Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' France, Belgium, and the Netherlands 2002

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

 

 

This book was great. I recently went to Paris for the first time and found this book to have invaluable information and to be extremely accurate with pricing, timetables, etc. Not only did it save me about 2 hours standing in line for the Louvre by enlightening me to the underground entrance, but the walking tour had all the necessary places to stop in a great and easy to follow order.
I also found the book extremely useful when traveling to Beaune for the winery tours. The hotel, winery tour and restaurant I selected were straight from the book and they were everything he said it was.
The only thing that disappointed me was the lack of information on Dijon. It's a fairly large city and easy to inlcude with a trip to Beaune, but there wasn't any information at all.
One other useful piece of information would be a holiday schedule. France closes entirely down on certain holidays and as a tourist that would be useful information when planning a trip.

Rule #1 when traveling in Europe: pack light! You will carry your stuff up many stairs from the metro. You certainly do not want to bring 10 books on each region you will visit!

For the person who wants to experience the countries tourism and the real culture behind the front door, this is the best guide I've seen. I've been to Europe with another guide, and this one beat it hands down! I felt like a professional traveler and actually had other tourists befriend me and ask for advise--all from this detailed and wonderful book!

It's a must have for any person who wants to make sure they see everything they came for without breaking the bank or wasting their time.

Raves
The French phrases are excellent-kept it simple. I was complimented for my French.
Rants
The Orangery Musee housing the Impressionists does not open sometime in 2002 as indicated in the book, but 2006. Long walk from Louve to find out its not even open. Made up for this with article on Montmarrse musee with Monets-short cab from Latin quarter-well worth it.

Rick Steves' books are ideal for independent travelers on a budget who want to get the most out of their time & money. This book is for anyone who wants to experience the culture, history, & modern fun of France. The accomodation & food tips are step up from the grungy backpacker fare that the Let's Go series recommends, yet still modestly priced. Rick hits all the major tourist sites, but also shows you cozy, local spots where you can relax & really get into the country. I recently used this book & his more in-depth Paris book for 2 weeks in France & found the books to be an ideal tour guide. I've used his other books for European trips, & I'm never disappointed.

This would have been a great book, if the entire section on Holland wasn't missing. The seller was indifferent to my plight and wouldn't stand behind what he sold

This was our 2nd time using a Rick Steve's book (the first was the Italy guide book, which was great)...and I found the France guidebook lacking depth. He touches large portions of the country with the guidebook, but the regions we visited (Provence, Alps, and Paris) were void of much detail. In particular, we found the sight-seeing recommendations to be quite skimpy. The restaurant and hotel recommendations were ok, but we found our favorite hotels on-line or in a different guidebook. If you get this book, be sure to only use it as a companion to a more comprenesive guide, such as Lonely Planet or Fodor's!!