Rick Steves' Europe's Best Three Weeks
 

I saw this link on the rec.travel.europe newsgroup, followed it, and it split my sides.
http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...rope/eur22.htm

If he is serious, he is certainly a fool. If he is not serious, why publish such rubbish?

He's catering to a certain audience that considers his opinion gospel truth.

Unfortunately, that audience is very large, so he makes a great deal of money by publishing such nonsense.

I think Rick has discovered a new way to make (a whole lot more) money. This trip starts in Amsterdam for a reason.

He gets you so stoned that the entire remainder of the trip is in/on a bus, which, in turn, is on a treadmill inside a big circular "virtual" theater. The "Stevesites" THINK they have been to all of these places!

I can't believe he hasn't shoehorned in a night in London on night 21!

Happy travels!

Rex

It's interesting how the itinerary contradicts his priorities -- London and Paris are regarded as the first two cities to visit, but the 3-week itinerary doesn't include London....

I don't really use Rick Steves guidebooks, but I think that they can have some useful stuff. When I was at Burg Rheinfels, I used his walking tour. It was funny when two other American tourists were using the same tour. They were reading out the script fairly loudly, and I chimed in.

Steves also has his biases. Even though I don't really read his stuff closely, even a cursory look suggests to me that he's very keen on Holland and Germany. He's not keen on Scandinavia. He favors the countryside.

But I still find it interesting to seeing what he has to say -- if nothing else, his itineraries often parallel my own mad rushes from place to place.

Hopscotch, what are YOUR best 21 days in Europe?

And by the way, his museum guide books are actually interesting to flip through even though I don't own them. That was one surprise I had.

I guess I am one of the few that cannot stand RS. I cannot stand his attitude, his smirking all in the know (he wishes) attitude, his failure to learn any languages after all his trips to Europe, his clothes, his hair cut and on and on and on, LOL.

Whatever he has to say IMHO has absolutely no interest to me.

Once in a great while I go onto his website and read the Graffiti Board. I feel so sorry for the people that think RS is their guru for enjoying Europe.

<<And by the way, his museum guide books are actually interesting to flip through even though I don't own them. That was one surprise I had.>>

see an updated post from on http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34491748

I've found his travel books contain a lot of useful info, and the hotel recs have always been good.
I don't believe that one should take his opinion as gospel by any means (he leaves out a lot of my favorite towns that I guess aren't worthy in his opinion), but I don't think that the majority of his material is rubbish.

I checked out his tours one time just to see what he offered and when I found out that you had to climb 100 steps to the hotel in Switzerland...forget which city because my eyes glazed over...well, that was enough for me. My older brother thinks he's a GOD!!!

His Italy book recommends doing Venice, Florence, and Rome in 5 days total, but allotting 3 days to Siena. Obviously tastes differ.

Several years ago, he was kind of an "aw shucks" guy who was glad to make a living traveling. Now it is more like "I'm Rick Steves and you're not." His self-importance has grown to the degree that now he writes columns in the Seattle Times advising our government on foreign policy and climate change issues. I am not sure that drinking beer in Bavaria or cruising the Rue Cler qualify him, but that's just me.

OH, LoveItaly, put Rick next to Donald Trump... Still feel this way?

LoveItaly, I am with you all the way. I am a total Europhile, and I can't stand Rick Steves. Why is he an American who calls a backpack a rucksack? Is this the closest he comes to communicating in a foreign lagnguage?

I have checked out one of his hotels, and eaten in one of his restaurant recs. The hotel was far, far below any standard of comfort I could bear, and the restaurant was simply horrid.

I find him smug, smarmy and way too sweet for someone that has been laughing at stupid travelers all the way to the bank. The guy just gets on my nerves.

His directions for getting to the Sistine Chapel from the ticket counter at the Vatican Museums are good, I'll give him that.

And how about those vague maps that don't give a faint idea of what is where? How can this possibly align with his concept of back door travel?

Not a fan.

