Customer Reviews

Weird Europe: A Guide to Bizarre, Macabre, and Just Plain Weird Sights

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

 

 

I bought this book prior to my european trip thinking it would help a lot as far as finding the non touristy, weird , and bizarre places. it is helpful to an extent but it ends up just repeating info that more general guides such as Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring and Let's Go Europe have. if you are planning to go for a lengthy period of time do not buy this book for it will only be extra weight. Lonely Planet's Europe has all the info you need. from hostels to bizarre places to go and see. overrall Weird Europe is not a bad guide, it just seems unnecessary if you already have one of the above guides. places are listed in a good order and the book even provides the directions how to get to most of those, such as metro stops, etc. a lot of guides repeat info. one is enough. i learned that one month into the trip when the weight of that backpack really starts digging into your shoulders.

This gem is indispensible for any trip to Europe. The authors have compiled a remarkable directory of visitor spots not found in guide books, and they are fascinating and diverse.

The countries are listed alphabetically, then the corresponding listings of offbeat experiences and sights to be checked out in each, arranged by city. Each listing has one or more icons next to it, for example, "cemeteries, ossuaries, and corpses", "strange towns", or "outrageous art". There are 21 categories in all. This much-needed book is fascinating, well-organized, and unique. I am currently planning a trip with this book as the primary guide. After reading it cover to cover I realized that there is no way that I won't have an unforgettable and unusual experience.

This is really a good compendium of oddities. I know parts of Europe really well, more than I thought these authors would. But I was surprised to find that they had eccentric locales listed that I knew nothing about. They have done a very good job. A book that is definitely worth buying.

This is my second copy of this book - I lent my first one after using it on a 7-1/2 month trip around Europe. It shows the unusual places to visit that are quirky.

This is an interesting book to read by itself, listing various morbid museums and churches all over europe. Most of the "weird" museums are tourist traps (I had been to some of them before reading the book), though some are sort of "old science" rather than anything particularly weird. Some of the weird church stuff is a reference to 'weird' men's clubs like freemasonry, but most of it deals with catholic relics. Having been raised catholic, it isn't much of a big deal to see some saint's alleged finger or legbone in a fancy reliquary in a church, but some of the macabre stuff does really get beyond the pale. I suppose if you are catholic and on tour, you might go check out relics of your favorite saints.

There was a nifty section on the 16th century malarial ghost towns outside of Rome which was worth the price of the book. That's just ... weird. Nobody thinks of ghost towns in europe (though you see them around the veneto, those are more logical). Though with the demographics heading the way they are, there may be more of them in the future.

As a tourist book, it is a little hard to use. There are of course no maps to speak of to actually find these places. Some websites might be nice. Also, the index is pretty difficult to use. That said, it is pretty unique as a reference for europe.