When reading this book I was really surprised by its accuracy and liveliness. The author succeeds in putting everything I would like to tell my non-Belgian friends in an extremely readable book (I finished it in one night). The point of view of the author is unique in the sense that he is a foreigner (British) but is married to a Belgian and has been living there long enough to know the small things of life. I would recommend this book to anybody remotely interested in Belgium. For those that are not, I can assure you that your interest will be certainly piqued by reading this book. For me this book is a great gift for a friend interested in my country.

As Belgian myself it was funny read this book which is humorous but too much accurate about many things that we know is true in our people but surprised to read in a book!
Book is a very nice introduction to my country for people coming to live here and know about, but don't worry - not all the drivers are so bad and dangerous!

Mark Elliott has written a very entertaining - and if my Belgian friends are to be believed - accurate account of Belgian culture. Not a classic guidebook with lists of places to visit and restaurants to patronize, this book truly lives up to its title. The book contains a great deal of humor which makes the Belgians come alive for the reader. The book has definitely made me put Belgium on my list of places I wish to visit.

Last summer I went to Switzerland with my girlfriend. She had this book with her. It was great! It helped us to see interesting places, find affordable hotels, good restaurant. I recommend this book to anyone who is planning on going to Switzerland.

This was by far the most helpful resource that I took to Switzerland--extremely detailed, logically organized, and quite accurate. Walking in Switzerland was extremely helpful in its well-written trail and regional descriptions as well as precise information on surrounding logistics. A must for anybody who intends to hike (seriously or casually) in the region. At the risk of gushing overmuch, this is quite possibly the most useful travel guide I've ever bought.

It took us to places that the locals thought were not available without local knowledge. I highly recommend this book. Please e-mail me with your comments

This mini guide was an EXCELLENT companion on our recent Rome excursion. The top 25 sites section was particularly useful in determining what to see during our stay. Each of the 25 sites noted in the guide included a train/bus number reference and that was most helpful. Many travel guides do not include such info. You'll never miss with the Citypacks!

Without fanfare, this book has been more than helpful. From spendthrift to affluence ...it lets me call the shots. Insightful reviews guide my trip of a lifetime ...and I need help. The logistical insights of important connection to the ancient while nurturing tourism avoidance within all possible bounds has been accomplished.

I've watched Rick Steves on TV and enjoyed his rather unique take on travel. We were traveling to the low countries and I decided to give his book a try. All the resturants recommended were good. Hotels were also good and we even got a discount when we mentioned that we found one of the hotels in his book to the desk clerk.

Historical landmarks were even more interesting with all the written history on the sites. We had no intention on visiting Bruges but were very glad we did once we started reading the book. Bruges turned out to be better than Brussels and on par or better than Amsterdam. I'd visit Bruges again before I visited Venice, Barcelona, Munich, or Salzburg. Glad this book steered us in that direction.

Maps and day schedules were also very helpful. I give it 5 out of 5 stars and I don't give 5 stars unless well deserved.

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.

This book provides excellent detail for an great car trip in France. His recommendation to stay in the Rue Cler area of Paris was perfect. I also enjoyed the many small villages that were suggested.

The French are wonderful...all you need is this book and two weeks off!

We used this guide last year on a trip through France, Belgium and the Netherlands and found it to be indispensable. Since this was our first trip to Europe, we were very nervous about making train and hotel reservations on our own. Rick's book made it a breeze. It was also very accurate on hotel and restaurant prices. Overall the book made our trip much more enjoyable and I have recommended it to a number of people.

This is a great book for people who are moving to Holland as it provides detailed information on living, and touring, here. It is organized by provinces, and gives clear information on how to get to sites and events. An updated edition fills in with new info and events.

Easy to read book outlined by provinces within the country. Chock full of museums,sites, useful transportation information and a calendar of yearly special events. Within the provinces is a detailed account of important cities and what to see. There's even a section devoted to Living in Holland. I own the 1989 edition and hopefully the reprint will correct any opening times, admission prices or telephone numbers. That said, well worth the money, as is.

