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Rick Steves' Best of Europe

Updates since the 2010 edition:

Vienna, Salzburg, Hallstatt

See the updates to our Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol guidebook.

Bruges

See the updates to our Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels guidebook.

Prague

See the updates to our Prague & the Czech Republic guidebook.

Paris

There is no longer a night train between Paris and Switzerland.

Paris Walks no longer offers a Da Vinci Code tour.

Hôtel de la Tour Eiffel** has an elevator (17 rue de l'Exposition, tel. 01 47 05 14 75, fax 01 47 53 99 46, www.hotel-toureiffel.com, hte7@wanadoo.fr).

Hôtel le Récamier, on the corner of place St. Sulpice, has reopened as a trendy boutique hotel — note new prices (Db-€250–450, 3 bis place St. Sulpice, tel. 01 46 33 27 47, www.hotelrecamier.com, contact@hotelrecamier.com).

Paris Perfect, which offers high-end apartments (for about €300/night), grants a 10 percent discount to readers who mention their Rick Steves books (to reach their British tel. & fax from the US, call 011-44-20-7938-2939, fax 011-44-20-7937-2115, www.parisperfect.com).

Immo Marais, which rents apartments of various sizes in the Marais district, has a new web address: www.immomarais.net.

Near Paris
Versailles

You can now buy and print individual tickets to the Château and the Domaine de Marie-Antoinette in advance on the official Versailles palace website, saving time in the ticket-buying line.

The Café Bleu Roi, just before the Château entry near the Hôtel France, now sells individual tickets for the Château and Domaine de Marie-Antoinette, as well as Le Passeport.

For more, see the updates to our Paris guidebook.

Provence

A new site lets you book TGV reservations online (France's class of fast trains): http://www.tgv-europe.com/en/home. For your pick-up option, choose a country other than the US and outside western Europe, and you'll be able to print tickets at home or pick them up in the station.

Arles

The Hertz car rental is close to place Lamartine at 10 boulevard Emile Combes.

The passes to Arles sights have been revamped into three different passes, which are sold at the TIs. Le Passeport Avantage covers almost all of Arles' sights (€13.50), the €9 Le Passeport Arelate covers Arles' four Roman sights including the Ancient History Museum, and the €9 Le Passeport Liberté lets you choose any five monuments (one must be a museum).

The correct email for Hôtel Voltaire is levoltaire13@aol.com.

Avignon

The bus station information desk is open Mon–Sat 8:00-19:30, closed Sun.

The Calvet Museum has new hours: Wed–Mon 10:00–12:00 & 13:00–18:00, closed Tue.

The Tower of Philip the Fair is closed in March.

La Compagnie des Comptoirs restaurant is closed Sun evenings only.

Le Caveau du Théâtre restaurant is closed for lunch Sat and all day Sun.

The website for Hôtel du Parc is http://perso.modulonet.fr/hoduparc.

For more, see the updates to our Provence & the French Riviera guidebook.

Nice on the French Riviera

Sylvie Di Cristo offers lively full-day tours in her car or minivan throughout the French Riviera and up to the Southern Alps, and loves to teach about this area's culture and history (€170/person for 2–3 people, €120/person for 4–6 people, 2-person minimum, mobile 06 09 88 83 83, www.azur-guides.net, sylvie.di.cristo@wanadoo.fr).

For more, see the updates to our Provence & the French Riviera guidebook.

Bavaria, Rothenburg, Rhine Valley

See the updates to our Germany guidebook.

Berlin

Laundry updates: There is no longer a Schnell & Sauber Waschcenter launderette at Kaiserdamm 100, but there is one in Western Berlin at Leibnizstrasse 72. Also, Holly's Wasch-Theke is no more; if needing to scrub your skivvies in Eastern Berlin head instead to Eco-Express Washsalon at Danziger Strasse 7 (€4–9/load wash and dry, daily 6:00–22:00, self- or full-serve, attached café) or to the Schnell & Sauber at Torstrasse 115, across the street from the Circus Hostel (€5–9/load wash and dry, daily 6:00–23:00).

For further updates from Berlin, see the updates to our Germany guidebook.

London

The Monument, London's 202-foot column designed by Sir Christopher Wren to mark the spot where the Great Fire of 1666 began, has reopened after a complete makeover.

The National Gallery remains free, technically, but now has a suggested donation of £1–2. It's now open late on Fridays, rather than on Wednesdays (daily 10:00–18:00, Fri until 21:00). The museum's excellent audioguide now costs £3.50.

The London Eye has slightly changed its hours of operation. New hours: July–Aug 10:00–21:30, June and Sept 10:00–21:00, Oct–April 10:00–20:00.

Vinopolis is now closed Mondays as well as Tue–Wed (Thu–Fri 12:00–22:00, Sat 11:00–22:00, Sun 12:00–18:00, last entry 2.5 hours before closing).

