Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' Mona Winks: Self-Guided Tours of Europe's Top Museums (5th Edition)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

When my parents and I went to Europe for the first time, we wanted to visit all the top museums but didn't know how to get started. I got Mona Winks because I love Rick Steves' guide books. I followed the instruction, ripped up the book, and carried only the chapters we needed. My parents (they only speak Chinese) were a little suspicious about it. Our first stop was the National Gallery in London. We went there at the hour that the guide recommended and the museum was almost empty. We went through all the important paintings in two hours, and learned a great deal of art and art history. In the museum, we met a couple holding the same ripped pages from the same guide!

With the help of this book, we visited five other museums including the British Museum, the Louvre and Versailles. We avoided the crowded hours and the expensive local guided tours. This book saved us a lot of time and money, and helped us gain a lot of basic knowledge of history and art of Europe.

After the trip, I mailed back all the pieces from the book and $5.00 to Europe Through the Back Door, and they sent me a new copy! Next time when I visit Europe, I will take the book with me again. If you are an art dummy, this is really the only book you need to tour Europe's top museums. That's all I have to say about this book.

My wife and I used the "Rome" and "Florence" chapters of this amazing book during our recent trip to Italy. (As the authors instructed, we literally tore those chapters from the book and took only them with us.) Neither of us will ever forget sitting on a piece of broken column in the center of the Forum in Rome, reading the applicable descriptions as we gazed around us at the epicenter of the Roman Empire. We've each read a lot of "travel" books -- guides, travelogues, etc. -- and this is the best hands-on guide to art and history that we've found. This book was recommended to us by friends who had traveled around the world with it; we are really looking forward to tearing ALL of the chapters out as we take future trips with the authors as our guides.

Just kidding! But it is certainly applicable to say that if it is in the book, then it is worth seeing. My wife and I have conquered the Louvre, Venice's palace and basilica, Versailles, and most of Florence (minus the Ufizi) with this book. We were very disheartened to learn that we forgot to pack it for our trip to London. The section on Westminister Abbey would have been great. At least we would have been laughing in such a somber place!!!

We've lived in Europe for the past three years, and if we can visit someplace Rick recommends in this book -- we do. He takes a very lighthearted tone throughout, but still gets the important points across. And these are frequently interspersed with poignant and funny vignettes.

And when I said above that we "conquered" the Louvre, I meant it! Anyone that has spent four or six hours on their feet, gazing upwards at paintings that are magnificent, keeps getting lost and coming back to the Mona Lisa and her crowd will understand how frustrating an experience it can be. And can identify with our feeling of success after walking through the Louvre in a short span of time (2-3 hours) and coming away with a sense of accomplishment. While visiting the Louvre broadened our perspective, Rick's narrative put it in a context and in a voice we could understand and enjoy.

I heartily recommend you take the ripped up pieces your neighbor just brought back from Europe, and get over there yourself! This book is a must if you are going to any of the "big sites"!

There's four books you need if you're planing a trip to a European country:

1) This book 2) The Dorling-Kindersly guide for your particular country 3) The D-K guide for your major city of interest 4) A Rick Steves guide for that country, if available.

You're already spending thousands for that European vacation -- spring for another $100 in guide books that will help you enjoy it more!

I used this book (the first edition, this one is even better) at the Doge Palace in Venice (where there were no guided tours) reading the descriptions aloud to my mother. By the time we finished, there was a group of about 20 English speaking people (from the US, UK, Canada, Austrailia and South Africa) following us, asking me questions like I was the expert! Great information and great fun!

I used this book all through Italy and it was nothing short of outstanding. While touring the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel in Rome, I actually had a group of people following me as I read the descriptions of what we were seeing. This book walks you through all the major museums room by room, describing the most significant items of art. If you don't want to be tied down to a tour guide, but want to get the most out of what you're seeing, this is the answer! A must buy!

We've used this book for 2 trips to Europe so far. And my whole family loves it! We missed the English speaking tour at Versailles and didn't even mind. We had torn out the section of Mona Winks and used it. It is informative and entertaining. Since we had 3 people using it we saved a fortune on tour guides. And I'll bet the book gave a lot more information than any guide would have. I wouldn't dare go to Europe without this book. The only thing better would be having Rick there himself.

This wonderfully entertaining museum guide turned my bored teenage daughters into art and history lovers - as I read "Mona Winks" to them while travelling through Europe. They'd visit any museum or monument so long as there was a Mona Winks description of it, and other people would actually gather around us to hear our 'much more interesting' description. Although I am an artist with a solid background in Art History, I find this book to be very entertaining. It provides just enough background information to enable the viewer to appreciate each work of art, and interesting enough info to make them curious to delve a little deeper. If you can't find this one in stores, look for his "Europe 101" or any of his other travel guides. They're definitely the most engaging of any travel books I've read.

I used this book on my trip through Europe, and I was amazed at how wonderful it was. In the Vatican, I acted as tour guide for my friends, and then the next day at the Colloseum, all I heard was, "What does Rick say about this?" Some of the insights on why things were built/painted are especially revealing and unique. If you want to enjoy all the sights as much as possible while paying as little as possible for guided tours, this is the way to go.

This is one guide book that is user friendly. You just take out the section that you will be using and carry that. I have used this guide book through almost all of the museums that are listed. I still have 4 more to go. If you follow the times to go that are given, it will save you time and trouble. I still remember looking out in the courtyard of the Louvre and seeing the long line of people waiting to enter on a Sunday afternoon. My husband and I just walked in from the other entrance with no wait.

From our background in travelling, we knew that museums could make or break a vacation (especially in Europe) so we bet on Mona Winks. It paid off big time. We saw many of the world's greatest museums (British Museum, Louvre, Vatican Museums, etc.) all in a simple uncomplicated tour. By reading different parts of it, you could see when and where to get a snack and how to avoid to crowds and the long lines. It saved our vacation, and when we go back we will use it again. The good thing is it is updated every year, and it covers the museums from the Prado in Madrid to the British Museum in London. This is a MUST for anyone who wants to know a little about art, travel to the great museums and survive, and overall have a great trip.