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Rick Steves' Europe
Rick Steves Art of the Renaissance
Around 1400, Europe rediscovered the aesthetics of ancient Greece and Rome. This rebirth of classical culture showed itself in the statues, paintings, and architecture of Florence, then spread to Spain, Holland, Germany, and beyond. The Renaissance—from art-loving popes to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa and Michelangelo’s David—celebrated humanism and revolutionized how we think about our world.
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Hyde Park; British Museum; trendy East End; afternoon tea; revitalized industrial zones.
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Buckingham Palace; Parliament and Churchill War Rooms; Portrait Gallery; Tower of London.
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Bosphorus cruise; Grand Bazaar; Golden Horn; Whirling Dervishes; Taksim Square.
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The Hippodrome; a Turkish bath; Blue Mosque; Hagia Sophia; Spice Market; Topkapı Palace.
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Highlights of Paris: Eiffel Tower; Seine cruise; neighborhood markets, a nighttime joyride.
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Rivers and canals of France’s Burgundy region; gourmet meals; fine wine, natural beauty.
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Seductive Venice; cultured Florence; charming hill towns; eternal Rome; Naples; Sicily.
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Warsaw's heavy history and lively bustle; red-brick Toruń; Malbork Castle; maritime Gdańsk.
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Kraków's grand square, Wawel Castle, communist-era Nowa Huta; sobering Auschwitz-Birkenau.
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The ultimate road trip; Lake Mývatn; Eastfjords; lagoons and waterfalls; Westman Islands.
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The vibrant capital; Blue Lagoon; Golden Circle's majestic nature; Snæfellsnes Peninsula.
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The turbulent century and its rule-breaking art—Picasso, Surrealism and edgy architecture.