Two of the most famous travel hosts on TV were Anthony Bourdain and Rick Steves. The two, and their audiences, have commonalities but are very, very different. Which are you?
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Rick Steves
Once a tour guide, Rick Steves focuses on trips to Europe for his Public Television (and public radio) show, Rick Steves Europe. His approach to bringing Europe to his TV show viewers mixes in travel tips with a deep, rich history of the locations he visits. He adds insight to visitors that add depth to their European travel experiences.
What Steves does well is remaining approachable for those who haven’t yet visited Europe, but offering enough depth for seasoned travelers to remain interested. It’s this balance that has made him relevant for decades, now in his 11th season but 20th year of Rick Steves’ Europe. He was also, in many ways, one of the first travel TV personalities before the category added such immense breadth.
Rick Steves has a more classic approach to travel television. His audience has been dedicated through the years and leans academic.
Anthony Bourdain
Before Anthony Bourdain was a Celebrity Chef, the Hell’s Kitchen New York City author penned Kitchen Confidential chronicling the life of a chef at Les Halles where he later became executive chef. His first television show was a Cook’s Tour (now on Hulu) though it wasn’t a mass-market success.
The next step for Anthony Bourdain, No Reservations, turned out to be his breakthrough both for himself and the Food Network. The show focused more on culinary experiences in great travel destinations. The Travel Channel later added “The Layover” with travel guidance for the best 24 hours in major hubs.
This was followed by what can only be described as a travel television triumph for Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown. His first episode on the CNN series was Myanmar, shortly after it reopened. The Emmy Award-winning series featured guests like Christopher Walken, Francis Ford Coppola, and his partner, Italian actress Asia Argento before the show abruptly ended with his death in Stasbourg, France on June 8, 2018. Bourdain battled depression, drug addiction, and issues with his partner’s abuse by Weinstein which peaked near his passing. He left one daughter, Ariane, behind.
Are You More Rick or Anthony?
There’s a theory that travelers fit into one of two categories: Rick or Anthony. Rick Steves is seen to have a more thoughtful, informed, and historic approach to travel, while Bourdain is traveling for experiences both culinary and personal.
“Rick” travelers bristle at the kitsch of Bourdain, spending episodes that feature him in poorly-made movies themed to the region. They also prefer to focus on where they are and why it’s important rather than the food they might eat there. In a simple sense, Rick travelers would spend hours in line for a personally guided tour of the Vatican and would find a cute family-owned Italian restaurant for dinner afterward. Anthony travelers would marvel at St. Peter’s as they duck down a back alley for the best Cacio e Pepe in town and seek an underground club feigning a poor Italian accent because they only allow locals.
Initially, I was certain I was more Anthony than Rick. His approach to Europe feels more like socks with sandals, and asking for ranch or refills on soda – the kind of American tourist I desperately want to avoid. But as I started to watch more Rick Steves, I found myself enjoying the take on places I had visited many times before. Some of the history was a review of things I already knew, and I didn’t love watching the host walk through museums – but I didn’t turn it off either. Then again, Steves is focused on Europe, Bourdain is far more globally concerned.
As I think back to some of Bourdain’s arrogance, I can see how that would be a turn-off. But watching Steves, I saw him sit down at a restaurant with decent-looking food and heard nothing more about it. I want to be able to experience more than sculptures and architecture. In one episode, Steves held hands with three tourists around a column at the Pantheon to demonstrate its size – and that’s just not my style of travel.
Conclusion
Perhaps the world isn’t so gray that it’s either Rick or Anthony, but most travelers I have met have a preference for one over another. As we get ready to re-enter the world after a dark 2020, I am thrilled by the possibility of more travel and seeing the things I have missed so dearly, and visiting new places. Maybe any travel at all right now is the right answer, but I’d ask our readers: What type of traveler are you, Anthony or Rick?
What do you think? Do travel lovers fall into one of these two categories? Where do you find yourself?
Unfortunately, there are some countries that I don’t like a lot of the food but no country that I didn’t like many of the sites.
