I want to talk about avoiding crowds because, you know, crowds are a huge concern these days. Europe is crowded. When you go to Europe, you're going to find the most famous sights during the most crowded times are almost unworkable. So we have to decide how are we going to minimize those crowds?

Remember, there's two IQs of European travelers, those who wait in lines and those who don't wait in lines.

This is the Pantheon, in the middle of the day. I stay about a block away in my favorite hotel in Rome for the Pantheon and man oh man, it’s mobbed in the middle of the day. But I go in the morning when I'm all alone there. And I go in the evening and I'm all alone there.

So we need to not go to the famous places when they're so crowded. It's kind of elementary. When I look at this slide here, it almost has a soundtrack to it. I can hear the guard blowing his whistle at me, saying, "Mister , it's time to go.” That's because I'm there during the last two hours of the day on the Acropolis in Athens.

If you're in Athens and there's three ships in port, there's 3,000 tourists on each ship. Every one of them, it seems like, wants to go to the Acropolis. That's crowded. Why would you go in the middle of the day?

I like to go when everybody else is leaving. We can do that. If we're not on that cruise ship, we can do that. So find a way to enjoy the sights during a time when they're not overwhelmed with tourists.

These people are waiting in line not to get into the Colosseum, but to buy a ticket to get into the Colosseum. You see?

And there are ways to get tickets that don't involve waiting in that line. That's a good tip right there.

Think of the Eiffel Tower. Everybody wants to go to the Eiffel Tower. Last time I went, I used my guidebook. I made a reservation. When I got there, there's a long line, but I had a reservation. So, you know, I went through this long. I was kind of in a bad mood. I had to walk through all these empty stanchions.

And I got to here and they said, “Oh, you have a reservation. Come on to the front.”
They put me on the elevator. I went up, had a great time, came down before that last person in line got to the front. Before I left, I went through this whole line. I looked at each person in this line one at a time, and by the time I got to the end of this line, it occurred to me not one of them had the Rick Steves’ Paris guidebook.

It's amazing. It's amazing how many people just, they don't really care about the lines. There are a lot of lines. Make reservations. It's not something I enjoy doing. But, you know, the more I do my research, the more I realize you've got to be in... You've got to be aware of what is requiring a reservation in each city.

When I update a chapter for my guidebooks, it’s almost like we need a sidebar on the first page of every city that says what you need to have a reservation for.

Going to Amsterdam, if you're a typical tourist, you need a reservation for Van Gogh, for Anne Frank, for the Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum, and for a fancy, trendy restaurant. Okay, there's four things you need a reservation for, for Amsterdam. That means everything else, you're wide open, you see.

But just don't stumble into Rome hoping to see the Vatican Museum and the Colosseum without a reservation in advance, or you're going to be very frustrated. Get online, make that reservation and you read your guidebook and find out what needs a reservation in the city you're going to.

This is a serious issue these days, and the information is there.

Remember, one way to get around the lines is to buy a city sightseeing pass, because there you already have your ticket. And with this you can walk right up to the turnstile, and you'll be in. So that can be a really good advantage. A pass like this pays for itself in a few admissions, but the added advantage is you're saving a lot of time by not waiting in lines.

With my guide mentoring tour, we always go in the winter, and when I'm with that group in the winter, it occurs to me, why aren't more people traveling in the winter? It's a beautiful time to go. You just got to dress for the cold weather.

In Europe, they say there's no bad weather, just inappropriate clothing. The small towns and the countryside closes down in the winter. But if you're going to do mostly big cities and city sightseeing, winter is a great time to go. It really is better and better.

And remember, most of Europe never has any tourist crowds at all anyways. So, why not spend some time where there are no tourists and then be an extrovert?

It's people that carbonates the travel experience. It's the extroverts that meet more people. That's what we need to aspire to. If you see four cute guys sitting on a bench, ask them to scoot over. Nothing else is going on. I was doing this ever since I was a kid and still doing it now. And it works. It really does work.

And I want to remind you, the most grueling thing about European travel, especially if you're an older traveler, is the heat and the crowds of summer. Okay? We really need to respect the heat and the crowds of summer.

Go shoulder season, do what you can to avoid those crowds. But I'm so inspired by the people I meet in Europe traveling this way. Many people whose grandchildren said you shouldn't be doing this. They were going over there without a lot of reservations, without a lot of experience, without a lot of language skills, without a lot of money, and having a great time.