Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges, and Brussels

Customer Reviews

• The only travel guide you'll need  Mar 17, 2003 (25 of 25 found this helpful)

  My friends and I just returned from 6 days in Amsterdam with a day trip to Bruges. We took along several travel guides but this book was the one we ended up using again and again. It clearly lists the top attractions and how to get the most from them. We especially liked the museum tours and self-guided walking tours. The maps are great and easy to use. Tips on negotiating the train system were very helpful. The restaurant choices were also very good. We stayed at the Hotel Hestia in Amsterdam and loved it (great location, reasonable price, friendly staff). Be sure to also pick up a free copy of "Boom Chicago's Guide to Amsterdam" when you get into town for a humorous look at the Dutch Culture and a discount offer on a hilarious comedy show.

• Just returned....this guide helped make our trip wonderful!  Aug 22, 2003 (7 of 7 found this helpful)

  This guide beats all others, hands down. We relied on it almost exclusively.....just returning from Holland and Belgium. The guide through the Rijksmuseum & van gogh in Amsterdam were super. We followed Rick's tour through Brugge which was very enjoyable.

  We stayed at Rick's suggested picks for hotels: Hotel Heritage in Bruge and the Diseptiem (sp wrong) in Brussels. They were top notch as well. The book provided great tips that added to the ease and enjoyment of our trip (for example....we knew to head right to the train station to park in Haarlem).

  Only thing the book didn't adequately prepare us for was the difficulty of driving---in any city. Street signs are incredibly tough to see and getting lost is the norm. Detailed driving directions are a must - and locals don't know how to give them! And don't drive to Bruge!!!!!

  Also, prices must be updated (euro is way up), and there is significant fluctuation in exchange rates by country. Holland is much better than Belgie or France.

• Great for museum info, terrible for general travel info  Dec 16, 2003 (46 of 60 found this helpful)

  I travel extensively and have been trying different travel guidebooks like DK Eyewitness, Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, and Moon guide. For my recent trip to Amsterdam, I ordered a book from yet another guidebook writer, called the "Rick Steves' Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels 2004."

  Rick Steves has been hosting PBS travel shows for years, concentrating on Europe. I recall seeing some of his shows and they were interesting, so I thought this trip to Europe would be the best (if not only) time to try one of Steves' books.

  As a travel guide, I would say Steves' book is TERRIBLE! I would rate it as poor, and would not recommend it to anyone who needs a TRAVEL guide.

  When I am traveling to a new country, especially a big city in a foreign country, I need a travel guide to provide me with the BASICS such as 1) an explanation of the parts of town, so I know where to stay and hang out, 2) plenty of recommendations for accommodations, 3) suggestions for good restaurants and local food, 4) basic terms and phrases to help me communicate when there, 5) a list/glossary of local terms, local food, local customs, and so on, 6) a good map, 7) suggestions for what to do and see. (A little history is nice, but not necessary) Steves underperformed in 6 of these 7 categories.

  Steves provides too much information about the tourist sites, and too little information about the travel basics. In the book, Steves dedicates about 140 pages to Amsterdam. Of this amount, about 115 pages (82%) are dedicated to sightseeing and museum tours. He only provides about 6 pages for accommodations and about 6 pages for dining options (which is about the same amount of space he gives to smoking marijuana in Amsterdam). He provides only 2 pages for nightlife, and a few pages for shopping. He provides very little on neighborhoods or districts of the city, he offers no helpful phrases, and he offers no list of terms/glossary. His maps are made to look like they are hand written and are acceptable, but could use improvement.

  Steves' book is not without merit, however. It is nice if you want a tour book for some famous museums or historical architecture. In fact, he does a nice job with this section of the book. If you know where you are going to stay, know the local food and customs, can speak the local language, and simply want a resource to help you understand the local museums or famous architecture, then you might appreciate Rick Steves' books. However, if you need a real TRAVEL guide, one that helps you with your actual travel plans and travel decisions, and one that helps you get around and communicate in a foreign land, then avoid this book.

• A Different Take  Nov 14, 2003 (6 of 7 found this helpful)

  I found this guidebook very useful on my recent trip to Europe. Using it, I found some really nice, out of the way spots that weren't mentioned in standard guidebooks. I also found it a little friendlier and easier to use than some of the other guidebooks. The only downside is that the maps are kind of hand-drawn and not quite as precise and detailed as those in other books.

• Rick won't steer you wrong  Jun 23, 2004 (5 of 6 found this helpful)

  Rick Steves gives no-nonsense advice on the things you really need to see. He's a little more enthusiastic than warranted when it comes to Brussels (blecch!), but his other recommendations are spot on. We used this book so often on our Low Countries trip that we started referring to it as "the Bible." One caveat: expect to see other Rick Steves-toting tourists wherever you go.