Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Western Europe

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lonely Planet is always distinguished for it's fine guides, always recognized as one of the best ones and the first choice for backpackers. If you are certain that you are traveling only to Western Europe you must consider this guide seriously. Being regional allows the authors to put more detail per country than a "all Europe guide".

This guide has a great introduction of facts for the visitor, how to get there and how to move around. The "per country" information is extended (better than Let's go Europe), it first shows you the general look of the country and then explores city by city telling you what to see and do, budget places to stay and camping sites around. Even though the hostels listings are long, I'd recommend that you get an alternate source of hotels, since lot's of people traveling in Europe are carrying this guide and have the same listings as you do, when you arrive to Barcelona on Friday night you'll know what I mean, another guidebook or the internet always help.

If you are looking for a guide that has a better coverage of European culture and history, you should consider Let's go Europe 2001.

Completely absent are good details about points of interest and restaurants, especially in sections for Florence, Venice, Oxford. Many authors means varied levels of expertise, so while the Barcelona section pointed us to some good, non-touristic restaurants, the Italy section was appalling.

Example: The only restaurants Florence has to offer the independant traveller, per this guide, are a handful of places with Japanese on the menu (dead give-away locals aren't wasting their lira there), overpriced... I was glad to have my Europe by the Back Door with me, or I'd never have found the good authentic places in my brief stay there. In Rome, the restaurant choices are simply glossed over (oh, they do get specific about where to find McDonalds).

Simply, the guide just wasn't enough for our five country, six week stay. Was so glad for the other guides I brought along. A waste & a shame. LP has spread itself too thin... they are great for Asian destinations (and I have blindly and happily used them for many Asian travels), only sporadically good for Europe. Paris LP is excellent, for example.

Extremely happy with Western Europe (from Lonely Planet). Glad my friend showed it & recommended it to me. I especially like the fact that it's very brief but includes many towns/cities. Not very comprehensive, but who wants to carry around a 5-volume of European cities? Sometimes, you happen to be in an area that you don't plan to visit, but would like to know if the area has anything to offer. And this book gives you such insight! Great in terms of having campsites of all the cities, as well as other reasonable accommodation. Highly recommend it to all. Wish I had found out about it sooner.

Recientemente hice mi primer viaje a 8 ciudades europeas (Londres, Bruselas, Berna, Roma, Florencia, Barcelona, Madrid y Paris) usando este libro, usando sus recomendaciones en hoteles, museos y otras atracciones, lo único que deberían mejorar son los mapas, pero se complementa bien con los mapas que regalan en las agencias de información turística. Muy buen libro, muy actualizado.