Favorite Guidebook Series to Europe: Be sure to consider titles to European destinations from the guidebook series we review on our Guidebook Series page. (You'll also find some helpful comments on the major guidebook series below.)
Click on series name below to read the review on the Guidebook Series page. Use link to series' Web site in our review for full list of titles currently available:
Karen Brown's Guides: A wonderful, long-established group of guidebooks to unique lodging choices throughout Europe, among other destinations. There are ten titles covering different parts of Europe, including England, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, and Czech Republic, among others. The Companion Guide series: A very special, erudite, in-depth guidebook series, covering history, art, culture, and architecture and including several classics in the field (now expertly revised) to Paris and Rome. Companion Guides to Europe total about 20 volumes currently. In addition to Paris and Rome, they include Madrid, Greece, Florence, Burgundy, London, Devon, Sicily, South of Spain, Venice, and Istanbul, among others. Michelin Green Guides: The sightseeing guide series by which others are judged. Many titles to European destinations, especially to regions of France. Also including guidebooks to London, Rome, Scotland, Spain, Greece, Ireland, Switzerland, Tuscany, and Venice, among others. Nearly 40 European titles. Zagat Survey series: Predominantly a U.S. series, this democratically determined group of restaurant guides (and some other types of guides) includes several European titles: Europe's Top Restaurants, London Restaurants, and Best of London. If you are unfamiliar with the Zagat Survey, don't miss our review. Born to Shop series: This long-standing shopping guide series includes four European titles to Paris, London, Italy, and France. Open Road series: A good quality, lesser-known series. Great to use with major guidebooks to compare and contrast your selections. Blue Guides: Penetrating cultural guides to primarily European destinations--now in a new, elegant format. Knopf Mapguides: Small pocket guides with ingeniously designed fold-out maps. Includes sites, restaurants, and more.
And how about the major guidebook series?
While our Web site does not emphasize major guidebook series, we certainly make use of some of these often excellent resources. A few, brief comments should be helpful: For this region of the world we begin with a Fodor's guide whenever possible (www.fodors.com/shop), then we often add a guidebook from Rick Steves (travelstore.ricksteves.com) and sometimes one from the Frommer's series as well (www.frommers.com/bookstore). For budget travel, we recommend a Let's Go guide (www.letsgo.com) or Lonely Planet's Europe on a Shoestring (www.lonelyplanet.com, click on "online shop"). See additional comments on major guidebook series and on selecting from the guidebooks we review on our Choosing Guidebooks page.
Reviews of Favorite Guidebooks:
Rick Steves’ Europe 101: History and Art for the Traveler, by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw, 525 pages, Avalon Travel Publishing, 2007
This humorous and very informative book has been around since the mid-1980s. We are still using the 6th edition from 2000, but look forward to exploring the 2007 edition sometime soon—especially since it appears to incorporate many more pages than previous editions. It’s fun to read and covers some very worthwhile material, which will make your enjoyment of the museums and buildings you encounter that much more profound. This is a book you can read ahead of time and choose to leave behind, but we find it helpful to have along to re-read sections of interest as our vacation unfolds. Back to Top
Rick Steves’ Mona Winks: Self-Guided Tours of Europe’s Top Museums, by Rick Steves and Gene Openshaw, 447 pages, Avalon Travel Publishing, 5th edition, 2001
From the authors of Europe 101 comes a fun (and funny) yet informative guidebook to many of the museums you may visit throughout Europe. If you are not well versed in art history, take this guidebook along. It will add tremendously to your appreciation of what you encounter and will help you move more smoothly and certainly more quickly through the massive volume of artwork you will need to negotiate at the larger museums such as the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Prado. But do double-check time sensitive details--the publication date is 2001 and there is no update in sight. Back to Top
The Companion Guide to Paris, by Anthony Glyn (revised by Susan Glyn), 324 pages, Companion Guides, revised edition, 2000
If you would like a thoughtful, passionate, opinionated guide to take you on a stroll along the Seine and out across both the left and right banks of Paris, look no further. Written many years ago, this classic book has been lovingly updated by Susan Glyn in 2000, with the help of several others. It provides a deeper exploration than other books of the sites you will encounter as you follow along. Imagine your favorite history professor taking you on a personal tour and exuberantly sharing his knowledge and insights. Fascinating! This favorite title of ours is actually part of the Companion Guide series referenced earlier in this page under Favorite Guidebook Series (we just couldn't resist saying a little more). Back to Top
