• Rick Steves along the Arno River in Florence

About Rick Steves

Rick Steves, America's most respected authority on European travel, empowers Americans to have European trips that are fun, affordable, and culturally broadening. In 1976, he started his business, Rick Steves' Europe, headquartered in Edmonds, Washington, near Seattle. There he produces a best-selling guidebook series, a popular public television show, a weekly public radio show, a syndicated travel column, and free travel information available through his travel center and ricksteves.com. Rick Steves' Europe also runs a successful small-group tour program taking 30,000 travelers to Europe annually.

Email Rick at [email protected], or write to him c/o 130 4th Ave N, Edmonds, WA 98020.

Rick's Biography

Short Version (71 words)

Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. He is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a small-group tour program that brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. Rick lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.

Medium Version (203 words)

Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. But above all else, Rick considers himself a teacher. He taught his first travel class at his college campus in the mid-1970s — and now, more than 40 years later, he still measures his success not by dollars earned, but by trips impacted.

Rick is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe, a travel business with a small-group tour program that brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. Each year, the company contributes to a portfolio of climate-smart nonprofits, essentially paying a self-imposed carbon tax. He also supports and works closely with many advocacy groups and has been instrumental in the legalization of marijuana in states across the country.

Rick spends about four months a year in Europe, researching guidebooks, fine-tuning his tour program, filming his TV show, and making new discoveries for travelers. To recharge, he plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.

Long version (355 words)

Rick Steves is a popular public television host, a best-selling guidebook author, and an outspoken activist who encourages Americans to broaden their perspectives through travel. But above all else, Rick considers himself a teacher. He taught his first travel class at his college campus in the mid-1970s — and now, more than 40 years later, he still measures his success not by dollars earned, but by trips impacted.

Widely considered America's leading authority on European travel, Rick produces a best-selling series of guidebooks and is the author of Travel as a Political Act. He is dedicated to providing all Americans with access to travel information and has made extensive resources available for free on the Rick Steves' Europe website; via the Rick Steves Audio Europe™ app; and in Rick Steves Classroom Europe™, a searchable database of short, teachable video clips.

A longtime supporter of public broadcasting, Rick produces and hosts public television and radio shows that air across the nation.

Rick is the founder and owner of Rick Steves' Europe (RSE), a travel business with more than 100 full-time employees. RSE operates a successful small-group tour program which brings more than 30,000 people to Europe annually. The company contributes annually to a portfolio of climate-smart nonprofits, essentially paying a self-imposed carbon tax.

Rick supports and works closely with many advocacy groups and organizations whose missions fit his own, including Bread for the World. He is Chair of the Board of NORML and has been instrumental in the legalization of marijuana in states across the country. He has also provided $9 million in funding to build two neighborhood centers in his community and donated a 24-unit apartment building for homeless women and their children to his local YWCA.

Rick spends about four months a year in Europe, researching guidebooks, fine-tuning his tour program, filming his TV show, and making new discoveries for travelers. To recharge, he plays piano, relaxes at his family cabin in the Cascade mountains, and spends time with his son Andy and daughter Jackie. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.

In the News

Get to Know Rick

New York Times Magazine

Rick Steves Wants to Save the World, One Vacation at a Time

The New Yorker

Rick Steves Says Hold on to Your Travel Dreams

World Café

Rick Steves Takes Us on a Musical Tour of Europe

Rick's Business

How I Built This

Rick Steves' Europe: Rick Steves

KING-5

Travel Expert Rick Steves Keeps Edmonds Staff Employed With Assignments to Help the Community

TEDxSeattle

Leading a Business on the Ethical High Road for the Long Haul

Travel as a Political Act

The Better Travel Podcast

Rick Steves on Traveling as a Political Act

The Wall Street Journal

Rick Steves's Plan for a Better World: More Travel

NPR

Rick Steves Gets Uncomfortable in 'Travel as a Political Act'

Climate Smart Commitment

CBS News

Travel Company Self-Imposes $1 Million Carbon Tax to Offset Climate Impact

USA Today

Travel Writer Rick Steves Explains Self-Imposed $1M Carbon Tax, Where that Money Is Going

The Seattle Times

In Your Travels and at Home, Channel Climate-Change Anxiety into Action

Drug Policy Reform

CNN

Rick Steves: Pot Is Now Used by Mom and Dad. And Grandma's Rubbing it on Her Elbows

Eugene Weekly

Rick Steves and Weed? The Famous Travel Writer and Speaker Brings a 'European Sensibility' to Advocating for Marijuana Legalization in the U.S.

Rolling Stone

Mr. Steves Goes to Washington – to Talk Drug Policy

Rick Steves Art of Europe

Forbes

New 'Rick Steves' Europe' Series Spotlights Continent's Art and Architecture

The Better Travel Podcast

Rick Steves Wants to Turn You on to European Art

Cincinnati Edition

We Talk with Rick Steves About Exploringt the Art of Europe

Rick During the Pandemic

The New York Times

Rick Steves on the Return of Travel and Why It Matters

Washington Post

Rick Steves Looks to the Future After an 18-Month Hiatus from European Travel

CBS Sunday Morning

European Travel Guide Rick Steves, Stuck at Home