Culture
Show Me The World: TV’s 14 Greatest Globetrotters
If hopping on a plane isn’t an option, then armchair travel it is. With their wit, intelligence and electric personalities, these TV travel presenters bring the world to you
One of the great things television shows can give us is a glimpse at parts of the world we’ve never seen with our own eyes. From the comfort of our living room, we can travel thousands of miles in a matter of minutes – and be inspired by the places we see. The people who take us there can also spark a lifelong love for exploration, whether it’s through food, culture, nature or simply the joy of experiencing something new. Here are our favourite travel documentarians who opened up our screens, as well as our minds.
David Attenborough
A true icon of travel TV, it’s no exaggeration to say that much of what many of us know about the natural world can be attributed to Sir David Attenborough’s work. Travelling across the globe to chronicle fascinating plants and animals in the world’s wildest spaces, he first began his career as a wildlife documentarian in the 1950s, and has since been seen and heard by billions around the world, particularly with his hit shows Life, Planet Earth and Blue Planet. His influence on our knowledge of the natural world and the most remote parts of our planet cannot be underestimated.
Michael Palin
Coming from the unusual background of comedy, thanks to his work with Monty Python, Palin became one of the first names in TV travel when his series Around The World in 80 Days debuted in 1989. His gentle, amiable nature and genuine curiosity about the world around him has led to 11 epic documentaries that will spark the wanderlust in anyone. With his most recent series, Michael Palin in Nigeria, broadcasting this year as he enters his 80s, Palin has truly devoted his life to discovering the world.
Anthony Bourdain
Food and travel make for great television, and few have done it better than Anthony Bourdain. The American chef and journalist became famous for his globetrotting adventures, showing how the best food in many cultures wasn’t found in expensive restaurants, but rather on obscure street corners where the cooks treat guests like family. With his sardonic, rebellious nature, he took viewers by the hand and showed them a different side to every country he visited. His sudden passing in 2018 saddened fans across the globe, who poured out their gratitude to him for his contributions to their knowledge of the world.
Albert Lin
Travel can reveal not only what life is like right now, but also how it was long ago. Take Albert Lin, for instance: a scientist at the University of California, Lin uses innovative technology to uncover some expected locations, and has hosted a number of TV shows in which he travels across the world in search of hidden treasures. In addition to exploring the tomb of Genghis Khan and unearthing Mayan treasures, his show Lost Cities with Albert Lin uses cutting-edge gadgets to scan and discover previously unseen cities hidden – literally – beneath both remote areas and established urban areas. The use of futuristic technology to better understand the past is a unique angle that makes every one of Lin’s quests unmissable.
Phil Rosenthal
Phil Rosenthal is a television producer, best known as the creator of Everybody Loves Raymond. His bubbly, enthusiastic personality eventually led him to become the most unlikely travel presenter with his series, Somebody Feed Phil, where he would explore different countries trying out the best of their cuisines. Watching one of his shows is like spending time with a friend, reminding us that the best part of travelling can often be the company we keep.
Joanna Lumley
Few performers have enjoyed as varied and successful a career as Joanna Lumley. After decades of success as an actress in shows such as Absolutely Fabulous and films like The Wolf of Wall Street, Lumley began making travel documentaries in which she embarked on epic journeys across the globe. From storied destinations, including Japan and the Nile River, to more adventurous quests – like crossing three continents in search of the biblical Noah’s Ark – her typically British demeanour and calm approach to life make her the perfect travel companion.
Bear Grylls
Can wilderness survival be associated with improved mental health? It can if you’re Bear Grylls. An icon of adventure travel, Grylls is known for journeying to the most remote and dangerous parts of the world, teaching viewers how to survive in unforgiving conditions – but also to reveal how testing one’s physical limits can improve one’s attitude on life. This is most evident in his show Running Wild with Bear Grylls, where the former SAS trooper takes celebrities like Zac Efron, Michael B Jordan and former US President Barack Obama on daring expeditions, using difficult moments from their past to demonstrate that they can overcome anything with enough self-belief. Few presenters show the bond between human and nature quite like Grylls.