Great Sleeps: Paris by Sandra Gustafson, 320 pages, Chronicle Books, 11th edition, 2007 Great Eats: Paris by Sandra Gustafson, 416 pages, Chronicle Books, 11th edition, 2007
We absolutely love these books! When we first started reviewing guidebooks in the 1980s, we found Sandra Gustafson’s early editions of these two books (then published by a tiny, San Diego publisher, Cobble & Mickle) and were thrilled with the help they both provided. They were called “Cheap Eats” and “Cheap Sleeps” at the time (and for many years thereafter), but more recently the “Cheap” has changed to “Great” so that she could include some relatively more expensive selections. Good thing too, what with the huge changes the relationship of the Euro to the U.S. dollar. There is nothing cheap about Paris anymore (or Europe for matter), but it’s still certainly “great,” and Sandra Gustafson will help you find some of the best choices with well-researched selections that will keep the financial pain to a minimum. Her write-ups are exceptionally informative and all the practical stuff is there too (Is English spoken? Is there a charge for breakfast?). These are our favorite guidebooks to Paris concentrating on restaurants and lodging. Use Great Sleeps before you go and line up what you need from the U.S. and definitely, definitely take Great Eats along—or tear out the Parisian districts (arrondissements) you care most about to save some weight. Back to Top
Food Lover’s Guide to Paris, by Patricia Wells, 432 pages, Workman Publishing, 4th edition, 1999
It may seem strange to see such an old, purely food-oriented book still on the recommended list, but it’s a fact. Lots of this book will prove immensely useful—particularly the charming little shops that concentrate on a specific items--boulangeries (bakeries), patisseries (pastry shops), fromageries (cheese shops), and so forth. Patricia Wells is one of the best European food authorities (and still writing a steady stream of wonderful recipe books—just search her name on your favorite online bookstore) and her Food’s Lover’s Guide to Paris remains a unique pearl for the traveler to Paris. Well worth dealing with the changes time has wrought. Back to Top
The Good Food Guide, Andrew Turvil, editor, 600 pages, Which? Books (Consumers' Association), 56th edition, 2008
A half a century ago, the Consumers' Association was born in the United Kingdom to "improve the standard of goods and services available to the public." They've been at it ever since on many fronts, but for our purposes it is this wonderful food guide that deserves mention. The Good Food Guide is thoroughly updated every year. It is, as the Independent (a newspaper in England) has noted: "...fiercely independent and even-handed." They accept no ads or sponsorships and do all their inspections anonymously. The result is a fabulously helpful guidebook to all of the U.K.--nearly 1,200 restaurants in all, from "gastropubs" to high-end dining. Helpful maps too. The Consumers' Association Web site is worth checking as well (www.which.co.uk - under "Quick Access", click on "View All Books"). They have other Travel & Leisure information available, though some is only available to to those who subscribe. In the past, they have had other excellent guidebooks (The Good B&B Guide was one of our favorite). Keep an eye out; other titles may surface yet again. Back to Top
City Secrets: London, Robert Kahn, editor, 257 pages, The Little Bookroom, 2001 City Secrets: Rome, Robert Kahn, editor, 266 pages, The Little Bookroom, 1999 City Secrets: Florence, Venice and the Towns of Italy, Robert Kahn, editor, 386 pages, The Little Bookroom, 2001
A delightful, small series we've elected to include here rather than on our Series page (there is also a guidebook to New York City where the Little Bookroom is based). These small, fit-in-your-back-pocket books are unique in our experience. What you'll find are short, snappy entries from hundreds of artists, historians, writers, architects, and other cultured souls who share their "secret" discoveries with you. There is some great stuff! A hidden square off the beaten path, a statue usually missed by tourists hurrying by, a favorite painting, and on and on. Wonderful moments you can incorporate into your own travels. Food ideas are also shared, though the oldness of these books (we hope updates are in sight!) makes for more errors--places no longer there, etc. Still, there is much to enjoy and use. Well worth exploring--and great fun to leave on the bedstand and read now and then as your trip gets closer. These books will really get the travel juices flowing! And be sure to check out Little Bookroom's own Web site (www.littlebookroom.com). They have what look to be other interesting travel titles we have not yet explored. Back to Top
