way to kick off another year of European fun.
Keep on traveling!
Rick