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Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: A little more musuem info than I would have wanted but it's still a really great read for a first time traveler to London!
Rating: 
Summary: Too Limited
Review: Do not buy this book if you are looking for a good overall guide to the city. It is limited to Rick Steve's personal choices of what he thinks a visitor should see--which is the regular "tourist stops", and the museums. There is only one small overview chapter I found helpful.There is not enough here for the traveler interested in other parts of the city.Fans of Rick Steve's who wish they could have him as a personal guide may like this book. Each chapter is either a walking tourof the typical "tourist route" or an INDEPTH tour of one of London's premier museums/cathedrals.Which is fine if you want to be "lead by the hand" so to speak, but with your nose in a book. This combined with another, like the Eyewitness Guide will give a better coverage. I prefer books that give me a broader overview, with some detailed guidance. Read this one for good coverage of the typical tourist route, then look for another for a better overall view.
Rating:
Summary: too much art, too little food and lodging
Review: I bought this and the Frommers Guide. Both were well worth the money. Rick Steves' book was highly informative and well written. It was the first travel guide I read cover to cover (almost). As he suggested, we did pull the book apart - taking only the pages that were relevant to each days adventure with us. We enjoyed his opinions - even if we did not agree with all of them. Lots of helpful hints. A delightful writing style. Buy this is you are going to London.
Rating: 
Summary: Essential on my London Voyage
Review: I just returned from my trip to London, and Rick Steves' book was an immense help.
For those unfamiliar with Steves' books, be aware that these guides differ from others. Steves is not afraid to give his opinion of what to do and what not to do during your travels. He provides important insights on great museums you HAVE to see (The British Museum) and tourist attractions that you might be disappointed with (i.e., the London Dungeon). Instead of a generic reference book, imagine a tour guide written by a close friend which gives you tips on the best ways to plan your trip, get around, or even find the least-crowded entrance. Tips like these can save you a lot of frustrating time and money.
Steves' book excels at providing such information, and also at guiding you through interactive city walks and museum tours. That way you'll know what to look for, and can shorten or lengthen your stays based on your own personal interests.
In addition to sights within London, the book also covers possible day trips to Cambridge, Windsor, Bath, and even Paris (but go for more than a day). If you plan on seeing more in the UK, you'll need another book.
Steves provides information on hotels and restaurants, but they are hardly complete. The 30-40 sleeping recommendations range from the ultra-thrifty to ultra-expensive, and Steves seems to do a job of choosing good values. The same goes for eating establishments.
Other books (like Eyewitness Guides) have color pictures and more general information, but Steves provides the essential information, hints, and even some entertaining quips. If you really want to do it right, get two guides, but make sure Steves' is one of them.
Rating:
Summary: An indispensable guide for budget travelers.
Review: I lived in London for 3 ½ years and have visited Europe several times in the past decade and Rick Steves' books are always the first travel guides that I turn to in my travel planning. If cost and time are a factor to you in your travels then Rick Steves' guides will prove indispensable.
I took his books with me on my travels to Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain as well as on my return trips to these countries. His tips on what to see and what to skip have proved invaluable. Thanks to him, I discovered this lovely little day trip outfit called "Mad Max Tours" which my husband and I joined during a recent trip to Bath, England. His tips on what is worth seeing in the British Museum and National Gallery saved us from `museum overload' on our subsequent trips to these fabulous and immense museums. I used to walk mindlessly along the numerous rooms and exhibits in these museums, until, 3 hours later, I walk out like a zombie overwhelmed with what I saw.
I highly recommend Rick's city guide to London. This guide is budget-minded, time-conscious and makes a point of touching on every major sight in these cities. It also includes walking tours, museum guides, shopping, accommodations, maps, recommended day trips and even kid-friendly attractions/activities. All of his guides include costs, location, subway/train stops, hours and descriptions (and his straightforward opinions) on each place.
Shortcomings? Well, trust me, no travel guide is perfect. Eyewitness, for instance, has wonderful colored pictures and loads of visuals but little practical information. Fodors and Frommers have too much text and almost no pictures. As for Rick, I used to gripe about his sparse selection of hotels in certain cities but he has now improved on these. And as much as I love his books, I also do agree that if this is your first trip to the United Kingdom, then do yourself a favor and check out at least one other travel guide as well. For instance, "Take the Kids: London" or Fodors' "Around London With Kids" are great supplementary guides for those with families. Frommers or Fodors guides are always worth the look for their comprehensive coverage. And if you're into visuals, then the Eyewitness Guides are a must have. After all, Rick's guides are selective and - depending on your tastes and preferences - you might miss some activities or sights that are also well worth a look. If antique shopping is your thing, for instance, then you would sadly miss out on the fabulous Bermondsey antique market in London which Rick doesn't mention in his books. Or, that you might choose do ignore a daytrip to the lovely towns of Oxford or Brighton which Rick also doesn't mention. As much as Rick loves Cambridge, I insist that Oxford also has its many (unique) charms. And Brighton is a fabulous destination for families and beach/seaside loving travelers.