David Farrier
Where most people seek beauty in travel, there is another side to exploration that many don’t consider. The idea of ‘dark tourism’ refers to the idea of visiting a place to investigate and interact with its morbid or sinister history, particularly ones associated with grief. A New Zealand documentarian, David Farrier took that practice literally in his series Dark Tourist, visiting sites associated with serial killers in America, large-scale tragedies in Japan, and the violent drug trade in Colombia. Farrier’s work is a reminder that travel is an exploration of the world in all its many facets, from the uplifting to the downright disturbing. While some of Dark Tourist’s locations may not feature on your own bucket list, his work is about the value of learning from all kinds of places, and from the past.
David Chang
Michelin-star chef David Chang incorporates a number of cultural influences in his cooking, embracing his Korean heritage as well as his American upbringing. It makes sense, then, that many of the shows he has hosted have featured him travelling to different countries to see how cooking connects with culture. One of the best of these is Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner, where he meets celebrities such as Kate McKinnon and Seth Rogen in far-flung locations to talk about their love of travel. Bubbling with enthusiasm, Chang brings infectious energy to your televisual journey.
Karl Pilkington
Karl Pilkington is probably the only traveller on this list who actually dislikes travelling! A producer on comedian Ricky Gervais’ radio show, Pilkington was tasked with travelling around the world from 2010-2012 for the show An Idiot Abroad, in which he brought his own eccentric viewpoint to various scenarios. Moments such as describing the Great Pyramids as “a massive game of Jenga that has got out of hand” bring humour to the exploration, and even if he isn’t the most willing of participants, his comments offer a new perspective that runs counter to the usual wide-eyed sort of traveller. In short, he shows that one can be positively affected by travel, even if they’re not particularly enjoying it!
Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman
Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor and his best friend Charley Boorman love riding motorcycles, and decided in the mid-2000s to travel from London to New York in Long Way Round – by motorcycle in all but a few cases. The series has an irresistible road trip feel, featuring the kinds of interactions one can only get by undertaking an epic – and somewhat reckless – journey. The show was such a success that it made travel stars of the duo, repeating similar feats in 2007’s Long Way Down and 2020’s Long Way Up. Boorman has undertaken a handful of solo trips in documentaries, but it’s the camaraderie between these lifelong friends that makes for the best viewing.
Bruce Parry
A former British Royal Marine, Bruce Parry has gained acclaim for his exploration of some of the world’s least-explored regions. As well as trekking across Greenland and the Amazon, Parry created the series Tribe, which saw him live among various indigenous communities across the globe, learning their philosophies, customs and ways of life. Participating as part of the tribe, Parry’s work underlines the importance of respecting the people and places we visit, rather than imposing ourselves on those who host us. His curiosity also portrays the best quality a traveller can have: the ability to look at the world with a sense of wonder.
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May
Three grumpy middle-aged men made a name for themselves with their love of cars, but as the presenters of Top Gear and later The Grand Tour, the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May became just as well-known for their daring journeys around the world. Whether it’s driving across the North Pole in a car, riding motorcycles through Vietnam, or searching the globe for the stretch of road described as “driver’s heaven”, the three men inject wit into their travels while introducing viewers to the language of car enthusiasts and cultures that don’t often appear on traditional travel shows.
Rick Steves
A good travel guide will show you the parts of famous cities that few visitors see. An institution in the United States with over a million followers, Steves is known for his hit TV show Rick Steves’ Europe, which has run for 12 seasons across 23 years so far! An informed and enthusiastic travel companion, Steves invites you to poke around unexplored corners of Europe and other fascinating countries, all in the pursuit of discovering travel destinations that offer a truly authentic experience.
[Header image: Olezzo/iStock]
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