Ten Smart Travel Tips for Europe from Rick Steves

Summer is just around the corner. Your thoughts turn to planning the annual family vacation once school is out. Let's see...how about Europe this year? True, the currency exchange rate is unfavorable, but the kids would learn so much from being exposed to the culture and history of cities in Europe, Besides, you've always dreamt of sampling foie gras and escargots in Paris, walking inside the Pantheon and pondering the lives of gladiators, and so much more. Yes, definitely it will be Europe this year.

Unfortunately, millions of other travellers are thinking along the same lines. Europe in summer is extremely overcrowded and the high temperatures make waiting in line to the museums and popular sights unbearable. The result: travellers come home complaining about their less-than-magical experience and vow never to visit Europe again.

At the recently-concluded New York Times Travel Show in New York City, renowned travel expert Rick Steves shared some tips about smart travelling in Europe. He is the author of "Europe through the Back Door" and thirty other European travel books, and is the host, writer and producer of the public television series "Rick Steves' Europe". Here are ten of his smart travel tips to Europe.

Smart Travel Tip #1: Get off the beaten path. Salzburg attracts thousands of tourists mainly because they have been successful in marketing themselves as Mozart's birthplace. Also, they have capitalized on people's nostalgia by conducting bus tours which visit places supposedly used in the filming of "The Sound of Music". If you like crowds, then by all means go there.

Smart Travel Tip #2: Go late in the day when all the tourists have left. Charming towns like Toledo and Bruges are inundated with day trippers who arrive in their motorcoaches before lunchtime, and leave town to go back to their suburban hotels by sundown. A better idea would be to arrive later in the afternoon and spend the night in town. More often than not, a town's character changes dramatically once most of the tourists have left.

Conversely, for a city like Venice - in the early morning it is the quiet, romantic place that most travellers imagine it to be. That is the perfect time to explore the streets and plazas - by mid-morning Venice becomes a certified tourist trap.

Smart Travel Tip #3: Find places with no promotional budget. Rick Steves describes these places as those "who missed the modern boat" and can survive on their own merits, instead of relying on lavish advertisements and promotional materials. He cites as an example the Cinque Terre, five small Italian mountainside villages overlooking the Mediterranean - these towns have resisted development and have no modern buildings and no comfortable chain hotels. The charm lies in walking the trails which connect each village to its neighbors, tasting the local specialty dishes, and drinking the locally made wine.

Smart Travel Tip #4: Think smart. Sure, anyone can line up to get inside St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Once inside you can marvel at the richly-decorated interiors, and take pictures of Michaelangelo's Pieta. However, did you know that you can also attend mass at 5pm everyday? Which would you most likely remember ten years later?

Smart Travel Tip #5: Understand what you're looking at. This applies to both art and architecture. Europe has many fine castles, the most famous one being King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany. While it is a thing of beauty to ponder, one can appreciate the castle better by doing a little research on its history, the inspiration behind the design, and so on. The same applies to masterpieces residing in the Louvre - understanding the context behind the art makes them more than just a bunch of old paintings.

Smart Travel Tip #6: Know when to store your camera away. Face it, you're a tourist, possibly a first-time traveller to Europe. There is much to photograph since every little detail seems so different from home. There are moments, however, when it is better that your camera stays in your pockets. Maybe in a small town in Tuscany, or even in a not well-visited arrondisement in Paris where mostly locals hang out. Talk to them and enjoy the interaction. They are as interested in smart travellers like yourself, as you are in their way of life. A camera can only put up a wall between you and the locals.

Smart Travel Tip #7: Make use of open jaw flights. In contrast to round-trip flights, open jaw itineraries let you fly back to your origin from a different city or country. For example, flying from New York City to London, and then flying back from Paris to NYC. Compare the time and cost savings (and trade-offs) in choosing an open jaw itinerary, rather than spending time and money going back to your original destination.

Smart Travel Tip #8: Save on shopping. Shopaholics, listen. consider planning your trip in a smart way so that you'll do your shopping at the less expensive destinations towards the end of the trip. Who wants to lug around souvenirs, food items, and other things for days or weeks? For example, on a multi-country journey, you could start out in London (where things are expensive) and end the trip exploring the exotic bazaars of Istanbul for bargains.

Smart Travel Tip #9: Overcome the language barrier. Most first-time travellers to Europe visit England because they speak English. However, English food is terrible. Food in Paris, Barcelona, Rome and almost any other part of Europe is much better. Although you might not speak French or Spanish, keep in mind that most people, especially the younger generation, speak English as a second or third language. In fact, they would be delighted at the chance to practice with you, a real American!

Smart Travel Tip #10: Put terrorism in perspective. Terrorism is always going to be there and Americans will always be targeted, such is reality. The worst thing you can do is letting terrorism fears stop you from travelling. Think of the 30,000 flights that departed and arrived yesterday without incident. That's just in one day. Also, realize that the citizens of Europe are not against individual travellers, but rather against US foreign policy. It is rare that they will be impolite or unwelcoming just because you are an American.