Travel Podcasts, Discovered
“Anthony Bourdain meets Step Brothers”—said some loser on Reddit. Brandon and Sean somehow became Europe travel experts and now spend each episode arguing about the best places to go, what to eat, and how not to look like a tourist. Expect weird history rabbit holes, unfiltered advice, and interviews with chefs, guides, and fellow travelers. It’s part trip-planning, part comedy, part therapy, brought to you by the travel pros at The Tour Guy.
44 most recent episodes displayed below
Visit website →When most people think about the Persian Empire, they picture 300, Xerxes, and arrows blotting out the sun. But the real story is far more interesting and far more important.
Tours Mentioned in This Episode
• Louvre Museum Tour with Skip the Line E
Napoleon Bonaparte rose from an outsider with no power to the most feared leader in Europe, and his downfall reshaped the modern world.
Tours mentioned:
The Best Versailles Tours & Experiences
Incredible Louvre Experiences & Tours
See Paris with
Learn about our tours and experiences: https://thetourguy.com/
Tours Mentioned:
See Rome in a Day: https://thetourguy.com/tours/rome/rome-in-a-day-tour
Explore Pompeii, Positano, & the Amalfi Coast: https://thetourguy.com/tours/rome/rome-to-pompei
Why do we spend thousands of dollars a year watering, fertilizing, and obsessing over grass that serves no real purpose?
The Best Versailles Tours: https://thetourguy.com/tours/versailles-tours
Incredible Tours of London: https://thetourguy.com/tou
The real story of Santa Claus is stranger than any Christmas movie.
Before he became a jolly gift giver in a red suit, he was a Turkish bishop, a Dutch horse rider, an elf sized chimney climber, and eventually a full American marketing icon. This epi
Grab our London Guidebook here:🔔 London Guidebook, Top things to see
The BEST London Tours mentioned in the show:🔔 Tower of London, Legends and Lore Tour🔔 Westminster Abbey and Changing of the Guard🔔 Windsor Castle & Stonehenge Tours
🔔 London in a
Tours & guidebook mentioned:
🔔 Venice Guidebook: Top things to see & more
🔔 Best Venice Tours
🔔 Venice in a Day with Gondola Ride!!
🔔 St. Mark's Basilica Tours
🔔 Incredible Murano & Burano Tours
🔔 Rome in a Day Tour
🔔 Tuscany day trip form
For more details on all the stops mentioned, bookmark out guidebook article: Paris, France: the City of Lights
Tours Mentioned:
• Versailles Palace Tour
• Paris in a Day
• Louvre Skip-the-Line Guided Tour
• Eiffel Tower Tour with Champagne and Sein
Rome is one of the world’s greatest cities to visit, but knowing what’s actually worth your time can make or break your trip.
Bookmark the BEST guide to Rome here
Tours mentioned:
• Rome in a Day Tour
• The BEST Vatican Tours
• Colosseum Undergr
Sean and Brandon answer the internet’s most-asked questions about traveling Europe, from when to book to what’s a total myth. For more details & info about traveling to Europe, bookmark our guide: https://thetourguy.com/travel-blog/europe/europe-trav
Forget dry history books. The most gripping tales of the past involve the people who refused to leave.....
They cut off her head for killing her father but he had already killed her childhood. From Beatrice Cenci’s haunting in Rome to Anne Boleyn’s
Before tabloids or true crime podcasts, there were emperors, kings, and popes whose egos rewrote history—and whose insanity shaped it.
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 Legend & Lore: Tower of London Tours
👉 Versailles Day trip from
Hidden Fortresses, Stolen Masterpieces, and Ghostly Legends
Before it became the world’s most visited museum, the Louvre was a fortress, a palace, and if legends are true, home to a murderous ghost in red!
👉 For all show notes & recommendation
How the Eternal City Fell to the Barbarians
Rome was supposed to last forever. For 800 years, no enemy breached her walls—until 410 A.D., when the Visigoths stormed the Eternal City and shattered the myth of Roman invincibility.
👉 For all show
The Locksmith King Who Lost His Head
Before revolutions toppled monarchies, Louis XVI was the last absolute ruler of France—more interested in hunting and tinkering with locks than governing. His indecision, debt, and disastrous choices helped spark
The Sun King, Megalomaniac, and Versailles Builder
Before Napoleon or Marie Antoinette, there was Louis XIV, the Sun King, the longest-reigning monarch in European history, who turned France into a cultural powerhouse while bankrupting it with his o
Genius, Bastard, Tinkerer
Before Elon Musk, before Steve Jobs there was Leonardo da Vinci. Painter, engineer, dissector of corpses, and full-time procrastinator who dreamed up flying machines centuries before the Wright brothers.
👉 For all show
How One Family Shaped the Renaissance
Who were the Medici? The Medici family was the most powerful dynasty of Renaissance Florence—wealthy bankers, shrewd politicians, and legendary patrons of the arts. Their story is the history of Florence itself:
Before Napoleon, there was Julius Caesar—Rome’s most ambitious leader, part brilliant politician, part ruthless general, and part gambler who reshaped history while making just as many enemies as allies.