I am currently living in Belgium and have gone through several guide books to help find the spots to visit. Many other books focus on hotels or restaurants, but the Rough Guide focuses on where to go and what to see when you get there. It has useful information on how to get there by car, train and even bike. I take this book with me on my travels around Belgium and am enjoying learning more about this wonderful country.

Having spent an academic year studying and travelling in Belgium, I went through a great many different guidebooks to enhance my Belgian experience. The guidebook experience was a mixed one - some multi-area guidebooks devoted but a few pages to Belgium (Rick Steves' France, Belgium, and Luxembourg - very spotty on the Belgian information), others were more focused on the culture and history of Belgium than the intricacies of getting to a specific place (the Insight Guide to Belgium).

So, having gone through the gamut of books on Belgium, I can wholeheartedly say that this is the best one out on the market at the current time. The coverage given to tourist sites and getting around this small-but-wonderful country is outstanding...it helped me find some great, off-the-beaten-track destinations that other guidebooks might pass over. The coverage given to Luxembourg within these pages is also very well-done (not to mention helpful) -- something sorely lacking in other guidebooks.

The Insight Guide to Belgium is also recommended, but more as a cultural and historical primer. For the practicalities of everyday Belgian life, this is the only book you'll need (and its physical size is great - the least cumbersome and yet most informative guide I've ever carried around on my travels). So...what are you waiting for? Go to Belgium and take this book with you!

We went to many bookstores looking for a map of Paris. MY parner and I were going for the first time ever and had no clue what to expect. We went for 6 days and 5 nights. We thumbed thru about 100 different maps in total and purchased this one based on 3 things: it showed the street we were staying on, it divided the country into arrondisements (different districts) and it showed all the tourist spots!

The map was easy to read and through all our fighting over it and folding and unfolding, the map stayed in tact! It's also waterproof!

It was so worth the money! We got lost once when we travelled far off the map. But it really is the best map out there! We are keeping it for our next visit!

I found this guide to Paris an invaluable companion on my first trip to the city. Its detailed maps of the different quarters and breezy commentary was a great supplement to the simpler, heavily illustrated "Eyewitness" Guide I also used. The Rough Guide goes into greater detail, and has a lot more historical background, without being exhaustive like the famous "Blue Guide" series. It also has a good summary of the history of the city. The writing is winningly opinionated in places (declaring, for example, that the late 19th century realist paintings in the Musee D'Orsay are 'indigestible'), but doesn't seem demand that you agree with it. Maybe Paris just makes people opinionated in matters of taste. I'd recommend it for anybody who wants more than the tourist surface, but who doesn't want to be overwhelmed with too much background.

...could fill a library. And this would be a good place to start. Slightly surreal, slightly baroque, very funny. If you enjoy this odd travelogue as much as I did, you might also like Tim Moore's "Frost on My Moustache."

Briton Harry Pearson's long travels to virtually every nook and cranny of Belgium provide a nuanced and enjoyable portrait of a little known culture. Longstanding ethnic and linguistic differences between Wallonia and Flanders are carefully explained, as are major episodes of the country's history, from colonialism in Africa under King Leopold II to the new status of Brussels as the bureacratic heart of the European union. Though Pearon's travel itinerary often meandered, he covers much ground with dry wit and a close eye for seemingly eccentric behaviour. Long regarded as the poor cousin of France and the Netherlands, Belgium and its people are the punchline of many European jokes. Yet for all his chronicles of dubious Belgian aesthetic tastes and futile do-it-yourself construction projects, Pearson's bemused affection for the nation yields a pleasurable and informative read.

The American Express Travel Guide of Amsterdam (1992), written by Derek Blythe, has been re-written by Carol Winkelman and re-published as Travel&Leisure: Amsterdam (1997). Travel&Leisure magazine, in conjunction with Macmillan Travel, designed this new version of the book for a larger audience that includes young travelers, budget travelers, babyboomer travelers, discriminating travelers, and business travelers. The new book is a combination of traditional and offbeat travel guide, helping the reader find his/her way to hotels, restaurants, museums, and historical sites while also taking him/her "inside" Amsterdam to experience its cafe culture, lively arts scene, and famous nightlife. The new book, like The American Express Guide, includes an excursion to Rotterdam that leads the reader from the historic to the ultramodern.