One of the high points of any trip is to take in the local art scene.

Hi, I'm Rick Steeves. In Europe, that usually means you'll get close to the icons of Western civilization.

Oh, the French, do they still admire so much this emperor?

Today on travel with Rick Steve's were delving deeper into the art scene in Paris where fine museums and monuments seemed to wait around every corner.

Then we'll consider Ireland where the greatest

works reside on paper or in that wonderful Irish gift of gab.

We love stories and all that survives in fact from prehistory in Ireland are stories the fables the

midst the legends coming up we'll get an Irish view of that country's celebrated

literary scene and to appreciate one of the greatest artists of all time it wouldn't

hurt to start in Florence. Right there you're immersed in Michelangelo's world and

the world that he grew up in. We're enjoying an artistic pilgrimage to Paris, Dublin, and Florence.

It's Travel with Rick Steves.

Guides and Scholars help Europe's treasures come alive in the hour ahead.

Hi, I'm Rick Steeves. We'll experience Michelangelo's Florence

and Ireland's literary legacy in just a bit,

but a good place to start, as always, is Paris.

For me, Paris is the capital of Europe.

If you enjoy sightseeing, you could go there for the rest of your life and never run out of great things to see.

And if you ever did, you could just start seeing the other ones again because you can go to these museums again and again and find yourself swept up by the wonders of Western civilization.

To learn more about navigating the museums of Paris, we're joined today by Elizabeth

Van Hest, who's a guide in Paris and who knows just how to point us in the right direction.

Elizabeth, thanks for joining us.

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