Usually, you'll find Rick Steves touring the great destinations of Europe. Now you can join him on a different journey: a Symphonic Journey. Just as travel broadens one's perspectives, so can music. In this hour-long concert special — Rick Steves' Europe: A Symphonic Journey — Rick teams up with the Cascade Symphony Orchestra in Edmonds, Washington on a musical tour that begins in the USA, then touches down in seven different European countries. People of every nation have music that quickens their heartbeat and sets their patriotic spirit soaring. For each stop, Rick paints the 19th-century cultural context in words, and then the orchestra plays stirring anthems — Strauss in Austria, Wagner in Germany, Smetana in the Czech Republic, Verdi in Italy, Elgar in England, Grieg in Norway, Berlioz in France — each accompanied by glorious video footage. While each piece celebrates a particular nationality, the finale, Beethoven's Ode to Joy (Europe's official national anthem), celebrates a continent whose motto is "united in diversity." This one-hour special debuts on public television in January 2013.

Rick Steves offers practical advice on how to have a fun and affordable trip to Europe. Sites include Germany, Italy, the Swiss Alps, Paris and London.

Rick Steves offers practical advice on how to have a fun and affordable trip to Europe. Sites include Germany, Italy, the Swiss Alps, Paris and London.

Rick Steves offers practical advice on how to have a fun and affordable trip to Europe. Sites include Germany, Italy, the Swiss Alps, Paris and London.

The Venice, Italy, tour concludes. Included: art treasures; hidden wonders.

Part 1 of 2. A tour of Venice, Italy, highlights the masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance. Also: cruising the Grand Canal.

Exploring England's Lake District, which is home to lakes, waterfalls, a slate mine and stony summits. Also: Hadrian's Wall; the Durham Cathedral.

A tour of London stops at Westminster Abbey, the British Library and Winston Churchill's secret WWII headquarters. Also: tripling the calories of an English scone at teatime; taking in the evening scene in Soho.

Conclusion. In Paris, stops include the Cluny Museum; Sainte-Chapelle; and Père Lachaise Cemetery. Also: the Parisian café scene.

Part 1 of a two-part tour of Paris includes a Seine River cruise and visits to Napoleon's tomb and the Louvre. Also: Bastille Day celebrations are highlighted.

The visit to Florence, Italy, concludes with a look at the city's artistic treasures. Also: side-trips to the cities of Pisa and Lucca.

Part 1 of 2 in Florence, Italy, highlights Michelangelo's David, Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise.

In this third of three shows on the Eternal City, we'll explore this grand metropolis — so rich in art and culture — on a more intimate scale, delving into its back lanes and unheralded corners. Venturing through the crusty Trastevere district, visiting the historic Jewish Ghetto, and enjoying art treasures in a string of rarely visited churches, we uncover charms of hidden Rome that compete with its marquee sights.

This second of three shows on Rome reveals a city busy with life and bursting with Baroque. We'll ramble through the venerable heart of Rome, admire breathtaking Bernini statues, ponder sunbeams inside St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, and mix and mingle with the Romans during an early-evening stroll. Following an exquisite Roman dinner, we'll join locals after dark, lacing together the Eternal City's most romantic nightspots.

Part one of three shows on the Eternal City, this episode resurrects the rubble and brings back to life the capital of the ancient world. Focusing on the grandeur of classical Rome, we'll admire the groundbreaking architecture at the Colosseum and Pantheon, and the empire's exquisite art at the Capitoline Museum. Then we'll head out on a bike ride along the ancient Appian Way and take in nearby marvels of Roman engineering.

In this hour-long travel special, we explore the "Eternal City" of Rome, a grand and ancient metropolis rich with exquisite art, vibrant culture, and centuries of history. We trace the rise and fall of classical Rome, meander through the heart of Bernini's Baroque Rome, and make a pilgrimage to the Vatican. Then, we follow Rick as he uncovers the charms of hidden neighborhoods filled with character and energy, enjoys a Roman feast, and mixes and mingles with the locals during an early-evening stroll through the city's romantic nightspots.