EasyHotel Victoria has a new email address: enquiries@victoria.easyHotel.com.

St. Paul's Youth Hostel has a new email address: stpauls@yha.org.uk.

The Methodist International Centre (MIC) has a new email address: reservations@micentre.com.

Three London restaurants are newly open on Sundays: Livebait Restaurant (Sun 12:00–21:00), PJ's Bar and Grill (Sun 11:30–16:00), and the Duke of Wellington pub (Sun 12:00–15:00).

The magazine What's On in London is no longer being published.

Keith Prowse Ticketing, a handy source for West End theater tickets, has new phone numbers: US toll-free tel. 800-669-8687, British toll tel. 0844-209-0382.

For more, see the updates to our London guidebook.

Bath

See the updates for our England guidebook.

Rome

To use a Roma Pass (or a transit pass) on Rome's buses, you don't need to stamp the pass each time you board (but you do need to ride with a validated pass, so do stamp a completely new pass if its first use is for a bus ride).

Private guide Francesca Caruso has new prices, as well as a new email addres (€50/hr, francescainroma@gmail.com).

Picnic Discreetly: Public drinking and eating is no longer allowed at major sights, though the rule has proven difficult to enforce. To avoid the risk of being fined, choose an empty piazza for your picnic, or keep a low profile.

Price Hike Alert: Some of Rome's sights have found a clever way to squeeze more money out of visitors. They host a special exhibit (which no tourist really cares to see) and require you to pay for the extra ticket, along with the normal ticket for the permanent collection. This means already steep admission fees jump by about €3. A prime example: The Colosseum/Palatine Hill/Roman Forum combo-ticket is technically only €9. But for most of the year, temporary exhibits raise the price to a mandatory €12. Expect this practice at the Capitoline Museums, National Museum of Rome, and others as well.

St. Peter's Basilica Dome closes at 17:00 Mon–Fri, and at 16:00 on Sundays and in the winter (Oct–March). For the amazing view, first get to the roof — with incredible views over St. Peter's Square — either by stairs or elevator (€5 to walk up, or €7 for elevator to roof), then climb 323 steps to the top of the dome (allow an hour to go up and down).

In the Gesù Church, Bernini's bust of the Jesuit Robert Bellarmine has been removed; it's not yet clear when it will return.

Hotel Gerber offers a 15-percent discount in the low season, as well as a 10 percent discount in the high season.

For more, see the updates to our Rome guidebook.

Venice

The Bridge of Sighs will be surrounded by scaffolding for the next few years while it undergoes restoration.

The Marciana National Library is not offering guided tours of the library while the collection is being reorganized (no word yet on whether tours will resume once the project is over).

The 17th-century Customs House — the last building on the right as the Grand Canal empties into the lagoon— now houses the new Punta della Dogana Museum of Contemporary Art.

The correct email address for Corte del Paradiso is cortealparadiso@yahoo.it.

Hotel al Piave has lost its beloved dog, Molly.

All Venice–Vienna daytime trains now require a connection, often including a bus on the leg between Venice (Venezia Piazzale Roma) and Villach. The direct overnight train still remains, along with a few connecting options. From Vienna, the direct daytime train leaves at 6:23 a.m. It returns in the afternoon, leaving Venice at 15:48. See the Deutsche Bahn website for more details.

For more, see the updates to our Venice guidebook.

Florence

Some readers have reported difficulty using Florence's official museum-reservation website, www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/Uffizi, to book reservations for the Uffizi Gallery. Some readers report not receiving a confirmation number or not receiving the vouchers they've paid for. If you don't receive your voucher, report it to the email address given on the site (if it's working...).

A safer way to reserve Uffizi tickets is to book by phone (from the US, dial 011-39-055-294-883, or within Italy call 055-294-883; €4/ticket reservation fee; booking office open Mon–Fri 8:30–18:30, Sat 8:30–12:30, closed Sun). An English-speaking operator walks you through the process to receive an appointment and a six-digit confirmation number (you pay nothing upfront). Bring the confirmation number with you and pay cash at the museum.

Note that if you use the museum-reservation website, the site requires you to create a login before buying tickets. The sign-up steps include choosing your country of residence from a drop-down menu, which lists countries in Italian — Americans need to choose "Stati Uniti" (Italian for "United States"). If the ordering page switches to Italian, note that "Invio" means "Send" (and "Annulla Operazione" means "Cancel"). Note that the site doesn't allow you to book times before noon.

Other options for reserving tickets: Ask your hotelier to reserve it for you (when you book your room), or try the third-party website www.weekendafirenze.com (additional fee of about €5 per person for this booking service). Several readers report that Weekend a Firenze's site is problematic and user-unfriendly, citing steep cancellation fees and unhelpful staff. Again, we recommend against booking online and instead calling the museum's number (above) or booking through your hotelier.