RS is all a big sham. It is physically impossible for one person to know that many places on the map with any kind of intimacy.
My book sellar's theory is that he just copies out of other guidebooks, which explains why his info is so often out of date, even as it comes of the press.
My own theory is that he hires private guides, takes great notes and then just regurgitates it all back.
Anyone who recommends the rue Cler as a great place to stay in Paris is way too attached to his American roots to give any trustworthy advice on Europe.

Some of you need to just relax. This isn't a football game between rivals. A lot of the squabbling is just differences in preferences. His "best" 3 weeks in Europe are his opinion, nothing more. People who look at it and disagree aren't likely to take that advice; others might. If he says town A is worth seeing but not town B, then that's just his opinion.

For example, he recommends seeing Bath, England. I found the town pretty dull compared to the alternatives. On the other hand, had it not been for RS, I never would have found Gimmelwald, Switzerland which is now one of my favorite places on Earth.

However, any objective person would concede that he has a lot of useful tips in his guidebook. Next time you are in Florence and are interested in seeing the Uffizi, are you going to stand in line for 2 hours like an idiot, or are you going to take Steves' advice and call a day in advance for a reservation?

It cracks me up how some people get so worked up over travel authors!

My dad can beat up your dad!

I am a new traveller. The last time I went to Europe was 25 years ago. Last night I sent a fax to France. I had no idea how to do it. I found the answer in one of the Rick Steves books.

I have used his books as a guideline to different areas to see what I might like. Then I supplement with Green Michelin and Fodors, Lonely Planet and you Fodorites.

I think he is great for beginners like me. There is a lot of basic information in his books.

As far as his whirlwind tour..I think they are silly but he does what the market will bear. I know people who like those kinds of tours. The more cities offerred, the more they think they are getting a bargain. If they didn't sell, they wouldn't be offered. All his tours are not as intense.

Just my opinion.

Edward2005: It just might be that some of us are more sophisticated travellers and do not need Rick Steves to tell us to reserve in advance for the Uffizi.

Again, some of us may not like what might almost be an obsession about cheap, cheap, cheap.

Also, some of us may not like the way he has contributed to turning some lovely places, like the Cinque Terre, into overrun tourist traps.

Finally, some of us may feel that his appreciation of Europe and what it has to offer is enough to make us weep -- or laugh.

Eloise, well said! And from the conversations I have had, you have a lot of Italians backing you up in your opinions. ((*))

Eloise, cheap-cheap-cheap is just one travel philosophy among many, but it is a valid one. All guidebooks and authors have some kind of target market and philosophy. "Let's Go" is all about college kids. RS is more about adult beginners. Fodors is more about experienced adult travelers. Pick the one that fits you best, but that doesn't make all the others intrinsically inferior.

As to the promotion of small towns, what do you expect a travel writer to do when he finds a great undiscovered spot? Keep it to himself?

As for the CT, the Italian government has done its share to promote that region. After all, it wasn't always a national park. And how did all those Germans and Italians who dominate the CT crowds find out about CT, anyway? Do they read RS, too?

IMO the good thing about RS is that he has given many people the confidence to travel in Europe who otherwise would never have done so.

The bad is that too many people follow him blindly, never venturing beyond his recs. This lack of creativity and spontaneity is sad, but not really Rick's fault.

The worst is that he has become so powerful that a rec from him is like a guaranteed income for a hotel or restaurant. As a result, there is much less incentive to maintain or increase their standards. I don't think this is anywhere near as big a problem for hotels as it is for restaurants, because I think that Americans' standards for hotels are as high as Europeans'. But food is another story, and I think it is too easy for a restaurant to weaken both the menu and the execution knowing that its clients are budget-minded American readers of Rick Steves. In preparation for each trip to France I check RS restaurant recs and will not eat at one without very careful consideration and outside research, such as with you Fororites!

Edward2005: Are you suggesting that Rick Steves contributed in a positive way to the fact that the Italian government made the Cinque Terre a national park in 1999? That, I think, would be a complete misapprehension; the Italian government was more likely trying to protect, while it still could and as far as it could, a small, underpopulated region from the inroads of mass tourism. Had it not done so, I daresay developers would have built inexpensive hotels that climbed higher and higher up the coastline. (I have never suggested, and I do not now, that SOME Italians do not take advantage of the popularity of certain regions to the detriment of those places.) And you cannot deny that Rick Steves was a major instigator of the run on the Cinque Terre.

