Rick Steves Warns Travelers In Europe To Avoid This Common Tourist Trap And Save Money

European tourism hit new highs in 2024. Travelers spent over 3 billion nights in hotels and rentals across the EU—a 2.2% jump from the year before, according to Eurostat. People are crowding into old cities and famous landmarks, chasing unique experiences and a taste of Europe's past. UN Tourism reported 747 million arrivals in Europe in 2024. With crowds like that, travelers really need to watch where they spend their money, especially if something seems too good to be true. All these visitors mean more businesses are throwing up quick cash grabs – most of them care way more about making money than actually educating anyone.

Torture museums are a good example — they're everywhere now in tourist-heavy areas. Because of this, Rick Steves, the trusted European travel expert, doesn't hold back when talking about these places. He calls them tourist traps that waste your money, pointing out that most are just clever marketing around fake or mass-produced displays, dressed up to look authentic.

A lot of torture museums in Europe are pretty underwhelming. You walk into dimly lit rooms filled with cheap props and over-the-top displays that are more about shock than real history. Take Prague's Museum of Torture — on TripAdvisor in 2024, it only managed a 3.0 rating from 200+ reviews. Visitors kept saying it was short, had no real atmosphere, and didn't deliver on content or presentation. Amsterdam's Torture Museum did even worse with a 2.5 rating from 700+ reviews. Visitors complained about the small number of exhibits and the lack of real information.

Many devices now displayed in torture museums were not products of the medieval era but were actually conceived or assembled in the 19th century. According to research published by Medievalists.net, the first known references to the iron maiden appeared during the Victorian period, when collectors and museum operators created or modified objects to satisfy public fascination with macabre history and Gothic spectacle. Visitors today often encounter replicas or fabrications rather than genuine instruments of medieval punishment. With so many drawbacks, skipping these spots could help travelers avoid major money mistakes on their trip.

If you want real European history and don't want to waste money as a traveler, skip the gimmicks and stick to the genuine sites and museums. Rick Steves pointed out a few tourist attractions that are actually worth it — like a gondola ride in Venice or a nighttime taxi tour in Paris. Both give you something memorable and tie you right into the city's history.

Freetour's 2024 guide highlights the classics: the Colosseum in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens, and Stonehenge in England. These places deliver real history, not just flashy displays. You get expert-led tours, solid educational info, and exhibits that actually dig into the past. Depending on where you go and the time of year, you might find free entry or need to buy a ticket for a guided tour. According to Wanted in Rome, the Colosseum alone drew over 12 million visitors in 2023 and gives a real look at ancient Roman engineering.

Museums like the Louvre in Paris, the Vatican Museums, and Berlin's Museum Island are packed with history. The Louvre has more than 35,000 works from across the ages. The Vatican Museums and Museum Island do a great job connecting their artifacts to bigger stories, and anyone can visit with a regular ticket.