“Be out early, be out late,” Rick Steves told T+L.
“Go to the less-famous places, and treat them like the famous places.”
Rick Steves wants you to break away from the over-hyped sites when you travel.
Courtesy of Rick Steves' Europe
“You find that everybody wants to go to the same places more than ever,” he said.
Avoid Herd Mentality
There is no off-seasonwhen it comes to the most popular sites, Steves said.
“The most grueling thing about travel is the heat and the crowds of summer,” he said.
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“Are you a traveler that’s always dealing with lines and mob scenes?”
“It’s not the mark of a good traveler that follows that crowd.
And it’s certainly not a way to enjoy Europe.”
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“We talk about getting herd immunity.
We’ve already got herd mentality, and in your travels, that’s not a good thing.”
Indulge in Local Favorites
Travelers will always need to make anadvance reservationfor certain museums and sites.
“There’s a curious sort of affluence in Europe right now,” he said.
“A lot of people are eager to get out, and a lot of restaurants are just jampacked.
And it doesn’t mean they’re tourist traps at all.
It just means they’re good.”
“Everybody goes to Edinburgh; a second city would be Glasgow,” he said.
“Everybody goes to Dublin, why not Belfast?
Everybody goes to Bath, why not Bristol?
Everybody goes to Paris, why not Marseille?
Everybody goes to Lisbon, why not Porto?”
“I want peak season, I want the good weather,” he said.
“I want the crowds in Ireland and Britain and Scandinavia, because that enlivens it.”
When it comes to peak summer travel, applying some smart fundamentals is key to an enjoyable trip.
“Be out early, be out late,” Steves said.
“Go to the less-famous places, and treat them like the famous places.”
