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7 Comments on “What is the best travel guide to Europe?”

1. 
   ginspeachy
   January 3rd, 2011 at 8:00 am

   Try tripadvisor.com for site seeing.

2. 
   Miggy
   January 3rd, 2011 at 8:40 am

   If you’re travelling from the UK, the AA key guide to France (£14.99) is excellent, it has walking and driving tours as well as the usual area/town guides, maps and a phrase book section if your French isn’t so good! Previously I’ve used the Rough Guide, but I much prefer this one.

3. 
   usedup
   January 3rd, 2011 at 9:34 am

   Lonely Planets books are often better at getting off the main tourist path and helping the traveller really get the feel of a culture and locale.

4. 
   McCall Evans
   January 3rd, 2011 at 10:13 am

   I would use either Lonely Planet Guides or Rick Steves’: Europe Through The Backdoor. I have had great success from both of these guides while backpacking through Europe.

5. 
   byebye
   January 3rd, 2011 at 10:33 am

   Those are my personal favorites when travelling around Europe. Greats Sleeps and Great Eats are excellent as the author has actually slept and eaten in the places she talks about. She gets the inside scoop to places you may not find otherwise. I also like Frommers and Let’s Go as they generally are more budget minded. I’d also check out sites like http://www.expatsinfrance.com and http://www.escapeartist.com/embassy30/france7.htm — they should be free to join. You can read the bulletin boards there and ask questions, and then get answers from Americans and others who are actually living in France. Generally speaking, folks living abroad love to give advice and recommendations! Have a great time!

6. 
   Paul
   January 3rd, 2011 at 10:53 am

   he covers everything from transportation, food, even what you can see for free.

7. 
   Anissa
   January 3rd, 2011 at 11:41 am

   Rick Steves, who hosts those wonderful European travel shows on PBS, has written some 30 travel books, and I’m sure they are all worth reading. Every one I have ever picked up has been. If I had to choose only one book, I’d chose ’Rick Steves Best of Europe 2008,’ but you should also take a look at his guides to individual countries.

   Steves is practical and pragmatic, and has a great sense of humor. He speaks to the layman, who is not necessarily well traveled, and tells you the best way to do it without spending a lot of money, and the sites not to miss. The thing I like best about Rick Steves is that he has a real appreciation for the people in each country he visits. He always advises his readers to stay where they can have some interaction with the people instead of just following the tours. From my own traveling in Europe–which has mainly consisted of multiple trips to the British Isles and France–I can heartily concur.

   If you take a look at Steves’ website, you will see that he also has deals on Eurail Passes and lots of travel gear. I’ve never personally used his Eurail Passes, but I’ve known several students travelling through Europe who purchased them with great satisfaction.

   Good luck! I envy you being able to spend six months in France. I’d love to be able to do that some day.