In short, Rick Steves' books are an indispensable and invaluable guide for budget-minded travelers everywhere. His books are selective and well worth your time and money. However, I do recommend that you don't limit yourself to only one travel guide as your
Planning/travel companion. Get Rick's book but also check out one more of the travel guides I list above for good measure.
Rating: 
Summary: You're going to LOVE BRITAIN!
Review: I've spent a year in England and have made >30 visits all together.
Here are my reviews of the best guides....to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!
Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.
Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide
MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for pubs, hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the underground and the double decker buses. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the city centre. When you get to be an old London hand, remember that the classic Londoners guide will always be an A to Z (zed) map and guide. If you want to go a bit beyond the central core of the city (perhaps to Windsor, Hampton, or further away) you really need the proper AtoZ to be able to find exact routes and streets.
Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!
Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.
Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.
Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.
Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.
Rating:
Summary: Well-researched touristing overview.
Review: Like all other Rick Steves books I've ever used, this book is a good investment if you're interested in a solid, readable, down-to-earth tourist's look at a place. This book provides excellent practical orientation and general how-to-get-by instructions (transit, tipping, etc), and I value Rick Steves for giving his opinion on what things are worth seeing and what things aren't -- if you're on a short vacation, this kind of editorializing is, to my mind, invaluable. Rick Steves' London is great for planning the sightseeing part of a London vacation, and if you're not interested in much else, then you're all set. However, if you're interested in food and nightlife, or need more extensive lodging listings, I strongly recommend picking up one or more additional books (Let's Go, Lonely Planet, etc) as references on restaurants and the like. Also bear in mind that about half of the book consists of detailed walking tours of London sights. Sometimes you'll want to follow his tours, but often you'll just want to read them for the background info and to get an idea of whether that attraction will interest you. The bulk of the basic sightseeing listings and orientation info can be found in his Great Britain book, so if you're traveling outside of London, that may be a better value.
Rating:
Summary: London for dummies.
Review: London is one of Europe's top travel destinations, and Rick Steves knows London. This is the only travel guide first-time visitors will need to explore the city's attractions along the Thames including the British Museum, the Tate museums, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, and the Tower of London. I took two travel guides with me on my recent New Year's visit to London, and this proved to be the much better of the two.
Steves' guide not only offers a helpful map of London, guided walks through historic London, and through the Westminster, Thames bankside, and West End areas of the city, and insightful commentary on touring the British, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, and National Gallery museums, but it also leads readers to numerous opportunities to experience British culture on their own, beyond the pages of this book. For first-time travelers to London, this guide is essential.
G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Do your homework before traveling!
Review: London, London, London... I just came back from a wonderful (and hot) trip to Europe. My best advice? Do your homework before traveling. Buy Rick Steves' books, research in advance what you want to visit and how to get there. I love the walking tours included in Steves books. In London the tube (subway) takes you pretty much everywhere. Organize your calendar by blocks (2 or 3 hours) flexible enough that you can change them around in your schedule. Group activities by geographical areas (that is how the book is organized). You will save precious time and lots of "surprises". I was tempted to give the book 4 stars because some of Steves comments are silly but I skipped them and concentrated on the great tips and well organized walks described in this book. Some of my tour friends had other travel guides and Rick Steves was the best by far. At the British museum and the Westminster Abbey I found Steves' followers, everyone agreed that this book made their travel much easier.
I recommend the specific city guide instead of the Best of Europe because the later was not detailed enough and it did not include the useful "walking tours". The only thing I did not use on this book for was the hotel recommendation (because my tour company arranged the hotels). Still, this book was worth every penny I spent on it.
Rating:
Summary: Do your homework before traveling!
Review: London, London, London... I just came back from a wonderful (and hot) trip to Europe. My best advice? Do your homework before traveling. Buy Rick Steves' books, research in advance what you want to visit and how to get there. I love the walking tours included in Steves books. In London the tube (subway) takes you pretty much everywhere. Organize your calendar by blocks (2 or 3 hours) flexible enough that you can change them around in your schedule. Group activities by geographical areas (that is how the book is organized). You will save precious time and lots of "surprises". I was tempted to give the book 4 stars because some of Steves comments are silly but I skipped them and concentrated on the great tips and well organized walks described in this book. Some of my tour friends had other travel guides and Rick Steves was the best by far. At the British museum and the Westminster Abbey I found Steves' followers, everyone agreed that this book made their travel much easier.
I recommend the specific city guide instead of the Best of Europe because the later was not detailed enough and it did not include the useful "walking tours". The only thing I did not use on this book for was the hotel recommendation (because my tour company arranged the hotels). Still, this book was worth every penny I spent on it.
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