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Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe (Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe)

Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe (Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe)

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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poorly organized
Review: Having brought this along for not one but two Europe trips where it wasn't even worth the space it took up in my bag, it's time to retire it to a shelf permanently. Frommer's is trying to capitalize on the success of Fodor's GAY USA books which are pretty informative and well organized. Frommer's offering is too little, too late. Now-a-days there are gay mentions in lots of mainstream travel books. Virgin, the same people who bring you the record company, superstores, etc. also make travel books for major European cities which always include gay bars and gay hoods. Dorling Kindersley may not be gay, but they are hands down superior to any other guide out there and worth every cent. Just grab a Spartacus or look online to find out where the gay areas are, or pick up a gay mag or flyers once you get there. By all means, don't plan on this book giving you anything but a frustrating, jarbled mess of vague maps and bland information.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Complete guide for all travelers
Review: I'm the editor of this guide and would like to comment ... My goal for Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe was to produce a guide that covered all the aspects of a trip and tried to include info for all types of gay/lesbian travelers. Some readers want just the facts, some want a little elaboration, and some want a great deal of elaboration, so we include "length" in our reviews (but rarely, I believe, do we "ramble"). This is true in all our Frommer's guides.

And as this is a gay guide, one of the things we sought to stress was a gay perspective on these cities and resorts. What else should a gay travel guide want to do? Every mainstream guide seems written from a "straight" perspective, so shouldn't a gay guide set out to provide another point of view? It was exactly because the "gay perspective" is ignored elsewhere that we decided to stress it in Frommer's Gay & Lesbian Europe.

I think we did an admirable job with this guide and provided gay/lesbian readers with a valuable source. I hope to hear from other readers with their comments and suggestions. Thanks!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Poorly organized
Review: Like the description for this book says, there IS more to queer Europe that gay Paris. Unfortunately this book only hits on 7 other countries, so if you're headed anywhere in Scandinavia, forget it. Same with Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, and a bunch of other European countries. Make sure you're going to one of the Chosen 8, or this book will be worthless.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Limited to a dozen big cities.
Review: Like the description for this book says, there IS more to queer Europe that gay Paris. Unfortunately this book only hits on 7 other countries, so if you're headed anywhere in Scandinavia, forget it. Same with Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, and a bunch of other European countries. Make sure you're going to one of the Chosen 8, or this book will be worthless.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Frommer Doesn't Deliver For Europe
Review: My partner and I are going to Europe this summer for an extended vacation and were planning on spending a good amount of time in Germany. We were hoping to find a comprehensive guide that would give cultural cues and listing of gay/gay-friendly hotels, clubs, restaurants, etc. We were hoping to find such spots in almost every city were were planning on visiting.

The book was intended to be that guide. However, once we opened it up and started looking we were dismayed. Basically, for Germany, they make the crass statement, "Why call this part 'Germany" when Berlin is the only city included? Well, that's the first place you think of Germany? What German city has the most fascinating (and scariest) history? The widest cultural spectrum? The hottest gay nightlife? The most gays and lesbians? Berlin."

So, Germany's guide was limited to Berlin. I, quite personally, don't give a crap that the Frommer writers think this is the only city to focus on/write about. The book promises to deliver this information, as they do in other cities on their USA guide, yet absolutely don't deliver. [Wow], my partner has spent time in Germany in the past and knew generally of (at least) the gay districts in Frankfurt, Hamburg and other cities.

So, if you haven't figured it out yet, find another guide. Unless you only want to travel to the few cities in Europe that Frommer features, don't buy this waste of a good tree and ink.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Frommer Doesn't Deliver For Europe
Review: My partner and I are going to Europe this summer for an extended vacation and were planning on spending a good amount of time in Germany. We were hoping to find a comprehensive guide that would give cultural cues and listing of gay/gay-friendly hotels, clubs, restaurants, etc. We were hoping to find such spots in almost every city were were planning on visiting.

The book was intended to be that guide. However, once we opened it up and started looking we were dismayed. Basically, for Germany, they make the crass statement, "Why call this part 'Germany" when Berlin is the only city included? Well, that's the first place you think of Germany? What German city has the most fascinating (and scariest) history? The widest cultural spectrum? The hottest gay nightlife? The most gays and lesbians? Berlin."

So, Germany's guide was limited to Berlin. I, quite personally, don't give a crap that the Frommer writers think this is the only city to focus on/write about. The book promises to deliver this information, as they do in other cities on their USA guide, yet absolutely don't deliver. [Wow], my partner has spent time in Germany in the past and knew generally of (at least) the gay districts in Frankfurt, Hamburg and other cities.

So, if you haven't figured it out yet, find another guide. Unless you only want to travel to the few cities in Europe that Frommer features, don't buy this waste of a good tree and ink.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good general overview
Review: This book provides a decent overview of the biggest cities and sites in Europe for the "family" traveller. It gives a nice description of these places, but not as much depth as I would have liked. For instance, only three cities in England were discussed (London, Manchester, and Brighton). It provides a nice, down to Earth, heads-up on what to expect and areas you might want to explore.

If you're looking for cruisy places or sex clubs, this isn't the book you want. If you want touristy information from a gay perspective, then this is a good book to start planning your trip.


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