Fellow Fodorite and friend Marcy and I are going next week to listen to Rick Steves give a lecture. I personally don't care for his views or politics and I have a real beef with the way he pronounces certain places like Cinque Terre and Rue Cler &quot;his&quot; finds and then all the lemmings follow in droves to those spots like it was Mecca or something, but (do you get the idea I <i>really</i> don't like him?) but I am nonetheless interested in listening to him. He's not lacking in travel experience or opinions, so I'm waiting...will report afterwards.

Well, the rue Cler isn't &quot;his&quot; find; Patricia Wells was writing about it long before Rick Steves &amp; I suspect that's where he got his info (he does suggest using other guidebooks to accompany his own stating that his is not in any way complete).

Rick's guides are good for the 1st-time traveler, to help them get over their hesitations about travel. I should know, as I got over my qualms about traveling to Europe (and as a solo traveler) after reading <u>Europe through the Back Door</u>.

Rick Steves guide books may well be available in the UK but that does not mean that many people buy them or that the average Brit knows who he is. I was in the Virgin Megastore on Times Square last week and saw CD's by The Stereophonics, Cliff Richard, Robbie Williams and even Roger Whitaker but it doesn't mean that anyone knows who they are in the US.
That's all I was saying.

I am a fan of Rick Steves' philosophy of European travel, but I do not choose to go to the the &quot;locals only&quot; restaurants or hotels he recommends because they are now crowded with American Rick Steves fans. Not that they/we are a bad lot, but it sort of defeats the purpose of the philosophy. Instead, I use his advice to remember and learn to pack light, bring a good smile and friendly attitude, be flexible, and choose hotels that are small and down to earth, etc...
He can also be witty and remind you to keep things in perspective while traveling. And, he has some practical advice on train, car and flight travel.
So, I just choose to incorporate what works and avoid what doesn't. Just like I do with all travel info.
Happy travels!

I'm fairly new to this board, but don't understand why everyone is so negative about Rick Steves. My husband and I have traveled to Europe several times, and find his advice extremely helpful, especially the first couple times we traveled--he took the &quot;scariness&quot; out of traveling to Europe independently for the first time. We find his books, videos and website very helpful in the initial planning phases of our trips.

I do admit that we don't always prefer Rick's choices for accommodations and restaurants, but the majority of them have been pretty good, at least in England, France, and Italy.

I have come to value the opinions and advice of the frequent posters here, but still do rely on Rick somewhat too for trip planning and intineraries, as well as Karen Brown.

I think he is excellent for first timers. Covers all the basics and budget minded students but he's not very sophisticated. An hour ago I was watching him on PBS on the Paris segment. I was surprised when he tasted steak tartare for the first time and when asked he he liked it, he answered he thought it too..., I forget the word he used but those of us who love it know it can taste differently when prepared by various chefs. I thought he put off others from tasting this dish.

Yes, Rick Steves..laughing at all the self-important Fodorites all the way to the bank.

No, cigale chica, he's doesn't present himself at all as the sophisticate. Although, someone mentioned on another thread that he probably affects this lack of sophistication for his readers.

But really, any traveler would depend on more than one guidebook. Even I depended on at least 4 different ones on my first trip to Paris. There is no one guide that will give you the &quot;all&quot; on a location and smart travelers no &amp; appreciate this.

AR, I am very familiar with Stereophonics, Cliff Richard, Robbie Williams but I am not at all familiar with Roger Whitaker. I listen to an alternative rock station called WOXY (they're a great web radion station: www.woxy.com) and they play all types of music. Although, I thought it was Cliff Richards? But we all know him here in the US for Devil Woman from the '70s. And then again if you're a Young Ones fan... (oh look...Cliff!)

Yes Beatchick, I certainly was a &quot;Young Ones&quot; fan (I presume you are talking about the 80's comedy and not the Sir Cliff song??).
Adrian Edmonson (from the &quot;Young Ones&quot is currently appearing on TV here on the BBC's version of &quot;Pop Idol&quot; for charity, cheered on by wife Jennifer Saunders - and he's hillarious, singing all his 70's heroes Punk songs.
Roger Whittaker is a cheesy folky type singer who was popular in the 60's and 70's (and still is with the blue rinse brigade). I really did see a CD of his in Virgin!
As for Cliff - he's definately Richard without the &quot;s&quot;. Actually, he's Harry Webb but that's another story!
Perhaps you can help me - when I was in NYC last week, they were filming &quot;Law and Order&quot; outside our hotel. What's that? Is it big?

