Rick Steves > Quotes

“Self-consciousness kills communication.”
― Rick Steves

“Be fanatically positive and militantly optimistic. If something is not to your liking, change your liking.”
― Rick Steves

“I would like travelers, especially American travelers, to travel in a way that broadens their perspective, because I think Americans tend to be some of the most ethnocentric people on the planet. It's not just Americans, it's the big countries. It's the biggest countries that tend to be ethnocentric or ugly. There are ugly Russians, ugly Germans, ugly Japanese and ugly Americans. You don't find ugly Belgians or ugly Bulgarians, they're just too small to think the world is their norm.”
― Rick Steves

“Travel is rich with learning opportunities, and the ultimate sourvenir is a broader perspective.”
― Rick Steves

“Ideally, travel broadens our perspectives personally, culturally, and politically. Suddenly, the palette with which we paint the story of our lives has more colors.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Travel As a Political Act

“I believe if you’re going to bomb someone you should know them first. It should hurt when you kill someone.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Travel As a Political Act

“If you don't like a place, maybe you don't know enough about it... Give a culture the benefit of your open mind.”
― Rick Steves

“Feed the hungry and you're a saint, ask why they are hungry and you're a communist.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Travel As a Political Act

“Travel is intensified living … and one of the last great sources of legal adventure.”
― Rick Steves

“People everywhere hear the excuse “there’s not enough money”. In actuality, there is enough money… just different priorities. New stadium, heathcare for all, faster trains, extravagant cathedral, subsidized education, tax cuts, next-generation bomber … each society makes different choices according to its priorities.”
― Rick Steves

“As a traveler, I've often found that the more a culture differs from my own, the more I am struck by its essential humanity.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Travel As a Political Act

“Globetrotting destroys ethnocentricity, helping us understand and appreciate other cultures. Rather than fear the diversity on this planet, celebrate it. Among your most prized souvenirs will be the strands of different cultures you choose to knit into your own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop, and Back Door travelers are weaving the ultimate tapestry.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol

“Fear is for people who don't get out very much.”
― Rick Steves

“Europe’s reluctance to go to war frustrates some Americans. I believe their relative pacifism is because Europeans know the reality of war, while most Americans do not. …. It’s easier to feel detached when a war is something you watch on the nightly news, rather than something that killed your grandfather or destroyed your hometown.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Travel As a Political Act

“In Denmark, “social trust”—a general feeling that you trust your fellow citizens and the pillar institutions of government, law courts, police, hospitals, and so on—is generally found to be the highest in the world. A perfect example of Danish “social trust” is the image of babies sleeping in carriages outside a restaurant while the parents eat inside. You might say, “But no one is watching!” A Dane will say, “Everyone is watching.”
― Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act

“Leidsedwarsstraat in Amsterdam,”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2014

“I remember when the standard farewell when I set off on another trip was “Bon voyage!” But today, Americans tend to say, “Have a safe trip.” (When I hear this, I’m inclined to say, “Well, you have a safe stay-at-home—because where I’m going is statistically much safer than where you’re staying.”)”
― Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act

“France is Europe’s most diverse, tasty, and exciting country to explore. It’s a cultural bouillabaisse that surprises travelers with its varied, complex flavors.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves France 2019

“To me, understanding people and their lives is what travel is about, no matter where you go.”
― Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act

“For example, new EU member Poland survived the communist era without collectivizing its small family farms. But now that they’ve joined the EU, collectivization is mandatory.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door 2014

“St. Galgano was a 12th-century saint who renounced his past as a knight to become a hermit. Lacking a cross to display, he created his own by miraculously burying his sword up to its hilt in a stone, à la King Arthur, but in reverse. After his death, a large Cistercian monastery complex grew. Today, all you’ll see is the roofless, ruined abbey and, on a nearby hill, the Chapel of San Galgano with its fascinating dome and sword in the stone.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Florence & Tuscany 2014

“Here’s a two-week alternative, which could include a few car days in southern Spain near the end of your trip: Start in Barcelona (two days); train to Madrid (five days total, with two days in Madrid and three for side-trips to Toledo, El Escorial, and Segovia or Ávila); train to Granada (two days); bus to Nerja (one day, could rent car here); both Ronda and Arcos for drivers, or just Ronda by train (two days); to Sevilla (drop off car, two days); and then train to Madrid and fly home.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves Spain 2015

“When we travel, we have the opportunity to see history as it's unfolding. With knowledge of the past, we can better appreciate the significance of what's happening today. That's something a lot of travelers don't take advantage of . . . and it's never been more important.”
― Rick Steves, For the Love of Europe: My Favorite Places, People, and Stories

“To say that Siena and Florence have always been competitive is an understatement. In medieval times, a statue of Venus stood on Il Campo. After the plague hit Siena, the monks blamed the pagan statue. The people cut it to pieces and buried it along the walls of Florence.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Florence & Tuscany 2014

“Via Banchi di Sopra and Via Banchi di Sotto These main drags in town are named “upper row of banks” and “lower row of banks.” They were once lined with market tables (banchi), and rents were paid to the city for a table’s position along the street. If the owner of a banco neglected to pay the rent for his space, thugs came along and literally broke (rotto) his table. It is from this practice—banco rotto, broken table—that we get the English word “bankrupt.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Florence & Tuscany 2014

“I asked my new friend, “Were you born here?” He thought about it, paused, and then said, “No, ’twas ’bout five miles down the road.” Later, I asked him, “Have you lived here all your life?” He winked and said, “Not yet.”
― Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act

“Regardless of your journey, you can put a little pilgrim in your travels and find your own personal jubilation.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves Travel as a Political Act

“Europeans marvel at how Americans seem willing, almost eager, to work themselves into an early grave. My European friends have told me proudly, “We don’t live to work…we work to live.”
― Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act

“A plaque just outside remembers June 30, 1944. That night, Nazi forces were planning to blow up the arch to slow the Allied advance. To save their treasured landmark, Volterrans ripped up the stones that pave Via Porta all’Arco and plugged the gate, managing to convince the Nazi commander that there was no need to blow up the arch. Today, all the stones are back in their places, and like silent heroes, they welcome you through the oldest standing Etruscan gate into Volterra. Locals claim this as the only surviving round arch of the Etruscan age; most experts believe this is where the Romans got the idea for using a keystone in their arches.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Italy 2014

“The French (and Europeans in general) place a high value on speaking quietly in restaurants and on trains.”
― Rick Steves, Rick Steves' Paris 2014