427c Christmas in London, Umbria, France, Norway, Greece, Basque Country
Travel with Rick Steves
Rick Steves
4.5 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 20 December 2025
⏱️ 51 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Christmas is a little different across the pond — where Santas dwell on farms or in the woods, festively decorated boats stand in for sleighs, and fermented trout is a must-try treat. Learn about holiday traditions observed in France, Norway, Greece, London, the Spanish Basque Country, and small-town Italy, as a slate of Rick's guides share their customs and memories of this festive season.
For more information on Travel with Rick Steves - including episode descriptions, program archives and related details - visit www.ricksteves.com.Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | What makes Christmas time special where you live? |
| 0:02.8 | Everybody feels good and nice at Christmas time. |
| 0:05.5 | Maybe the next day it's hell again, but Christmas, it's Christmas. |
| 0:09.3 | It's something else. |
| 0:10.2 | Hi, I'm Rick Steves. |
| 0:11.6 | We'll get you in the spirit of the season in the hour ahead |
| 0:13.7 | as we check in with friends in Europe about the special ways they celebrate the holidays. |
| 0:18.6 | We'll contrast the big city excitement of pre-Christmas London |
| 0:21.5 | with the traditions you'll find in small town, Italy. |
| 0:25.0 | In France, holiday treats include a decadent Yule log cake this time of year. |
| 0:29.5 | It's a rolled cake with chocolate and the cream. |
| 0:32.6 | And trust me, at the end of dinner, you don't have room for this, but you do have to go through it. |
| 0:36.8 | While in Norway... It's not Christmas unless I eat the fermented travel. And we'll learn about the woodsy version of Santa in Spanish Basque Country, but be careful to avoid those elves in Greece. They're not dangerous. They will not wound you or kill you, but if they come into your house, it'll be a mess. |
| 0:57.2 | Celebrate everything. It's Travel with Rick Steves. |
| 1:06.9 | When you mention the 12 days of Christmas in Europe, you start counting on the 25th and keep the celebrations going right up until Epiphany in January. Today on Travel with Rick |
| 1:12.5 | Steve's, we're exploring some of the interesting ways that people in different European |
| 1:16.3 | countries observe the holiday season. There are lots of special foods you get this time of year, |
| 1:22.1 | and how you feel about them might be different if you're spending your Christmas in France, |
| 1:26.6 | in Italy, or in Norway. |
| 1:29.0 | Hi, I'm Rick Steves. In just a bit, we'll hear about some really distinctive holiday traditions |
| 1:34.1 | that come with the season in Greece. We'll also hear how a backwoods version of Santa got drafted |
| 1:39.6 | a few years ago to bring gifts to the good children in Spain's best country on Christmas Eve. |
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