American Stacy Gibboni fell in love with Venice (and with a Venetian chef), and now guides visitors around her adopted home. She gives advice for avoiding the crowds while enjoying a city like no other.

Print out this handy companion map and bring it along as you follow the tour. Each stop along the tour is marked on the map. To view and print this PDF map, you'll need Acrobat Reader.

Italian tour guide Francesca Caruso and author Gene Openshaw take us on a walk through the romantic alleys and floodlit monuments of nighttime Rome.

Italian tour guide Francesca Caruso and author Gene Openshaw explain the vital role that water plays in Rome's history, culture, and art.

Two tour guides to Rome join Rick to discuss the history and artistry of the greatest church in Christendom.

Art history experts William Wallace and Gene Openshaw join Rick to discuss the early influences Michelangelo had in his hometown of Florence, and what you can still see of it today.

The Indian-born English author, having lived under the Ayatollah's death threat since 1989, is uniquely qualified to write about culture clash, as he does in his novel about early European contact with 16th-century Mughal India.

Travel blogger Angela Nickerson shares the highlights from researching her book, "A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome."

In this excerpt from Rick's travel memoir, "Postcards from Europe," he explores the gritty Trastevere neighborhood, sublime St. Peter's, historic Forum, and enjoys an evening stroll with Italian friends.

Two Roman tour guides explain how to find the magic in Rome's backstreets connecting ancient history and today's modern city.