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Rick Steves

Rick Steves is a travel writer, public television and radio host, and teacher who helps people explore Europe with curiosity, practical skills, and an open mind.

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Rick’s happenings, collected from public sources, plus their backstory and Starbook, where fans write.

Known for

Overview

Based in: Edmonds, Washington
What he makes: Travel guidebooks, public television, radio, and travel classes
Started: Travel classes in the mid-1970s; founded his business in 1976
First book: Europe Through the Back Door, self-published in 1980
TV breakthrough: Travels in Europe with Rick Steves, 1991; Rick Steves’ Europe followed in 2000

Mini bio

How it started.

Rick began teaching travel classes in the mid-1970s and founded his business in 1976. Europe Through the Back Door grew from his classes and travel notes. He wrote it in 1979 and self-published it in 1980, using a rented electric typewriter and illustrations by his college roommate.

From guidebooks to your screen.

Travels in Europe with Rick Steves arrived on public television in 1991, helping his practical approach reach a wider audience. Rick Steves’ Europe followed in 2000. Books, radio, and free travel resources carry the same invitation: meet people, understand the places you visit, and come home with a broader perspective.

Still a teacher.

Rick considers himself a teacher above all. He continues researching guidebooks and making programs while supporting causes shaped by his travels. His 2025 memoir, On the Hippie Trail, returns to his 1978 journey from Istanbul to Kathmandu. In Art of Europe, he turns decades of encounters with paintings, buildings, and local guides into six hours of accessible art history.

Creditschronological, newest first

Television and video

2025Rick Steves’ Europe: Season 13Host
2022Rick Steves Art of EuropeHost and producer
1991Travels in Europe with Rick StevesHost

Books

2025On the Hippie TrailAuthor
2018Travel as a Political Act, revised editionAuthor
1980Europe Through the Back DoorAuthor and original self-publisher

Awards

Quotes

Travel is intensified living, with maximum thrills per minute.Rick Steves, official press room

His travel philosophy, published at https://www.ricksteves.com/press-room

Trivia

Before his travel business took off, he taught piano. Boxes of his first guidebook doubled as seating at piano recitals.
His office window in Edmonds overlooks his old junior high school.
He demonstrates Gothic cathedral construction using 13 travelers as columns, buttresses, and a spire.
He once thought art history sounded like the most boring college class. Inspiring professors and travel changed his mind.