Rick Steves' Europe

The island of Sicily has a complicated past making it distinct from Italy - spicier food, a more festive lifestyle, and people who are Sicilian first, Italian second.

The East of Turkey is a void on most tourist maps but a visit here paints a vivid--if complicated--human face on that part of your globe.

We'll explore Bulgaria's modern capital, its trendy second city, a mountain monastery and time-passed villages. Then we'll feast with a family and get our cultural bearings in a surprisingly romantic land.

Crowning Britain in the Northwest of Europe, Scotland welcomes visitors. From the town of Oban, we cruise to the Isles of Mull and Iona, then follow the Caledonian Canal to Glencoe, Loch Ness and onto Culloden.

Europe's our playground--and Germany's in the heart of the fun. After a stop at historic Cologne we ride the train to the resort spa of Baden Baden, then hop south through the highlights of the Black Forest.

Like the Continent, Great Britain is a delight to explore. We're starting in the Cotswolds, two hours west of London. From there we circle south to Wells, Glastonbury, Stonehenge and into South Wales.

This time we're kicking off a South England adventure, starting at the White Cliffs of Dover and following the coast to Land's End.

Like no other European capital, Portugal's Lisbon has an old time charm -- it feels like San Francisco but older, grittier... and less expensive.