Rating: 
Summary: DONT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
Review: 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...
Rating:
Summary: DONT LEAVE HOME WITHOUT IT!
Review: 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...
Rating: 
Summary: It Nearly Ruined my Trip!
Review: I have been a big Rick Steves fan for years. However, using his materials nearly ruined my 24 day European vacation this summer. The three hotels/B & Bs I used from his book all had major flaws. One was 20 minutes by bus outside Saltzburg - it was in a horrible location for sight seeing. In the city of Bonn, Germany, he failed to mention that the entire town is UPHILL from the train station, that there are no street signs, and that the entrance to th e motel is less than 4 feet wide. The bed was a terrible sagging thing that slept like a feed sack stuffed with old bread. His suggestion in Bern, Switzerland, was my most expensive room at nearly $60. It was a roll-away bed with a piece of plywood screwed to the end. There was a hole in the wall covered with plastic tape. Finally, in Munich I threw his book away and relied entirely on Frommer's and Europe for Dummies. All my other rooms were as cheap as Rick's but much better. Go figure. What's happened to Rick? I don't know. The lesson? Take more than one guidebook. The rest of my trip was fine.
Rating:
Summary: It Nearly Ruined my Trip!
Review: I have been a big Rick Steves fan for years. However, using his materials nearly ruined my 24 day European vacation this summer. The three hotels/B & Bs I used from his book all had major flaws. One was 20 minutes by bus outside Saltzburg - it was in a horrible location for sight seeing. In the city of Bonn, Germany, he failed to mention that the entire town is UPHILL from the train station, that there are no street signs, and that the entrance to th e motel is less than 4 feet wide. The bed was a terrible sagging thing that slept like a feed sack stuffed with old bread. His suggestion in Bern, Switzerland, was my most expensive room at nearly $60. It was a roll-away bed with a piece of plywood screwed to the end. There was a hole in the wall covered with plastic tape. Finally, in Munich I threw his book away and relied entirely on Frommer's and Europe for Dummies. All my other rooms were as cheap as Rick's but much better. Go figure. What's happened to Rick? I don't know. The lesson? Take more than one guidebook. The rest of my trip was fine.
Rating: 
Summary: I Compare and Rate Six Western Europe Travel Guides.
Review: I have chosen to rate 6 guides for Europe. I think there are a variety of guides. In general there are four "layers" of detail in the books on the market. There are the (1) Europe guides (reviewed here), (2) the single country guides, (3) the city guides and then (4) a variety of specialty guides such as Eurail rail guides, hiking, budget Europe, camping, restaurants, wine country, mountains, gay and lesbian guides, etc. At my bookstore there are 3 large racks of books on Europe. I have selected 6 of what seems to be the best selling guides or guides that I thought might be of general interest, and gave them my own personal ranking - just for category (1) - Europe overview. Five are very popular, one less so. What I am looking for is a quick overview - not every tiny detail. Europe is too big and you should by a guide on France if you are going mainly to France. I think the books with photos are better since they allow you to get a better idea of the places that you might want to visit - while you plan the trip. A picture is worth 1000 words. So one might want to buy the guide before calling a travel agent. First Choice - Good Pick Eyewitness Europe by DK - $21. It is 800 pages long and ranks about 11,400 on the Amazon.com sales ranking. It has all the basic stuff such as maps, food guides, accommodations, places to see, travel tips, culture, museums, history, etc. plus it has outstanding visuals. Many excellent color photos and maps. It is a good introduction and overview and makes for a beautiful souvenir. Just an outstanding and beautiful book. Second Choice - Good Pick. Michelin The Green Guide - Europe, 2e - $14. This is not a popular book on Amazon.com. It rates a distant 344,544 on the sales rank and is just 540 pages long. But is very much like the DK guide. It gives an excellent overview and introduction with many photos. It is excellent for planning a trip and it is not a big book. It is a well made book with a tough and durable cover, easy to carry 5 x 9" x 0.9" thick and with lots of detail, many maps and photos. Some of the other guides are 1.85" thick. Tied For Third - Okay Not Great Lonely Planet Western Europe Sixth Edition ($19.59) and Lets Go 2004:Europe ($17.49) These two are more general books with lots of text and maps. In many ways these books are similar but the latter book covers more countries. The first is 1150 pages and ranks 7,246 in Amazon.com sales, while the second book is just under 1100 pages and ranks 3,173 in sales, and is one of the more popular guides. These books include lots of detail - but unfortunately with just a limited number of photos. These two books have more detail than the first two books - but almost no photos in comparison. For myself I would like to have more photos, and even with 1100 pages one will have to buy a country book so skip these thick heavy books - I would buy one of the shorter books above (DK or Michelin) plus a country book such as Eyewitness France or Michelin Guide France etc. Lonely Planet has a series including the Mediterranean and Eastern Europe similar to this western Europe version. Both books are very thick close to 2" thick. In theory you could buy three Europe guides from Lonely Planet. Fourth Place - Skip This Book Rick Steve's Best of Europe 2004 - $17.47 This book uses an informal approach written by one person - Rick Steve - to take you through some of the more interesting places in Europe. The way I view this book is that it is like sitting down with a friend and he lays out the key things to see and do and then makes hand sketches of different cities etc. Having said that, the book is detailed and long - being 1200 pages long and ranks 5,352. on theAmazon.com sales ranking. The book contains a lot of text description of interesting things to see with hand sketches and hand drawn maps to give a friendly feel - all in black and white. It includes walking tours with comments plus places to eat and hotels. It does not contain a lot of maps or any photos. He does not present lists of accommodations and restaurants. He pre-screens those and gives just a limited selection on where to stay and where to dine. There is definitely some novelty factor in the presentation. Also it is another thick book. Fifth and Last - Does Not Compete Frommer Europe 2004 - $16.09 This is a "conventional" travel book that covers most of Europe in 1070 pages and ranks 8,361 on the Amazon.com sales ranking. As a bonus it includes a Eurail map that detached from the back cover. The book is written by a team of authors (committee). It is a guide to Europe. It does not plan your trip but rather goes from places to places in a formula approach giving a summary of things to see, a local map, and it lists places of interest, some history, restaurants, entertainment, and accommodations. It is a comprehensive approach - somewhat - formal and lacks any photos, i.e.: no photos, just text and some maps. That is why I rate it last. Thick but mainly just text. It is similar but not as good as the third ranking pair.