A good example of why you should use more than 1 guidebook is my research for my Switzerland trip this summer. Let's Go has a good section on Montreux with map, but only a paragraph on Gimmelwald. RS is just the opposite. Between the two, I have both bases covered.

I have found Rick Steve's tv programs and books to be helpful....just like alot of other sources of info. There are just a few people on some of these message boards who feel somehow they they are 'special' people when travelling....and the rest of us are just 'tourists'. I think Rick has done a good job of getting Americans out in the world and broadening their perspectives. So there!!!!

Gosh, a travel website with some errors in it. Imagine that.

Ihopp, I don't think they dislike him because they criticize him, it's like anyone on TV, they become bait for topics. He is smiling all the way to the bank, Intrepid, I know people that like his lectures and find him very nice. Today's show was one of his best of Paris.

In my younger days when I was doing more budget travel, I relied on his hotel recommendations, and they usually were pretty good. The guy doesn't know food though (perhaps the weed has blunted his taste buds?). And, sorry Rick, but I hate picnics. But that's just my own pet peeve. I love dining al fresco when there's a table, a waiter, and a menu.

I think most of us are just jealous and wish we could make a living by traveling! Like all guidebooks, his books are to be taken with a grain of salt. Personally, I think he rushes through places and I always add double the time to his itineraries, but they are still helpful in planning car trips. And most recently, one of his suggestions from his website page entitled &quot;Britain with Kids&quot; saved the day for us. I had two cranky, tired kids in Edinburgh. I luckily had noted his recommendation of a great museum/attraction near the castle called the &quot;Camera Obscura.&quot; My kids (and husband) loved it. Everyone perked up and we were able to continue the day of sightseeing. So I still check to see what he has to say about the places we visit.

He has a good planning, but skips on some intersting cities and suggests to travel to his favorites. But his plans and maps are good. Do not care for most of his accommodations, only one I used was good - Chalet Fontana in Swtizerland, but had to pay them cash, it was too much complicated and the owner did not use email so it was hard to communicate.

I love Karen Brown itineraries and accommodations - we never got wrong in any of them in france and Italy and Switzerland.

Do not care about his food and lodging recommendation. But I think his overall intro is very good for beginners.

Oh geez, not this crap again! I figure the anti-Steves sentiment is a combination of jealousy, self-importance, elitism, snobbery (in large part) and resentment. Get over it.

Travel is big business. He found a niche and has made the most of it. Looks like some are just so jealous that this nerdy backpacker has done better than they at exploiting the U.S. interest in budget travel. Again - get over it.

Having said that, I take all his recommendations with a grain of salt. I don't want to go anyplace that's overrun with tourists. On the other hand, I stayed at the Hotel Leveque on Rue Cler LONG before I ever heard of Rick Steves - and liked it - so why should I reject it now just because he &quot;discovered&quot; it? Why should I care? Why does anyone around here care so strongly about this guy?

Well said flsd. One of the Fodors editors made a mistake in talking about my home town, but the experts here seemed to have missed that one. The Hotel Leveque was my introduction to Europe and it was fine with me.

As I have mentioned RS is just one of many sources of info I use. I've met him and he happens to be a nice guy. He is not only helpful for novice travelers but for veteran travelers as well. I stayed at a great place in Berlin some years ago. Quiet, tree lined side street. A year ago I mentioned his name at my hotel in Rome and got a 30% discount. The experts here don't have the first clue what a discount is- just read some of the threads.

I would never take one of his tours as I prefer to spend time in each place, but a lot of people are happy with his tours. A friend of mine has guided for him and she got a lot of great reviews from her groups.

&gt;&gt;&gt;&gt;At some point in my trips I usually want to just get the hell away from mobs and tourists. Gimmelwald offers that opportunity in the Oberland&lt;&lt;&lt;&lt;

Yeah I can see that side of it also.

After a full day of hiking, I usually am too tired and I just have dinner followed by some frosty cold delights and then call it a day or night!

I know I feel very tired after a full day of hiking!


Still though, I enjoy Grindlewald.

Back to Sleeves. The guy does a great job for the most part.

Sometimes I get annoyed at his ugly, obnoxious American thing. I mean Americans have not cornered the market on being obnoxious while traveling.

But all in all, Steevs does a good job.