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
The Crusades: Holy Wars, Greed, and Medieval Chaos
Before Game of Thrones, before Indiana Jones, there were the Crusades—two centuries of brutal wars where religion, money, and power collided in the bloodiest road trip in history.
👉 For all show
Michelangelo: Sculptor, Rebel, Reluctant Painter
Before Banksy or Basquiat, there was Michelangelo—part artist, part engineer, part stubborn workaholic who changed the course of art history while insulting half his peers.
👉 For all show notes &
The ultimate guide to planning a ski trip in Europe without overpaying, overpacking, or overdressing, plus how to actually enjoy après ski like a local.
👉 For all show notes & extras: https://thetourguy.com/travel-blog/europe/best-winter-resort
What Was Life Like in Ancient Rome?
Before apps, cars, or central heating, Romans built cities, ran businesses, and complained about taxes.
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 Book the best Rome tours
So what was daily life actuall
Who was Caravaggio? A Baroque painter, a violent fugitive, and the original master of darkness.
👉 For all show notes & extras
Before Banksy. Before Basquiat. There was Caravaggio—a violent, brilliant, deeply troubled painter who changed the cour
Colosseum: Gladiator Myths, Stone Blocks, and Rome’s Biggest PR Move
👉 For all show notes & extras
👉 Book a Colosseum tour (underground and arena access available)
In this episode of French People Arr. Rude, Sean and Brandon take a chisel to
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 Book the best Rome tours
Rome might be eternal, but it didn’t start pretty. In this episode, Sean and Brandon walk through the real timeline of ancient Rome—from the myth of a wolf-raised twin to the b
Vatican City: Papal Power, Secret Walls, and Why It’s a Country
👉 For all show notes & recommendations👉 To book the best Vatican tours👉 For tips on how to visit the Vatican without waiting in line
What does it mean for a religion to run
New Pope, New Roads, New Problems
👉 For all show notes & recommendations👉 To book the best Vatican & Rome tours
In this episode, we break down all the chaos and changes happening in Rome and what they mean for travelers heading to Europe in
👉 For all show notes & recommendations. 👉 To book the best tours in Europe
In this episode, we tackle the major changes affecting American travelers heading to Europe in 2025, from new visa waiver programs to city entry fees. Travel expert Angel Cas
Numbers of Efficiency, Time, Soft to Hard, Distance between us
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Italy Tours
Sean and Brandon are back with part two of the ultimate Italy trip planner. From structured 7- to 10-d
Numbers of Efficiency, Time, Soft to Hard, Distance between us
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Italy Tours
In this episode, Sean and Brandon bite into the big one—Italy as a whole. With sarcasm as thick as a Roman
Tuscany: Land Scam, Vertical Feud, Buried Pride, Real Excalibur
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Tuscany tours
👉To book the best agriturismo stays in Tuscany
In this episode, Sean and Brandon uncork their deep love
Amalfi Coast: Soft Acid, Silent Tower, Cotton Word, Drowned Glory
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Amalfi Coast tours
Welcome to the Amalfi Coast! Where ancient emperors were psychopaths, mozzarella explodes in your
Naples: French Disease, 3 times blood, Suspended Coffee, Queen’s Tribute
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Naples tours
In this episode, we head to the heart of southern Italy—Naples—with our hilarious and insightful guest,
Puglia: Tax Evasion, Spider Bite, Santa Claus, Protected Bread
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 Where to stay in Puglia
This week, Sean and Brandon head deep into the stiletto heel of Italy — Puglia — to uncover why this under-the-radar
Inside the Vatican After the Death of a Pope: Rituals, History, and What Comes Next
📍 Rome is at the center of the world’s attention once again.
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book a Vatican tour
In this special episode of French
London: Hot Air, Soccer, Romans, Fish-&-Chips-Fighting
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best London tours
Sean and Brandon sit down with travel journalist Angel Castellanos to unpack London in all its messy glory—from the
Best Beaches in Italy: Banana Hammocks, alle Vongole, Americano, Cocco Bello
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Sicily tours
👉To book the best Amalfi Coast tours
In this episode, we dig into the real best beaches in Italy—
Sicily: One-way?, Homer, dialects within dialects, talking heads
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Sicily tours
Planning a trip to Sicily? This episode is your no-fluff, straight-talking guide to seeing the best of th
Paris Uncovered: Stolen Overcoats, Milk, Window Shopping, Medieval Tinder
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Paris tours
Planning your first trip to Paris? This episode is your ultimate guide to doing it right. We’ll he
Florence: Bonfires, Billionaire Bellhops, and Boredom
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Florence tours
Listen until the last minute—some of the best Florence recommendations are packed into the final 10 minutes of the
German Vandals, Fendi, Overcooked Pasta, and Bloody Sandals
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Rome tours
In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about visiting Rome—from navigating the chaotic stree
Rome: German Vandals, Fendi, Overcooked Pasta, and Bloody Sandals
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Rome tours
Think you know Rome? Think again. In this episode, we dive deep into the truths, myths, and wild history of
Venice: Dead Romans, Black Teeth, Smoke, and Mirrors
👉 For all show notes & recommendations
👉 To book the best Venice tours
In this episode, we’re diving deep into Venice’s hidden gems, wild history, and best eats—from avoiding overpriced tou