Author: Rick Steves, Special to USA TODAY

With pilgrimages, the point is to go beyond tourism and connect more deeply with a place, a culture or a faith. Rick Steves shares several favorites.

These days, enjoying Italy requires some advance planning so you don’t end up spending half your trip waiting in lines. Here’s what you need to know.

It will be some time before visitors can once again experience Pairs’ Notre Dame; however, France has plenty of other spectacular Gothic cathedrals.

Be skeptical of fake officials, selfie-taking tourists behind you at the ATM and Airbnb hosts demanding wire transfers, warns Rick Steves.

Paris’ Père Lachaise – final resting place of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde – isn’t Europe’s only must-see cemetery. Rick Steves suggest a few more.

Florence offers a wide array of foodie activities and Tuscan delicacies beyond the usual Italian pizza and pasta fare –  be brave and dive in.

Rick Steves shares a few DIY tips from his own European cruise experiences: Disembark early and return late, try private tours and eat off the ship.

From France’s Versailles to Portugal’s Pena Palace, the best royal retreats provide insight into the dynamic, often quirky monarchs who built them.

Public transportation in Europe is great but sometimes, a rental car is the best – and, sometimes, only – way to get off the beaten path.