Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' London 2009

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

London, London, London... I just came back from a wonderful (and hot) trip to Europe. My best advice? Do your homework before traveling. Buy Rick Steves' books, research in advance what you want to visit and how to get there. I love the walking tours included in Steves books. In London the tube (subway) takes you pretty much everywhere. Organize your calendar by blocks (2 or 3 hours) flexible enough that you can change them around in your schedule. Group activities by geographical areas (that is how the book is organized). You will save precious time and lots of "surprises". I was tempted to give the book 4 stars because some of Steves comments are silly but I skipped them and concentrated on the great tips and well organized walks described in this book. Some of my tour friends had other travel guides and Rick Steves was the best by far. At the British museum and the Westminster Abbey I found Steves' followers, everyone agreed that this book made their travel much easier.
I recommend the specific city guide instead of the Best of Europe because the later was not detailed enough and it did not include the useful "walking tours". The only thing I did not use on this book for was the hotel recommendation (because my tour company arranged the hotels). Still, this book was worth every penny I spent on it.

I lived in London for 3 ½ years and have visited Europe several times in the past decade and Rick Steves' books are always the first travel guides that I turn to in my travel planning. If cost and time are a factor to you in your travels then Rick Steves' guides will prove indispensable.

I took his books with me on my travels to Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Great Britain as well as on my return trips to these countries. His tips on what to see and what to skip have proved invaluable. Thanks to him, I discovered this lovely little day trip outfit called "Mad Max Tours" which my husband and I joined during a recent trip to Bath, England. His tips on what is worth seeing in the British Museum and National Gallery saved us from `museum overload' on our subsequent trips to these fabulous and immense museums. I used to walk mindlessly along the numerous rooms and exhibits in these museums, until, 3 hours later, I walk out like a zombie overwhelmed with what I saw.

I highly recommend Rick's city guide to London. This guide is budget-minded, time-conscious and makes a point of touching on every major sight in these cities. It also includes walking tours, museum guides, shopping, accommodations, maps, recommended day trips and even kid-friendly attractions/activities. All of his guides include costs, location, subway/train stops, hours and descriptions (and his straightforward opinions) on each place.

Shortcomings? Well, trust me, no travel guide is perfect. Eyewitness, for instance, has wonderful colored pictures and loads of visuals but little practical information. Fodors and Frommers have too much text and almost no pictures. As for Rick, I used to gripe about his sparse selection of hotels in certain cities but he has now improved on these. And as much as I love his books, I also do agree that if this is your first trip to the United Kingdom, then do yourself a favor and check out at least one other travel guide as well. For instance, "Take the Kids: London" or Fodors' "Around London With Kids" are great supplementary guides for those with families. Frommers or Fodors guides are always worth the look for their comprehensive coverage. And if you're into visuals, then the Eyewitness Guides are a must have. After all, Rick's guides are selective and - depending on your tastes and preferences - you might miss some activities or sights that are also well worth a look. If antique shopping is your thing, for instance, then you would sadly miss out on the fabulous Bermondsey antique market in London which Rick doesn't mention in his books. Or, that you might choose do ignore a daytrip to the lovely towns of Oxford or Brighton which Rick also doesn't mention. As much as Rick loves Cambridge, I insist that Oxford also has its many (unique) charms. And Brighton is a fabulous destination for families and beach/seaside loving travelers.

In short, Rick Steves' books are an indispensable and invaluable guide for budget-minded travelers everywhere. His books are selective and well worth your time and money. However, I do recommend that you don't limit yourself to only one travel guide as your
Planning/travel companion. Get Rick's book but also check out one more of the travel guides I list above for good measure.

Like all other Rick Steves books I've ever used, this book is a good investment if you're interested in a solid, readable, down-to-earth tourist's look at a place. This book provides excellent practical orientation and general how-to-get-by instructions (transit, tipping, etc), and I value Rick Steves for giving his opinion on what things are worth seeing and what things aren't -- if you're on a short vacation, this kind of editorializing is, to my mind, invaluable.

Rick Steves' London is great for planning the sightseeing part of a London vacation, and if you're not interested in much else, then you're all set. However, if you're interested in food and nightlife, or need more extensive lodging listings, I strongly recommend picking up one or more additional books (Let's Go, Lonely Planet, etc) as references on restaurants and the like.

Also bear in mind that about half of the book consists of detailed walking tours of London sights. Sometimes you'll want to follow his tours, but often you'll just want to read them for the background info and to get an idea of whether that attraction will interest you. The bulk of the basic sightseeing listings and orientation info can be found in his Great Britain book, so if you're traveling outside of London, that may be a better value.

I just returned from my trip to London, and Rick Steves' book was an immense help.