I also don’t want to be an Anthony because he’s dead. Of course there have been rumors that Rick is happy, I mean….
Kyle, great article and very thought provoking. Never seen a comparison of these two heavyweights. Much to ponder.
I met Rick in southern France about 15 years ago. At the time I thought he was just a buffoonish American with a PBS travel special. He was getting ready to start filming a short segment in the town we were visiting. He was exceptionally friendly and spent about 20 minutes chatting with me. He then asked if he could include some video of me in his shoot. I later watched the episode and I was indeed there for about 5 or 6 seconds walking of some castle stairs. This bloke is a class act.
There is no comparison, Bourdain was an artist who delved deep into the countries, the people and the politics of a place. Rick Steves does not come close to that level of mental stimulation.
Thanks for writing this. It really makes me think about how I travel. I’ve really aged into Rick, he does a great jobs of steering most people toward experiences they will enjoy.
And Rick provided the single best travel advice I’ve ever heard: if you have kids, never spend more than 45 minutes in any museum. That changed my family’s life.
I think Bourdain/s style of travel takes a lot more personal courage – to have confidence in yourself to go off the beaten track, make personal connections with the people and countries visited, and seeking to change part of yourself in the process. (Admittedly, he had a support team that made his trips easier.) A guidebook can’t tell you how to do that. It’s the difference between a journey than a trip. I aspire to Anthony’s style of travel but I don’t always reach those goals.
Bourdain was a master story teller. Steves is the boring college professor who you will learn a lot from if you pay attention.
Bourdain interacted with people with a natural flow that has not been repeated by anyone (Stanley Tucci has potential – his show on Italy for CNN was amazing) Steves shows more of the sites which Bourdain
didn’t care to do.
Bourdain couldn’t care less what others thought of him, Steves watches his p’s & q’s.
And lastly …. Anthony Bourdain tried in vain to teach us (Americans) not to be scared of other people for being different (he hung out with immigrants in the U.S., he traveled to numerous Muslim countries in order to educate us, He wasn’t scared to visit deep Africa and show us the beauty of its people, just a couple of examples) Steves can’t come close to that …
I don’t think you know Rick’s full portfolio of work. His focus is on Europe, but he has also made double-length episodes on Iran and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Also, he recently went to Morocco.
Some fairly reductive “insights” here. Your understanding of either one of these heavyweights is obviously quite limited.
@Daniel Kaattari – you’re going to qualify that hollow and baseless claim. As I said, I’ve always thought I was more Anthony than Rick and as such I’ve seen every episode of Cook’s Tour, No Reservations, The Layover, and Parts Unknown (some series several times.) I’ve also read four of his books.
Perhaps you reject my brevity and with regards to Steves, I’d have you take you at your word. But when you include Bourdain, I’m certain you’re wrong.
What is @derek implying by “rumors that Rick is happy”? If he means what I’m interpreting, that comment should be deleted. Shameful any day, but even more so during Pride Month.
Rick guy all the way!!!
Thank you for the great article Kyle. You’ve inspired some reminiscing of the late Anthony Bourdain and valuing his work. Have also appreciated Rick Steves for his more traditional approach to travel and kind disposition. Was inspired so many times to take chances traveling that I would never have before seeing “No Reservations”…which would watch en route to various destinations, and attempted to replicate his “The Layover” in Singapore itinerary.
Bourdain was really effective in his last few seasons to explore and share the many differences in our country. Watch his 2018 episode “West Virginia: the other side of the story” as it captures, in my view, his ability to care about those he was engaging with, regardless of their perspectives.
Hope you’ll keep this thread going.
Nate Nate…my interpretation of Derek’s comment was about Rick being a champion for the legalization of marijuana.
A.B …all the way ……..
Bourdain makes for good TV but I would never travel that way. I hate the way he portrayed my beloved Chiang Mai. Rick, on the other hand, has delivered solid advice that I happily followed. I give him all the credit for my most memorable trip to Sicily, especially Ortygia.
