Lonely Planet Western Europe, Sixth Edition (Paperback)

by Susie Ashworth (Author) "The Getting Around chapter has information organised tours..." (more)
Key Phrases: doubles with bath, tourist office annexe, university mensa, American Express, Western Europe, New Zealand (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Best for curious and independent-minded travelers' --Wall Street Journal
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

Independent and indispensable, this up-to-date guide to Western Europe will take you around Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland.

• 168 detailed maps
• hand-picked places to stay and eat for all budgets
• the lowdown on the highlights, from the Eiffel Tower to the Acropolis
• road-tested tips on getting around the region
• comprehensive language guide

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Product Details

• Paperback: 1296 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 6th edition (January 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1740593138
• ISBN-13: 978-1740593137
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #334,316 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're going to LOVE EUROPE! , September 23, 2004

By	Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I've been to Europe >50 times, nearly all countries. Here are my reviews of the best guides to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.

Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the public transportation system. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this needs to be in your backpack, May 22, 2007

By	P. Craig (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Western Europe (Multi Country Guide) (Paperback)

Complete, detailed information about most places the typical eurail traveller will go. I'm in the middle of a four week trip through Europe and have found it to be valuable. You don't need a book to help you find a party.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Because you will want their advice, January 15, 2008

By	Rachael R. Kenney "Rachael K" (Beverly, MA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Western Europe (Multi Country Guide) (Paperback)

Just got back from visiting 8 countries in three weeks and this book came to my rescue many times. I'd recommend making photocopies or pulling out the pages for your trip so you do not have to lug the whole book around. This was a great way to get an idea of what to plan to see (the cities in two days boxes are really helpful to make a plan and the food recommendations are great (the prices are super helpful). I will definitely buy an updated version of this book if I ever do a similar trip!