I do not suggest that the German and Italian tourists who, you say, are in the majority in the Cinque Terre have necessarily read Rick Steves. But surely you have heard of word-of-mouth? It does not take long for word to get out, "Hey, there's a new inexpensive place on the Italian coast -- let's go!"

Rick Steves' obsession with doping things cheaply does not only offer American tourists that choice; it actively encourages many of them, to the detriment of the economies of the places that his readers flood to and overflood. As I keep repeating in this forum, each individual resident of Venice has to clean up after roughly 263 visitors, of whom 80% have bought only a sandwich and a Coke and have left the litter for the Venetians to clean up.

Sorry, didn't proofread; "doping things cheaply" should obviously read "DOING things cheaply."

Actually, Rick Steves "doping things cheaply" made perfect sense to me, lol!

What a bizarre thread. People are so angry! I suppose these debates have been going on for as long as there has been tourism and guidebooks.
For example, RS didn't invent the whirlwind trip-the average American attention span is notoriously short, and so many people get so little much vacation time, that tour companies for years have offered trips like this. Lonely Planet and other books offer their best trips in whatever amount of time-one weeks, two weeks, etc, as well. Nor are RS readers the first to travel only the recommendations of their book. Many travels are too timid to eat, drink or travel beyond the bounds of their guidebooks.
I also don't find him obsessed with cheapness at all-the Let's Go and Lonely Planet series are for those on a budget, but not RS guides.

Rick Steves philosophy of travel is what got me traveling again after many years of staying home. Following in the footsteps of the old "Europe on $5 a Day" (was it Frommers) he certainly has opened the way to some great trips for us. Frankly there are aome things he says that I flat out disagree with, but then, there are some things I see on this website that I disagree with...but I get over it.

I'm with ILoveItaly: I can't stand this guy. He's so I-Don't-Want-To-Be-Affiliated with-You in any way whatsoever.

<<RS didn't invent the whirlwind trip - the average American attention span is notoriously short, and so many people get so little much vacation time, that tour companies for years have offered trips like this.>>

I think that this is what makes this particular "itinerary" so ripe for lampooning - - it is NOT "through the back door" - - it is barely sticking your head through the front door! 1 day in Venice? 1 day in Florence? end the trip with less than 18 hours in Paris?

I am not one of the vitriolic detractor of Rick Steves' enthusiastic "you-can-do-it" evangelism.

But this is either a parody of how to really take a "grand tour" (a concept I question anyhow), or a betrayal of sound travel advice that merits being ridiculed.

I had no idea who Rick Steves was until I found this board. I still haven't bought any books, but I've looked through a couple now.

For better or worse, there is a difference between his materials and others.

1) Most guidebooks I've read seem to be fairly comprehensive of the areas, cities or countries that they cover. RS seems to be more favorite-spot oriented. There's not enough "meat" about anyone place in an RS book, compared to others for my tastes.

2) Are there other guidebook companies that have become a travel industry? Fodors Tour, Frommers Luggage, LP salt-n-pepper shakers?

3) Because of the limited scope of coverage + big celebrity appeal, RS's books have a reputation for concentrating the followers into few places.

4) I've never seen anyone go off the deep end when someone said they didn't like LP books, or accuse detractors of being jealous of Rough Guides. (c'mon, you know it's coming....)

All this rage toward Rick is really quite amusing! I guess one man's cheap is another man's treasure. I for one cannot afford to stay in many of Rick's suggested hotels. What does that make me? Should I be ashamed to post on this board that is sometimes dominated by elitist snobs? My wife and I love to travel and we make do on our budget. We use Let's Go and Lonely Planet budget recommendations and we enjoy our trips. I love to read about travel - PERIOD. I don't agree with everything in ANY travel guide book I have read. Shouldn't we be able to disagree without ridiculing the man who just wants to get more people to have the guts to travel on their own? Sure he has gotten rich selling his guide books - isn't that part of the American dream?

