Rating: 
Summary: Great reference for the savvy traveler
Review: I just returned from a three week European adventure accompanied with "Europe on a Shoestring." I can not think of a better publication that covers such an extensive region in such a no-nonsense, precise manner. I found that the recommendations for accomadations and food roughly 90% accurate. I would recommend this book to the cost-conscious traveler who plans on going to Europe and is unsure exactly where he/she is going to travel. It is exhaustive and even includes sections on St.Petersburg, Russia and Turkey. One caveat: the sheer size of Europe precludes Lonely Planet from getting too in depth on any one city or region. If you know FOR SURE that you're traveling to a few specific countries, I would recommend sticking to the country-specific Lonely Planet guides.
Rating: 
Summary: if you buy only one guide book.. this is it!
Review: I spent my junior year (1999-2000) in France, and did a fairly extensive amount of traveling in Europe. I would say about nine countries. This book was a GODSEND in each one. Not only is it incredibly accurate in telling you what to expect from each place, how much things cost, etc... it also includes lots of well done maps and an EXTREMELY helpeful language guide in the back. Also it helped me navigate things that would probably never occur to most of us, such as how to get to the airport in Venice (water taxi) or the "correct", local time to eat dinner in Spain (between 8-11pm). Also, this book was a great help with predicting what a lot of restaurants, tourist attractions and nightspots are worth hitting up and which ones are not worth the time/trouble/money involved in going to them. These kids staying across the hall from us at a hostel in Paris lent us "The Rough Guide" which unfortunately, gave a three year old description of a club and its now defunct address, which resulted in about 20 american kids wandering the streets of Paris at wee hours of the morning. Never again did I leave the comforts of Toulouse without my Lonely Planet guide. It also has pretty good descriptions of the attractions in each place, however, the eyewitness books are a little more detailed if you want much more specific information and lots of pictures. As much as it pained me, I left it in France for the next group of students to read since it helped me so much. If you are looking to travel around Europe, with some kind of financial restrictions, and want the best travel book for your money, this is DEFINITELY it.
Rating: 
Summary: Good overview of Europe
Review: I spent three months in Europe (England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium) last summer, and used this book as my primary guide.It is good for finding the basics (hostels, train and bus stations, etc) but not much else, and with so much area to cover this should hardly be surprising. As about 2/3 of my time was spent in Italy, I do wish I'd purchased an Italy specific guide... luckily I had access to various other books that were more in depth. The maps and contact information were accurate. I don't think I ever used this guide for restaurant recommendations, though. It's much easier and more fun to go menu-shopping or ask locals. Hostel operators tend to know what's up too.
Rating:
Summary: Buy another guide book instead
Review: I traveled around Europe in the fall of 1999 and purchased this book for the trip. I found out much of the information to be outdated and vague. It would say things like "hostel is 1.5 miles southwest of the city" but wouldnt say how to get there! Many critical street names to finding important tourist sites and hotels were omitted on the maps also. There has to be a better guide book out there.
Rating:
Summary: Great Guide for First Time Travelers
Review: I traveled through seven wester European countries with this book. It had good general information on how to get around using public transportation, hotel/motel/hostel information and restaurants. If you plan on backpacking through Europe or just heading there for the first time and want to get your hands on information and maps that can help you along your way, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Great Guide for First Time Travelers
Review: I traveled through seven wester European countries with this book. It had good general information on how to get around using public transportation, hotel/motel/hostel information and restaurants. If you plan on backpacking through Europe or just heading there for the first time and want to get your hands on information and maps that can help you along your way, this book is for you!
Rating:
Summary: Good Basic Guide
Review: I used this book this past summer for my European travels. It is a great essential book. It's a nice resource to have with you because it is so comprehensive that it gives you the freedom to change your plans and go where ever you want. I also found it very accurate and up to date (some of the prices had gone up.. but most were close). This book was also useful in planning my trip. It does not replace a more specific guide book. Also the info in these books goes out of date quickly though (I had one other similar book that was 2 years old and it was nearly useless), so don't buy it for future trips. Only get it if you planning a wide ranging trip across the continent. One other thing I really liked was the history and culture review of each country. It made it fun to read for the inevitable delays on the train.
Rating:
Summary: Great For Broke Students or Cheap Skates!
Review: I used this book to get me through Europe as well as plan my backpacking adventure, and I thought it was great (especially for London). I barely had enough $ to afford the plane ticket to Europe, much less spend more on other things. The restaurant recommendations were especially useful in places like Athens. It was condensed enough (probably too condensed for some) so that I didn't have to waste time tracking things down. If you are short on time and money, this is the book for you. If you have money and more time, this book isn't for you then and you should upgrade to Frommer's and the like. I would echo what another reviewer said and make certain you have the most recent edition of this book because things can be out of date (especially prices) rather quickly.
Rating:
Summary: It help's me a lot to move around Europe
Review: I was traveling last summer around Europe for three months and I can tell you I had two differents guides to move and Lonely planet helps me to travel on a shoetring, even I compare this guide with differents backpackers and we agree I was better than Let's go Europe and they tell I wasn't very good written the information, Let's go goes to the cheapest places and Lonely planet brings prices around Europe and you have a better deal. I recomend you use this If you are planning travel for long time around Europe.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst Travel Book Ever! :((
Review: I've always travelled the world using LonelyPlanet as 'My Bible'. It is always on my person in all my travels... kinda anal but it has served me extremely well over the years... By now I have travelled to over 30 countries (so I'm no newbie traveller!) I just got back from a quick trip to Europe went thru about 10 cities in 8 countries over 16 days - I hate to say this but 'LP: Europe on a ShoeString" IS THE WORST TRAVELBOOK EVER WRTITTEN! It did not give me enough information to spend EVEN HALF A DAY IN EACH OF THE CAPITAL CITIES ( I shudder at the plight of anyone wanting to use this for anywhere else in any country of Europe!) I went to Luxemburg, Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Brussels, Stockholm, Berlin, Bergen, Brugge, & Paris. It was a challenge to be able to figure out what to do... where to eat (for cheap!)... what to see (other than museums). So if you don't have the time, money or inclination to see museums in 10 different cities you are pretty much SOL :( If you have any desire to be outdoors you are SOL. If you have any inclination to experiencing distinct cultures, & people you are SOL! I'm not looking to blame anyone but all I can say is SAVE YOUR VACATION & DO NOT USE THIS BOOK. (Perhaps it is because they have tried to pack in so much in one book: which they need to!) But then how did they forgot to put in the really important stuff like what to eat, where to eat. & what to see... (other than the insides of buildings called museums!) Tch tch tch.... I hope the publisher (Lonely Planet) actually withdraws this title from the shelves and saves their reputation from furhter tarnish... I love Lonely Planet! Maybe this book belongs in the 'Read This First' series.... but please oh please do not ruin your trip by using this book. Happy travels!
| 
