Rick Steves Best of Europe

Just like all the reviews on his previous year's copies, this version is a great resource for planning a European trip. My fiance and I used it (and still are) when planning our three week honeymoon, and its been invaluable. I haven't read any of the previous versions, so I can't say what has changed this year. Definitely start with this book when planning your vacation, as it answers a lot of your most basic questions and gives a great overview of Europe to help you start with a rough itinerary.

I love anything Rick Steves writes. This is a helpful book for those wanting a quick overview of art and Europe. I like his sense of humor!

If Rick Steves has a book for your destination(s), then do yourself a favor - buy it. You do not need any other guide for your trip. We've just returned from a trip through much of western Europe (London, Paris, Milan, Florence, Venice, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona and Brugge) and this guide was indispensable. We avoided long lines to visit museums in Venice and Florence, lived in great local hotels and dined in non-touristy and cheap restaurants serving amazing local food. We also had Frommer's with us at the beginning of the trip but we threw it half way through the trip - it was too bulky and did not add any value to our experience. Rick Steve's conversational style is non-intimidating and makes for a much more interesting read compared to the cut-and-dry, facts only style of other guides. All guides will have some out of date information but this guide is very current. In fact, a tour-guide with a company in Rome that is recommended by Rick Steves' told us that while other publishers just call them every year to verify that they are still in business, only Rick Steves' company actually sends someone to take part in the tours to make sure that the experience is still consistent with the description in the book. This book is a must have for your Europe trip.

Heres why 'The Best of Europe' should be your first purchase when planning for a European vacation...My first trip to Europe was 2.5 months long...It was a bear trying to decide what to do. Then I ran across another of Rick's books called 'Europe through the back door' that had a 'whirlwind' two month suggested itinerary (along with shorter ones). It foceused me in on a certain route that would guarantee the biggest bang for my buck. I bought 'The best of' book to find all of the dirty details of the countries on that route. Rick gives great advice on the places to go and NOT to go, best places to stay, best restaurants in town,etc... And what I liked about it is that he doesn't try to cover it all. He covers what he feels are the best places to go and he covers them in detail, even going so far as to give you personal walking tours through Rhine castles, and intricate directions on how to turn on the public washing machine in Arles, France. It is this close attention to detail that I loved. I knew what hotel, which restaurants and which museums to visit in Paris before I ever left London! I used the book for almost all of my trip and found the info to be about 95% accurate. The only errors I found were reflective of the dynamic character of Europe where prices and economies are constantly changing...therefore some prices were increased and some places out of business. But Rick updates his books every year and therefore reduces the chances you will find bum info.On my second trip I tried to use another guidebook that had been recommended and I hated it. The majority of the hotels and restaurants covered were above and beyond my budget and all of the places were packed...no trips to hidden away gems were discussed in this book, unlike Ricks backdoor hideaways. Added to this was the fact that the book didn't distinguish between places that were awesome and those that were a bore. If Lands End, England is not worth a 3 hour train ride than tell me! (and it wasn't)Rick is opinionated and biased towards certain places and I love it. In Europe your time is expensive and you should plan it carefully. Use Ricks 7 day, 10 day, 14 day, 1 month, or 2 month best of europe itineraries and much of your planning is taken care of. Also get 'Europe through the back door' for in depth trip packing and planning and Ricks 'Guides to' the individual countries for even more in depth touring of Europe. The only book to use in my opinion...

I traveled through Europe last summer with the '97 edition of this book, and found it to be the best travel guide out there - and several jealous travelers, who either forgot, lost, or never knew about the book until they arrived in Europe, envied mine, echoing my sentiments.Rick has a great philosophy towards travel: see the world through the "back door." He thinks a traveler can have a much richer travel experience if he meets and interacts with the locals, living as they do (or living with them, in quaint pensiones and B & Bs,) eating where they eat (or better yet, eating with the locals they meet along the way) and seeing the world with an open mind. I agree. This book lists some of these great (and budget-friendly) sleeping and eating establishments.Better yet are Rick's 'what to see' recommendations. Like all the guidebooks out there, he gives a description of the top tourist sights. But what sets this book apart is two things not found in other travel books: Rick gives his opinions on each sight, and recommends many other lesser-known sights.Rick isn't afraid to tell you if seeing or doing something is a waste of time; on the flip side, there are sights that he says you'd be crazy NOT to see. If my time was short in a city, I'd be sure to see Rick's "must-see" sights and skip the rest - I never felt as though I missed anything, and had a wonderful experience. Secondly, Rick recommends lesser known, out-of-the-way (and not so out-of-the-way) places. It was in these places that I often got the best "feel" for what a country was truly like, as these were the places that locals frequented. I remember lying on a beach in Cinque Terre, Italy (one of Rick's favorite "back door" towns) talking with my travel companion. A Milanese man on the next beach towel over asked us how we found out about his favorite vacation spot - he'd never heard anyone speaking english there before! (Although we found the town to be full of Rick Steves followers!) We had a wonderful time there, met many locals, and truly experienced Italy.This is a fantastic guide book - friendly budget hotels, yummy places to eat, descriptions of Europe's "must-see" sights, places you'd be better off not seeing, and back-door towns where you can really meet the locals and learn about each country's culture and individuality. Don't leave home without it!