RS' 3-week whirlwind tour of Europe is just that -- a whirlwind. That's what he calls it. If you want to savor a region, he has tours for that too, like a 17-day tour just of Italy, a 15-day tour of only Italian villages, or a 13-day tour of Provence. Like any other tour company he has a tour for most any itinerary the market will bear.

But let's go back in time 30 years. A young travel author named Rick Steves has just stumbled upon the Cinque Terra and fallen in love with it. What should he do next? Keep it a secret or put it in his guidebook?

And to be fair to RS, when he finds a small gem like Civita di Bagnoregio, he begs his readers to treat the place with care and respect.

I don't follow Rick Steves, have never had one of his guides, and haven't visited too many of the places he has "made". Somehow in 5 trips to Italy we have never made it to Cinque Terre. We plan to go this fall for a couple of days. If it is as underwhelming as our first visit to the Rue Cler last fall (on our 7th trip to Paris), I'll stop following the RS herds through Europe.

I dislike his political ranting, but there was none of it in that link.

I'm rather fond of rubbish. I like the itineraries: I treat them like concentrated food products, not designed to be consumed without adding water (or in this case, extra time.)They are designed as templates; it is easy to alter them to one's own requirements. They also make transportation decisions a breeze, since commuting times and frequencies by public transportation are summarized at the end of each chapter; driving tips are also given.

His accomodation descriptions give one a clear idea of exactly what X euro will buy one in which market. Again, one can treat the advice like a concentrated food product; add more money as one's tastes and requirements dictate.

I'm not serious, and I travel anyway. As for RS, he publishes his books because they sell, which I admit is not a very sophisticated notion. :)

I agree with TexasAggie on this one. While I don't agree with everything Rick Steves says, and I certainly don't follow all of his advice, I have several of his guidebooks and I found a lot of the information to be quite helpful. He gives lots of useful tips and suggestions that have helped us on several of our vacations.

While I, too, think his three week "wirlwind" trip is insane, its no worse than some of the itineraries that people have posted here. Apparently there are a lot of people that prefer to see Europe from a train window. But, like Edward said, he calls it "wirlwind" for a reason.

We have used his books to help plan trips, but in conjunction with others. His lodging recommendations are not the same style as what we look for, so we just ignore that part. Same with eating, and tours are not our style either. The other information he provides though is good and helps us determine what we do and do not want to see. We used to live just a few minutes from his headquarters, and before each trip we made a stop there. He of course has all his books and videos for sale, but you can also sit in the library area and browse through travel books from many other authors/sources. We really liked that he did not keep it limited to his own books. You could also sit and view the videos...you did not have to buy them. So his company does have some good qualities and from our experiences at his headquarters, he wants people to plan a trip that is right for them.

Hi,

I am in the process of planning my first European vacation. I leave in 34 days. I've been using RS guidebooks and found them very helpful. So up until a few days ago I was a big RS fan. I even bought some of his DVD's. Then I read something in his Paris 2005 guidebook that really got my gander up. In the chapter on the Louvre on page 154 he talks about the Richelieu wing of the Louvre, which holds a lrge collection of asian art. On page 154 he talks about all the rulers of present day Iraq, and ends the chapter by stating "In A.D. 2003, 5000 years of invasions, violence, and regime change finally came to an end when peace, prosperiety, and decomracy were established for all time in Iraq by the United States of America under the benevolent guidance of George W. Bush" Nothing could be further from the truth. It is now 2005 and they still don't have peace. Was he temporarily insane when he wrothe this?

ktyson -- It's called sarcasm.

That remark had to be made in jest, as I don't get the idea he is ANY sort of Bushie supporter...

Yes, I am certain that comment in his Paris guide is sarcasm. I'm not a W supporter, but I think RS would be well advised to refrain from political remarks like that. It's just bad business.

It was sarcasm. And he does not seem to be concerned about offending others' political sensibilities.

Lonely Planet does so as well.