Rick Steves is adamant about hiring guides he personally knows and trusts, and who share his love for Europe and passion for teaching. It's the biggest reason why more than one-third of our tour members are repeat customers. Here are some "raves" about just a few of the fine guides who lead our tours. THIS IS ABOUT FILIPPOS, one of the tour guides in Greece.

"As a part-time actor and director, Filippos is a wonderful storyteller. He makes history come to life, and he shares the present realities of Greek life with compassion and enthusiasm. He is warm and friendly, and a great asset to Rick Steves' Europe!"

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born and raised in Athens. My parents are not Athenians though: They both come from the region of the Peloponnese, the southernmost part of continental Greece.

My background is a bit of a mixed bag. I have a degree in political science, another degree in acting, and two master's degrees, one in history and philosophy and one in theater directing. The latter I obtained in London, a city that became my home for seven years. On a professional level, I have worked in theater, tourism, and in several other professions, to the point where you could easily call me a jack-of-all-trades.

How did you get into guiding?

It all started by accident when I was living in London. At a certain point I was left without work, due to an unexpected cancellation of a theater show I had booked as an actor. This cancellation meant that I needed to find a job as soon as possible, since London is a very expensive city. A good friend of mine, who knew I spoke French, introduced me to a woman who owned a small tourist agency, which was looking for French-speaking people interested in doing transfers of French groups from the London airports to their hotels in central London. One thing led to the other, and pretty soon I started leading tours in London and the rest of the UK in French and gradually in English. After a while, I was leading tours all over the European continent, including in my home country, Greece. And the rest, as they say, is history….

What do you do when you're not leading tours?

I have a theater company based in Athens, and every year during the tourism off-season, I direct plays. I mostly direct classical plays, such as ancient Greek tragedies and Shakespeare. The goal is to discover why these plays have stood the test of time and how the topics they deal with have managed to remain relevant through all these centuries.

Tell us something about yourself that no one would ever guess.

I am an avid collector of vinyl records. So far, I have purchased 5,000 LPs, and my goal is to continue expanding my collection, since music has always been my greatest passion.

Here's what Filippos won't tell you…but his tour members will:

"Filippos will go down as one of my favorite guides. He was the full package: Engaged, organized, charming, and clearly loved sharing all he knew of his country will all of us. His pride in all things Greek and his tremendous knowledge of Greek history and contemporary politics added so much to our enjoyment on the tour. We are thankful we were able to have him as our guide."

— Robert in New York, NY