Germany: The Rough Guide, Third Edition

I love The Rough Gudies and have used them for all my trips to Europe. They are thorough and offer true reviews of sights as opposed to a travel brochure. They all offer ideas on places to visit that are a bit off the beaten path.

Really a quite excellent source of information covering off the beaten track, for the self-exploring traveler, advice, regarding accommodations and tourist sites. Recommendations I gleaned from this guide provided me with a truly memorable vacation in Southern Germany such as attending a dragon festival that had its origins in the 14th century Bavarian forest village of Furth-im-Wald. If you like your traveling independence, but only wish you had a friend who lived in the neighborhood who could makes some suggestions, you'll love this book.

I have no ability to ascertain what the average person looks for in a travel book, but this volume fufilled all of the basic needs that I had. It gives the reader information about the many areas of the country, including prices, popular attractions, and practical information such as how to use the public telephones (not obvious!), etc... My favorite aspect of the book is that it gives detailed listings ofresturants and eateries within a wide price range. I hesitate to give this book a better rating, simply because the introductory history is somewhat biased and maybe unecessary ( unless you have no familiarity with german histoy. ) and the book is narrated in a fashion that I found slightly vague and irritating. ex; the book mentions that there is always plenty going on in Goettingen, but neglects to say what... but thats trivial, really, and it will answer your basic travel concerns.

I don't understand the very negative reviews. The book may not be perfect, but there is no better German travel guide out there. Believe me, I've looked through bookstores and have not found anything close. I used an older edition (along with "Let's Go Germany") while living in Germany in '98 and use the updated one for frequent return trips. This book's strengths:1. It was written by a Brit a with a sense of humor, honesty, and a good grasp of German history. If a tourist spot is lame, he is open about it.2. It has good coverage of quaint, off-the-tourist-track towns which are not covered in other resources. These are the best places to visit because they tend to be attractive, less touristy, and inexpensive.3. I have found this book's hotel recommendations to be superior. The lists of accomodations are extensive and accurately described. Good recommendations for low/medium priced bed & breakfast type places.For the most part, I've been pleased with this book and recommend it over anything else currently on the market.

I first picked up the "Rough Guide to West Germany" in 1990, and have bought every update since. The key to remember is that the guide is written for the average tourist, not for someone that lives in Essen. Having said that, I have lived in Europe for 8 years, and find the guide indispensible. The beginning chapters provide you with all the essential information you need to plan the trip, including tourist office addresses, best prices for airlines, reminds you to purchase Eurail passes while still at home, etc. The guide itself is written in a slightly irreverant way, giving a wide berth to commercial tourist attractions in favor of historically significant areas. It lists accomodation (sp?) for all price classes, and even directs you to a good meal in individual cities. The guide stands as a good read, even if you aren't travelling. It gives you everything as advertised, and then some.