Rick Steves' Best European City Walks and Museums 2005 (Rick Steves' Best European City Walks and Museums)

Rating:
Summary: Practical and Light
Review: I bought the book for a recent trip which included stops in Paris and Amsterdam. Also included in the book are sections for London, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Madrid. If you're used to Rick's style and sense of humor from his TV show or his other guides, this book will fit you like a glove. The Paris section includes a city walk, the Louvre, Orsay, and Versailles, while Amsterdam's section includes a city walk, the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank House. Paris' city walk takes you from Notre Dame meandering through the Latin Quarter to Pont Neuf while Amsterdam's takes you from the railway station to the Rijksmuseum.

Let me start by pointing out that almost any city guide you buy will include some sort of walking tour. In my opinion, walking is the best way to see a city and to appreciate its size and layers. The walking tours for Paris and Amsterdam were well organized and informative, but I would have expected more than one to be included for each city, especially Paris with all its diverse "villages".

His hints for the museums were informative, but I found that they seemed to be focused on getting you in and out in the least amount of time. He provides two-hour tours for both the Louvre and Orsay in Paris. I thought they were good starting points (maybe read them before you go for the basics, which entrance to use, etc.) but I would suggest at least another couple of hours of exploring on your own in addition to what he describes for each. Don't forget the cafes inside when you need a break. I found Orsay's audioguide for 5 euros particularly useful. I found the book to be an excellent resource for Versailles allowing you to shimmy past the tour groups. The information in the book for each room was usually more than what we heard the live guides tell the tour groups. The map and guide of Versailles' gardens was also very useful. ONE VERY IMPORTANT NOTE THAT RICK FAILS TO MENTION is that beginning in 2003, Versailles began an all-encompassing, 17-year renovation plan. The beautiful Hall of Mirrors is currently being renovated in sections so you'll always likely be able to see some of it, but not the whole thing for the next many months. Versailles is worth seeing regardless, just don't be disappointed when you get there.

In Amsterdam, Rick's descriptions for Rijks and Van Gogh are great. The audioguides for each were worthwhile as well though certainly not necessary if you're armed with the book. This book is totally unnecessary for the Anne Frank House. Everything you need to know there, you watch on the slick plasma TVs or you read on the display cases and in your free guide. One exhibit there that Rick fails to mention is a temporary exhibit at the end called "Out of Line" which runs at least until May 1st, 2005. It's an interactive, voting-type thing where scenarios are shown on two monitors and you then decide whether freedom of speech or the right to be protected against discrimination should be held more important. It's a fitting end to a visit to Anne Frank House with topics as varied as Eminem's rap lyrics, soccer chants, and religious edicts covered. The room's votes are tabulated after each scenario and you can walk in and out as you please.

A lot of this book can be found in other Rick Steves guidebooks, but if you're going to visit more than one of the cities covered and you don't need all the fluff found in the more comprehensive books, this is probably the way to go.