Rick Steves - Rick Steves’ Best of Europe 2014

Big Ben, the Eiffel Tower, and the Roman Colosseum. Yodeling in the Alps, biking down cobblestone paths, and taking a canal ride under the stars. Michelangelos David and Mad King Ludwigs castles. Sunny Riviera beaches, medieval German towns, and Spanish streets that teem with people at night. Pasta and bratwurst, strudel and scones, Parisian crpes and Tuscan grapes....

Europe offers a rich smorgasbord of cultures. To wrestle it down to a manageable size, this book breaks Europe into its top destinations. It then gives you all the information and opinions necessary to wring the maximum value out of your limited time and money in each location. If you plan to stay for two months or less in Europe, this book is all you need for a blitz trip.

Experiencing Europes culture, people, and natural wonders economically and hassle-free has been my goal for more than 30 years of traveling, tour guiding, and travel writing. With this book, I pass on to you the lessons Ive learned, updated for 2014.

Rick Steves Best of Europe is the crme de la crme of places featured in my country guidebooks. Its balanced to include a comfortable mix of exciting cities and cozy towns: from Paris, London, and Rome to traffic-free Italian Riviera ports, alpine villages, and mom-and-pop chteaux. It covers the predictable biggies and mixes in a healthy dose of Back Door intimacy. Along with Leonardo in the Louvre, youll enjoy Caterina in her cantina. Ive been selective. For example, rather than listing countless medieval towns, I recommend only the best.

The best is, of course, only my opinion. But after three decades of travel research, Ive developed a sixth sense for what travelers enjoy.

Key to This Book

Updates

This book is updated every year, but things change. For the latest, visit www.ricksteves.com/update. For a valuable list of reports and experiencesgood and badfrom fellow travelers, check www.ricksteves.com/feedback.

Abbreviations and Times

I use the following symbols and abbreviations in this book:

Sights are rated:

Tourist information offices are abbreviated as TI, and bathrooms are WCs. To categorize accommodations, I use a Sleep Code (described on ).

Like Europe, this book uses the -hour clock. Its the same through 12:00 noon, then keep going: 13:00, 14:00, and so on. For anything over 12, subtract 12 and add p.m. (14:00 is 2:00 p.m.).

When giving opening times, I include both peak season and off-season hours if they differ. So, if a museum is listed as MayOct daily 9:0016:00, it should be open from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. from the first day of May until the last day of October (but expect exceptions).

For transit or tour departures, I first list the frequency, then the duration. So, a train connection listed as 2/hour, 1.5 hours departs twice each hour, and the journey lasts an hour and a half.

This book is organized by destinations. Each destination is a mini-vacation on its own, filled with exciting sights, strollable neighborhoods, affordable places to stay, and memorable places to eat. In the following chapters, youll find these sections:

Planning Your Time suggests a schedule for how to best use your limited time.

Orientation includes specifics on public transportation, helpful hints, local tour options, easy-to-read maps, and tourist information.

Sights describes the top attractions and includes their cost and hours.

Sleeping describes my favorite hotels, from good-value deals to cushy splurges.

Eating serves up a range of options, from inexpensive eateries to fancy restaurants.

Use this legend to help you navigate the maps in this book.

Connections outlines your options for traveling to destinations by train, bus, and plane.

The appendix has transportation basics, a calling chart, a hotel reservation form, and information on US embassies for the countries in this book.

Browse through this book, choose your favorite destinations, and link them up. Then have a great trip! Traveling like a temporary local and taking advantage of the information here, youll get the absolute most out of every mile, minute, and dollar. Im happy youll be visiting places I know and love, and meeting some of my favorite people.