Rick Steves' London 2004

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.

Rating:
Summary: Rick Steves' London
Review: Rick Steves continues to produce the best guide books to European travel. Especially if you are a first-timer to Europe, his books should be your primary source for information and tips on "how and where and when and why". "London" gives the travelor a great list of places to visit, with handy, although simple, maps, a huge amount of helpful tips for negotiating the city and surrounding area. And if you're an experienced visitor to London, his book is a great read. I've often caught myself nodding and thinking "that's right" or "yeah, I was there" while reading it.