My humble opinion. Jack in Toronto
Rating: 
Summary: Great companion for your European trip
Review: I recently returned from a trip throughout Europe. This book (the 2002 edition) was the only tour book in my backpack. I used it both while planning the trip and throughout the trip itself. Rick gives you the important information about city covered. This information usually includes major attractions, hotels, restaurants and basic "getting around" information. For the most part, I competely agreed with his reviews of the major attractions. His hotel selections also worked out well, but I didn't use the restaurant information much at all. The major downside is that the information isn't always that well organized. He will pack a lot of information about a hotel into a paragraph, but if you are skimming the book it is difficult to pick out the important tidbits. I would rather see the key information more clearly presented than buried in a paragraph. Also, his maps weren't very helpful at all. In every city I ended up picking up a local tourist map rather than using the little hand sketches in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great companion for your European trip
Review: I recently returned from a trip throughout Europe. This book (the 2002 edition) was the only tour book in my backpack. I used it both while planning the trip and throughout the trip itself. Rick gives you the important information about city covered. This information usually includes major attractions, hotels, restaurants and basic "getting around" information. For the most part, I competely agreed with his reviews of the major attractions. His hotel selections also worked out well, but I didn't use the restaurant information much at all. The major downside is that the information isn't always that well organized. He will pack a lot of information about a hotel into a paragraph, but if you are skimming the book it is difficult to pick out the important tidbits. I would rather see the key information more clearly presented than buried in a paragraph. Also, his maps weren't very helpful at all. In every city I ended up picking up a local tourist map rather than using the little hand sketches in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't Give Rick Steves your hard-earned money for this guide
Review: I spent five months in Europe last year and used the Lonely Planet: Europe on a Shoestring guide. My travel companion brought the 2002 edition of the Rick Steves Europe guide and swore at the beginning of the trip that it had been recommended to him as "the bible of travel". After using both books extensively over the course of the trip, I've concluded that the Rick Steve's guides generally recommend eateries and accomodations that are far too expensive for the mediocre quality you get. Every single place we ate that was noted in the RS guide was disappointing. Some of the places we stayed in were just as shabby as any backpacker's hovel, yet we were paying non-budget prices. The hand-drawn maps are hokey and too specific to very small areas to be of any real use. Also, the hysterical lectures about not being an ugly American are annoying and condescending. The whole premise of the book, that you're being given the back-door "secrets" to smart, efficient travel, are absurd---it just makes sense that if you get to the Louvre 30 minutes before they open, you'll be first in line--no secret there. Anyone with common sense can manage in Europe without this guide. This is basically for people who are getting off a chartered tour bus to spend an hour amongst the natives before going back to the hotel. If you are looking for a thorough, informative guide written for competent adults, buy Lonely Planet instead!!!
Rating:
Summary: Just like American Express... Don't leave home without it!
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: The best.
Review: If you are going to Europe, buy this book. Then buy his books for the major cities you are planning on visiting, such as Rome, Paris, etc. Absolutely the best tour books we found for Europe. We also bought Let's Go, Frommer's, and Fodor's. None compare. Rick has tons of inside information and hints which allow you to avoid a lot of mistakes, wasted time, and lines. Following his book, in our four weeks in Europe (during peak-season), we did not stand in one line for any musuem - waved at those standing in line at the Louvre, bypassed the *huge* line winding through the courtyard at Versailles, walked right into the Orsay. A friend who went earlier in the year (off-season) complained about the three-hour lines everywhere. His books are very opinionated in the sense he focuses on what he considers the most interesting. Almost without exception, we found ourselves in complete agreement with his opinions. He includes the best areas to stay. He focuses on less-expensive, smaller, family run establishments - we stayed only at locations recommended in his books and found them all to be outstanding. The only people who I think will be disappointed in his book(s) are those who want to stay only in first-class five-star hotels. Rick Steves' made our European vacation fantastic.
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