I took umbrage at the swipe against us socks and sandals folks. Under the right conditions, they’re a fantastic combination: I can walk for miles (with the cushioning) and my feet don’t sweat. A lifesaver in Eastern European summers and I’m not alone.
What I do concur on the western European snob factor on is white socks. Unless under specific circumstances (you’ve got a tennis racquet and you’re either hitting a ball or someone’s head), white socks are so American. I no longer own white socks.
I found that in Eastern Europe, I can blend in because many Eastern Europeans covet an American wardrobe so perhaps I’m some Vlad who managed to go through the goodwill bin during a work-visa to the states. 🙂
Now onto Steves vs Bourdain: They both have their positives although I find Steves amusing since so many of his watchers are globalists yet they fawn over European culture and architecture. Bourdain was unapologetically pretentious which is why I could enjoy him at times. What I didn’t like about Bourdain is he’d hang out with some friend/subject in the country but waste his time expressing his opinion on the local politics and such. Steves gave good general advice about getting around and yeah, I do care about the museums. They are magnificent things worthy of a visit.
Unlike Kyle, I don’t care about hearing how tasty the food is. I don’t have SmelliVision. It’s difficult for travel reviewers to mention specific restaurants because then, they’ll get flooded with tourists and ruined. Bourdain dished the dirt in Kitchen Confidential which I appreciated.
Awful choice. Both of them munched their way around the world, one eating all manner of exotica ( some of it repulsive), the other much plainer fare but equally unsustainable. Fortunately younger generations are starting to shun the whole ‘food thing’, at least as it relates to the impact of culinary choices on the environment, in addition to ethical considerations.
The choice is vaguely like the difference between Kyle and Matthew in respect of food: one is reminiscent of Louis the Fourteenth/ Roman Emperor, all exotic/rare/expensive/pretentious stuff…, the other more basic , in the manner of an ancient gnawing on a slab of meat ( or burger) for sustenance only. Slightly hyperbolic but the point remains. No offence.
How about you just travel, be kind, do you, and forget trying to be “someone else.”
The difference between the two is ball-out factor. Rick Steves is more cost-conscious, and argues that a cheap family-operated B&B is better than a luxury hotel because it immerses you more in the culture. Anthony Bourdain would constantly mention that he flew in on Business Class, stayed at the Four Seasons, and it wouldn’t be out of place for him to go to a Michelin star restaurant with a $300 tasting menu.
The best way to tell which one you relate to is the hotel. People who read blogs like this are more likely to fly in a premium cabin and stay at a chain hotel, which puts them more in the Bourdain camp.
The short answer is, a little bit of both. I appreciate Steves’ focus on history and museums (though I’m not the type to spend hours in line for a private tour of the Vatican – I’ll just go find something else less popular), and his focus on frugality. But I’m also somewhat Bourdain-esque in that I seek out cuisine that’s unique to wherever I’m going (though you’re also not going to find me going to the effort of cultivating the personal connections he does).
Some of both A was very entertaining Rick has too much history and too many PBS ads…
My travel preferences fall somewhere in between, leaning toward Bourdain, but acknowledging the value of both their advice. However, as television entertainment, Anthony was John Coltrane to Rick’s Kenny G.
I tilt more towards Rick.
It’s almost like comparing Martha Stewart and I don’t know, Paula Dean or Rachel Ray.
Rick is “for the whole family”, Anthony is a bit borderline, dirty, cocky and in some occasions plain wrong.
Think I’m a Tucci fan! If you haven’t seen Searching for Italy, and you like both Steves and Bourdain, I recommend watching it! He’s certainly nowhere either of their levels, but he could be after a few years!
I found myself once reading a CNN travel article and loving it, then to see the author was Rick. I appreciate how thorough and complete he is. While in the past I had been nearly repelled by his TV presence I now love his attention to detail and how approachable he seems.
Rick Steves comes off as a 60-year-old virgin. Anthony Bourdain, though dead, keeps it real. Definitely prefer Anthony Bourdain.