I would like to ask, other than Michelin Guides, and other guide books which was mentioned,why the Planet Guide series is not mentioned for a reference book for travel through Europe? Please give your opinion on this particular, series of books. Also please recommend a travel guide book for a newbie traveling through Europe. Thanks

I only use Eyewitness Travel Guides. I think they are the best.

Do you mean The Lonely Planet?

It depends on your age & style/budget for the trip... Let's Go, Rough Guide, and Lonely Planet are good for younger and budget travelers. Rick Steves is good for medium ages and budgets and a low-key independent style.

In the ancient days before the internet, I bought guidebooks for the hotel and restaurant recommendations. Now I get those online.

I first buy the DK Eyewitness Guide. There are lots of lovely pictures and descriptions of hudreds of places...they always make me excited about where I am going.

I also buy the Rick Steves books for his walking tours and museum tours.

First stop for me is the library - order as many books as I can - spend three weeks with them, decide which seem to fit, then buy those ones.

I also buy guidebooks on sale - in particular DK - even if it's a couple of years old I am happy with the info and use the net to check opening hours etc

I, on the other hand, HATE the Eyewitness series. It's what suits your style. Browse. See what tickles your fancy.

For any part of the world I love Frommer's guides. They tend to be well written and I have never been steered wrong. For Europe I also like Rick Steves.

I'm with wombat on this one. Look through as many as possible. I always flip through the Eyewitness first to see what catches my eye and then move on. The one I will ultimately choose to cart around with me depends on the destination.
I tend to like the "walk" books, like Prague walks. The Frommer's site has walks listed.

I generally use Lonely Planet, as I like to know how much stuff is going to cost ahead of time! In general they are pretty informative. That said, it all depends on your trip. Go to Barnes and Noble and browse. Also, I find most of my planning is done on the internet these days...

Hi
I go to a bookstore and look through the various guidebooks available for where I'm traveling. I don't however buy lonely planet and usually not eye witness guides. Eyewitness beacuse it does not give much information and is glossy, with too many pictures. I usually use Michelin Green guides, Rough Guides, Cadagon, fodors and an occasional blue Guide. My interests are not hotels and restaurants as much as historical info, walking and driving tours. It really depends on where you are going and which books are the most updated for the area.

I am another fan of the DK Eyewitness Guide books. I love them.

For a brief and general overview of the history of a place, and ideas on where to go and what to see there, I too like the Eyewitness guides. The pictures are truly "worth 1000 words". For specific recommendations on restaurants and lodging, I rely on recommendations from friends and from this site, as well as internet research.

But for a "newbie", I would recommend Rick Steves' guides, not so much for his "where to go" recommendations, but for specific information on how to do it all---trains, reservations, tickets to sights, etc.

I found the Michelin Guides to have almost TOO much information.

For a first timer going to Europe on a reasonable budget (not 5-star hotels, not hostels), I found Rick Steves to be the best.

www.ricksteves.com, or find his books at any bookstore.

Jules

I am usually an overplanner, so I go first to the library and get whatever catches my eye. Then I go back and get more, and then I go back and get more......I also have to admit, that a few from the library have actually come with me on my vacation. I always include a Rick Steves.

I have a Lonely Planet Europe, and don't particularly like it, as it's pretty much just a long list of sights and such, with little actual information about them, plus basic information about the countries that I either already know or could find out in a few minutes on CIA World Factbook & the State Dept. website. Personally, and despite the bad rap he gets here, I like Rick Steves, albeit heavily supplemented with internet research (his Best of Europe was the only guidebook I carried with me on my most recent trip through Europe, and served me quite well, except that the maps are pretty useless, which is one thing Lonely Planet is pretty good at, but maps are pretty easily available locally).

Thank you everyone for your input. it is appreciated and will give me lots of options. I will take all the good information and put it to good use. thank you one and all.

I found Rick Steves through other posters' recommendations, and found plenty in it, though I live in the UK and have travelled in Europe quite a lot. Otherwise, you will never find one guide book that does everthing you want. I usually end up with Eyewitness, though I find their pictures too detailed sometimes. I like ones with good map sections, suggested walks [with ideas for refreshments on the way, so I don't have to keep swapping pages] and flexible spines, so they stay open [like the AA guides, though they may not be available in the states]. There's no point in having a guide with lots of accommodation ideas, unless you're not booked ahead.
I agree with the library idea, but the trouble is, I find that my needs when travelling are not the same as my interests when planning the trip. Good luck.

I have the "Art and Architecture" series of Rome, Florence and Venice released by Konemann. They have the size of a hand and they explain every single site by area with one or two pictures, museum plans, church plans, landmark plans, articles about interesting facts, etc. You won't find a bookguide as explicit as these books. However, they don't have hotel or restaurant recommendations or self-guided walks.

I also like the National Geographic series. The pictures are so beautiful and original that you can't wait to go to the place. They have interesting self-guided walks. They are not for people on a budget, though. All of the hotels and restaurants listed are expensive. They also feature interesting articles about related topics.

I look up for hotels on the internet (tripadvisor.com), so I don't really pay attention to hotel recommendations in a bookguide.