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Rating: 
Summary: Don't 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 best book to use in my opinion...
Rating:
Summary: Not cheap, but definitely a bargain
Review: I had to buy this book in Germany from Amazon.de so I could expand my travel plan after an unexpected longer stay (brought two of Steve's other books there). The price I paid was more than 50% higher than the States. But boy, what a bargain!! It saved my time, energy, and money. Use it as a tool, not a book!!
Rating:
Summary: Not cheap, but definitely a bargain
Review: I had to buy this book in Germany from Amazon.de so I could expand my travel plan after an unexpected longer stay (brought two of Steve's other books there). The price I paid was more than 50% higher than the States. But boy, what a bargain!! It saved my time, energy, and money. Use it as a tool, not a book!!
Rating:
Summary: Fantastic, but you may need more supplementary
Review: I travelled Europe for 6 weeks with this book and three other Rick Steves' books. Everything was just fantastic except maps. With only this book, I always needed to drop by tourist information center to get some detailed maps just as Rick recommend. However, sometimes it was too much demanding for short-term travelling in each city. Also to find some recommended restaurants, it was very hard to find by using maps on this guide book. Even though I enjoyed most restaurants which Rick suggested, those were hard to find. Next time I'd rather bring another guidebook such as Lonely Planet with this book. Personally, I prefer maps on LP.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST guidebook for first-timers!
Review: Rick Steves' travel philosophy is to travel better by traveling cheaper and closer to the people. If your idea of a dream vacation is sleeping on the eighth floor of a high-rise hotel for a fortune every night, this is the wrong book for you. If your idea of wonderful is to sleep in an exquisite four-poster bed at a B&B owned by a pleasant old lady who will talk to you for hours, all for about fifty bucks a night -- buy this book. Steves has three big strengths, which are all at work in this book: The most important, by far, is the accomodations. Steves consistently finds amazingly good buys among centrally located B&Bs with friendly owners. The only problem is that everybody knows this, so getting a room on short notice in the summer at one of his spots can be dicey. The second big strength is the practical guides to sights, which include lots of interesting little details that you won't find elsewhere while telling you in no-uncertain terms which sights are must sees and which ones you should skip. Over time, his picks may not always coincide with yours -- but I almost always found his stuff on-target. The third big-strength is Steves' travel philosophy, which is especially helpful to first-time travelers (or those venturing away from the Hilton for the first time). I highly recommend that you also check out Europe Through the Back Door, Steves' classic magnum opus, now in its 19th Edition.
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