Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg (Paperback)

by George McDonald (Author), Andrew May (Author), Serge Nekrassoff (Author) "Although they're such small places, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg contain a diversity of culture, language, and tradition that defies easy definition..." (more)
Key Phrases: attractive guest rooms, floating flower market, buses every hour, Luxembourg City, Centraal Station, Admission Dfl (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Complete, concise and filled with useful information." —NY Daily News

"Complete, concise and filled with useful information." -- NY Daily News

Product Description
"Complete, concise and filled with useful information." —NY Daily News

You'll never fall into the tourist traps when you travel with Frommer's. It's like having a friend show you around, taking you to the places locals like best. Our expert authors have already gone everywhere you might go-they've done the legwork for you, and they're not afraid to tell it like it is, saving you time and money. No other series offers candid reviews of so many hotels and restaurants in all price ranges. Every Frommer's Travel Guide is up-to-date, with exact prices for everything, dozens of color maps, and exciting coverage of sports, shopping, and nightlife. You'd be lost without us!

From the cultural scene in Brussels to spectacular fields of tulips in bloom, these three countries offer a wealth of sightseeing and activities. Frommer's is on top of it all, with complete coverage of Amsterdam's notorious nightlife, evocative medieval architecture in Brugges, market towns, cafes, pubs, art museums, and of course, world-class shopping. It's all at your fingertips, in true Frommer's style, with dozens of accurate maps, candid reviews of the best hotels and restaurants in all price ranges, detailed practical tips, and more. We offer a wealth of sightseeing, sports, strolls, and special moments-from highlights for the first-time visitor to off-the-beaten-track discoveries that will impress even the most seasoned traveler.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 546 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 7th edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764562657
• ISBN-13: 978-0764562655
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,946,424 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Frommer's Benelux bombs!, March 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg (Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg, 6th ed) (Paperback)

I used this guide book during a recent trip to the Benelux region of Europe. I found the book useful in helping me pick out good restaurants. It also listed the major sites I wanted to see. I did not find the book useful in reserving hotels and describing each site. I especially found the maps to be of poor quality. Many of them mislabeled the location of sites and failed to include important street names that would make it easier to find sites, restaurants, and accomodations. As a frequent traveler, I rely on good maps in guidebooks to get around cities that are unknown to me. Frommer's got me to take wrong turns repeatedly.

Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many books out there covering exclusively the Benelux region of Europe. At least I did not find any that I liked, so Frommer's was the best choice among many bad choices.

25 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Travel Guide Without a Focus, May 13, 2000

By	James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg (5th ed) (Paperback)

When I first started travelling to Europe 25 years ago, the Frommer guides were like beacons. They had a very definite goal in mind: To let you enjoy Europe for $XX dollars a day. Their books were fun and informative; but somewhere along the line, the Frommer people lost touch with their leadership.

When you try to write a book for everybody, you wind up writing for nobody. Let us take accommodations as an example: They are classified as Expensive, Moderate, and Inexpensive. Now I am not on public assistance by any means, yet I can barely afford Frommer's Inexpensive accommodations, which average around more than $100 a night.

There are guidebooks which are good at accommodations and restaurants but not on sights; and there are others (like the superb DK Eyewitness Guides) which concentrate on the sights. I am hard put to place Frommer on this spectrum. In the Netherlands, he downplays the Zuider Zee Museum in Enkhuizen and the Open Air Museum in Arnhem, yet spends 3 chapters on Luxembourg, including one on "Planning a Trip to Luxembourg." Hello! When was the last time you got the wife and kiddies mobilized for a fun filled 3 week vacation in the tiny Duchy of Luxembourg?

On the plus side, the "Best of..." lists are a useful counter to the general lack of emphasis in this guidebook.

If you were visiting the U.S., you would want a guidebook to show you why you might want to spend more time in New York than Youngstown. Once the best of guidebook series, Frommer has been reduced to cataloguing sights. Where's the excitement? Not here.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A comprehensive guide to BeNeLux..., April 18, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg (Frommer's Belgium, Holland & Luxembourg, 6th ed) (Paperback)

It is nice to have all the great cities and towns of Belgium, the Netherlands, and the Luxembourg area covered in one handy book. Good maps and suggestions for "best of" experiences. There are seperate maps for attractions, hotels and restaurants in each city. Hotels and restaurants are listed by price range, and family-friendly establishments are noted. There is not a lot of historical background given in this book, and no photographs. The writing style is clear and direct and not too dry. I found the recommended hotels in Amsterdam to be booked up months in advance- obviously many are following Frommer's advice!