For those unfamiliar with Steves' books, be aware that these guides differ from others. Steves is not afraid to give his opinion of what to do and what not to do during your travels. He provides important insights on great museums you HAVE to see (The British Museum) and tourist attractions that you might be disappointed with (i.e., the London Dungeon). Instead of a generic reference book, imagine a tour guide written by a close friend which gives you tips on the best ways to plan your trip, get around, or even find the least-crowded entrance. Tips like these can save you a lot of frustrating time and money.

Steves' book excels at providing such information, and also at guiding you through interactive city walks and museum tours. That way you'll know what to look for, and can shorten or lengthen your stays based on your own personal interests.

In addition to sights within London, the book also covers possible day trips to Cambridge, Windsor, Bath, and even Paris (but go for more than a day). If you plan on seeing more in the UK, you'll need another book.

Steves provides information on hotels and restaurants, but they are hardly complete. The 30-40 sleeping recommendations range from the ultra-thrifty to ultra-expensive, and Steves seems to do a job of choosing good values. The same goes for eating establishments.

Other books (like Eyewitness Guides) have color pictures and more general information, but Steves provides the essential information, hints, and even some entertaining quips. If you really want to do it right, get two guides, but make sure Steves' is one of them.

Rick Steves continues to produce the best guide books to European travel. Especially if you are a first-timer to Europe, his books should be your primary source for information and tips on "how and where and when and why". "London" gives the travelor a great list of places to visit, with handy, although simple, maps, a huge amount of helpful tips for negotiating the city and surrounding area. And if you're an experienced visitor to London, his book is a great read. I've often caught myself nodding and thinking "that's right" or "yeah, I was there" while reading it.

London is one of Europe's top travel destinations, and Rick Steves knows London. This is the only travel guide first-time visitors will need to explore the city's attractions along the Thames including the British Museum, the Tate museums, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, and the Tower of London. I took two travel guides with me on my recent New Year's visit to London, and this proved to be the much better of the two.

Steves' guide not only offers a helpful map of London, guided walks through historic London, and through the Westminster, Thames bankside, and West End areas of the city, and insightful commentary on touring the British, Tate Modern, Tate Britain, and National Gallery museums, but it also leads readers to numerous opportunities to experience British culture on their own, beyond the pages of this book. For first-time travelers to London, this guide is essential.

G. Merritt

In preparing for a week long trip to London I read through several guidebooks, including Fodors and Frommers, but the only one I wound up taking to London with me was "Rick Steves' London".

The book gives simple, easy to read maps, walking tours of the major attractions - St. Paul's Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, British Museum, Tower of London, etc - and mini-chapters on day trip destinations like Greenwich, Bath, Cambridge, and Paris.

We wound up consulting this book in nearly every aspect of our trip from finding a room to picking cheap restaurants to choosing the right underground travelcard; but what really makes this book head and shoulders above the rest is the walking tours of the major attractions. They were a major help, allowing us to see the highlights of the main sites quickly and effectively, as well as gain some historical perspective so we knew what we were looking at and why it was important (especially helpful for someone like me who has zero knowledge of British history).

On your trip to London take this book with you. It'll be the only one you need.

I bought this and the Frommers Guide. Both were well worth the money. Rick Steves' book was highly informative and well written. It was the first travel guide I read cover to cover (almost). As he suggested, we did pull the book apart - taking only the pages that were relevant to each days adventure with us. We enjoyed his opinions - even if we did not agree with all of them. Lots of helpful hints. A delightful writing style. Buy this is you are going to London.

Do not buy this book if you are looking for a good overall guide to the city. It is limited to Rick Steve's personal choices of what he thinks a visitor should see--which is the regular "tourist stops", and the museums. There is only one small overview chapter I found helpful.There is not enough here for the traveler interested in other parts of the city.

Fans of Rick Steve's who wish they could have him as a personal guide may like this book. Each chapter is either a walking tourof the typical "tourist route" or an INDEPTH tour of one of London's premier museums/cathedrals.Which is fine if you want to be "lead by the hand" so to speak, but with your nose in a book.

This combined with another, like the Eyewitness Guide will give a better coverage.

I prefer books that give me a broader overview, with some detailed guidance. Read this one for good coverage of the typical tourist route, then look for another for a better overall view.

I was very disappointed in the book - I was expecting a lot of useful advice on finding a comfortable hotel and an inexpensive meal, but there was almost no info on those topics. Instead, Steves gives great detail on the few items he thinks you should see in the major museums of London. Well, thanks, but my taste in art differs from his. In something the size of the British Museum, putting together a sort of "Greatest Hits" list is ridulous; there's too many fabulous pieces in too many categories for a small section of guidebook to do the reader anything but a disservice. Much better to use the Museum's extensive resources on site to find your personal favorites.
Steves would far better serve his readers by giving some SPECIFIC info on restaurants, not just broad categories of places to seek out.