The Duomo Museum is now open Mon–Sat 9:00–19:30 and Sun 9:00–13:40.

The Bargello is now open Tue–Sun April–Oct 8:15–17:00, Nov–March 8:15–13:50; also open first, third, and fifth Monday of each month — until 17:00 April–Oct or 13:50 Nov–March.

The Museum of San Marco is now open Tue–Fri 8:15–13:50, Sat 8:15–16:50; also open 8:15–16:50 on second and fourth Sunday and 8:15–13:50 on first, third, and fifth Monday of each month.

The Medici Chapels are now open Tue–Sat April–Oct 8:15–16:50, Nov–March 8:15–13:50; also open first, third, and fifth Sunday and second and fourth Monday of each month.

The Baptistery is now open Mon–Sat 12:15–19:00 except first Sat of month 8:30–14:00, Sun 8:30–14:00.

The Science Museum should reopen after extensive renovation work in spring 2010. Until then, you may find a few choice exhibits (including Galileo's telescope and his finger) in temporary rooms in the basement.

B&B Il Bargello has a new mobile number: 339-175-3110.

The correct website for B&B Dei Mori is www.deimori.com.

Trattoria al Trebbio is now open daily.

Osteria la Congrega has a new website with info on its cooking classes: www.osterialacongrega.it.

Frescobaldi Ristorante is now open Mon–Sat 12:00–14:30 & 19:00–23:00, closed Sun and Aug.

Jazz now plays nightly at the Golden View Open Bar, except Tue and Thu off-season.

Olio & Convivium Gastronomia is now open Tue–Sat 12:00–14:30 & 19:00–22:30, Mon lunch only, closed Sun.

Trattoria da Sergio is now open Mon–Sat 19:30–23:00, closed Sun.

Ricchi Caffé no longer offers a free antipasto buffet during cocktail hour.

The baggage check at Florence's Santa Maria Novella train station is now €4/5 hours, then €0.60/hr for 6-12 hours and €0.20/hr for 13-plus hours.

The general info phone number for Florence's Amerigo Vespucci Airport is now 055-306-1630.

For more, see the updates to our Florence & Tuscany guidebook.

The Cinque Terre

Local guide Paola Tommarchi has a new email address: paolatomma@alice.it.

Riomaggiore

The National Park shop/information office near the train station has new hours and contact info: Mon–Fri 8:00–19:30, Sat–Sun 8:00-22:00, tel. 0187-760-515, acoglienzariomaggiore@parconazionale5terre.it. 8:00–19:45).

The tiny Cinque Terre Antiche Museum has new hours: daily 9:30–13:00 & 13:30–18:00.

Manarola

Readers report trouble with the the Cassa di Risparmio della Spezia ATM machine at the bottom of the main street (near the entrance to the train-station tunnel). It's been known to charge users' accounts without spitting out cash — avoid using it.

Vernazza

The TI and park office have new hours: park office — April–Oct daily 9:30–20:00, until 19:30 Nov–March; TI/train ticket desk — daily 7:00–20:00.

Pension Sorriso has a new fax number and email address: fax 0187-821-198, info@pensionesorriso.com. Some rooms now have air-conditioning.

To reach Trattoria Gianni on a Wednesday, try calling mobile 393-9008-155.

Affitta Camere de Annamaria has a new email address: info@camerelatorre.com.

Trattoria del Capitano is open in January.

Monterosso

The Net Internet café is open daily 9:30–23:00. Off-season it closes for lunch and dinner breaks.

The launderette at Via Mazzini 2 is open daily 9:00–18:00.

The Hotel Villa Steno has a new website (www.villasteno.com), and the correct price for a double room (with bathroom) is €150.

Albergo Pasquae has a new website (www.hotelpasquale.com).

Ristorante Tortuga is open daily 12:00–14:30 & 18:00–22:00.

For more, see the updates to our Italy guidebook.

Amsterdam and Haarlem

See the updates to our Amsterdam, Bruges & Brussels guidebook.

Barcelona

Free museum days: The Picasso Museum and the Frederic Marès Museum are free on Sunday afternoons, and the City History Museum are free all day on the first Sunday of each month and Sunday afternoons.

If your hotel doesn't provide Internet access, try Navega Web, which has hundreds of computers for accessing the Internet and burning pictures onto a CD. It's conveniently located across from La Boquería market, downstairs in the bright Centre Comercial New Park (daily 10:00–24:00, Ramblas 88-94, tel. 933-179-193).

Due to renovations, the exterior of Casa Amatller is partly obscured by scaffolding, but you can still pop inside the elaborate entrance hall for a peek (at #41 on the Block of Discord in the Eixample).

Casa del Molinero, in the Barri Gòtic, no longer serves food.

For more, see the updates to our Spain guidebook.

Madrid

See the updates to our Spain guidebook.

Gimmelwald and the Berner Oberland

See the updates to our Switzerland guidebook.