London

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We quickly realized that the allotted times for attractions in the book were MINIMUM times, just enough for an overview of places like the Tower and the British Museum. We had planned our schedule based on these times, and we ended up having to rush out of places in order to see the next thing on our list. Please emphasize this in future books.

Joan thompson in Portland, OR USA 07/24/2008

Better color map of key bus lines in front; gay club listings

Randy in San Francisco, CA USA 06/30/2008

Your London book was 110% perfect. I took my Mom to London a few years after my Dad passed away. He was very handicapped and could never hav done the sightseeing that my Mom always wanted to do. I decided to take her this year and followed your book carefully. I have been to London many times, but your book was absolutely fantastic.

Garret Glennon in Baltimore, MD USA 06/28/2008

Include more on the Bloomsbury District. We no longer use Rick's recommendations for hotels, because we love this district so much. We stay in Cartwright Gardens at lovely B&B's (I've stayed at three different ones and have enjoyed them all), that are very reasonably priced. It's an easy walk to Kings Cross Station, Russell Square Station, the British Museum, the British Library. There are many good, inexpensive restaurants nearby (check out the Brunswick Center!).

Sue in Boston, MA USA 06/20/2008

See above, regarding adding numbered bye sotp location

Dave Lewis in Denver, CO USA 06/08/2008

When you say weather could be 40F in London, add that it will feel much colder and damper to those of us from warm climates such as Southern California. We were prepared for rain but not so well prepared for how cold it was. Every day was 40-45F but we were freezing. To us it felt like it was below 0. We were able to layer up but we had to purchase hats, mittens and scarfs.

Toni Valenzuela in Murrieta, CA USA 04/01/2008

I highly recommend speaking to Alan Price [of Celtic Horizons and adding more text about "henges."] The inter-connections of each of the henges and their possible uses is a terrific narrative that many visitors will simply never get. It's not a long story, so it would be a great way to bring certain sites together narratively.

Teresa Reveley in London, UK 03/23/2008

I think the Hindu Temple is worth a mention (we read about it in Lonely Planet). Not a must-see site but worth a visit. The Understanding Hinduism was £2 and quite interesting. http://www.mandir.org/infogallery/index.htm

Karis in Cross Plains, WI USA 02/20/2008

Replicate the Underground map in plastic so it can be removed and carried around.

Loved the scale of your Underground map; one could read it without a magnifying glass. Suggest print it so it can be detached from rest of book and easily slipped into purse. Would have liked to have experimented with more of the bus routes but time was a factor. Is there a website one can access while in London to clearly figure out what bus to take or to get somewhere from where you are?

[Editor's Note: The website for London's public transportation system (including the Underground and buses) has a convenient Journey Planner that will show you all of your transit options between any two points. Find it at http://journeyplanner.tfl.gov.uk/user/XSLT_TRIP_REQUEST2?language=en]

Helen Read in Calgary, AB Canada 01/03/2008

Rick: It would be nice if you could tell us what to do with the return-trip train tickets we purchased in order to get a better Eurostar price. We have Eurostar tickets from London to Brussels that are going to go to waste.

Ron in Damascus, MD USA 09/04/2007

I wouldn't mind more restaurant recommendations. There was one specific pub we wanted to eat at, but couldn't get a table, so we just went and found a place not mentioned in the book. (Not a huge problem, but the only thing I can think of, since the book overall was so helpful.)

Jennifer Graf in Hellertown, PA USA 08/12/2007

I'm a beginner photographer and I looove taking photos. However, I found that most guidebooks did not mention if cameras/photography are permitted in certain museums. It would help to have that feature in the guidebooks. Thanks!

Cookie in Milwaukee, WI USA 07/14/2007

You have it down, my friend. Great work, you all should be very proud. You taught us how to pack light and it worked !

Steve Roddy in Penn Valley, CA USA 07/03/2007

JUST KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND FORMAT. WHILE OFTEN CHANGE IS GOOD. IF YA GOT A GOOD THING, WHY CHANGE IT...& YOU GOT A GOOD THING!!

Dallas & Karen Renoud in Petersburg, IL USA 06/16/2007

Great book!

Steve in Sonoma, CA USA 06/11/2007

Vacationing in London has become quite expensive. Any additional economical suggestions would be great!

Maureen & Joe Schneider in Spokane, WA USA 05/23/2007

Bella Italia: Restaurant in South Kensington: Excellent food, atmosphere and service, reasonable prices

sharon quinn in Grafton, Wi USA 05/18/2007

A tear-out tube map, with the ZONES shaded in the background would be very helpful.

Martina EF Horwitz in Chicago, IL USA 05/01/2007

With this guidebook and a tube pass, even us bumpkins from rural Kansas navigated London daily with ease.

George Glines in Independence, KS USA 03/30/2007

We love the book!

Alison in Chicago, IL USA 03/26/2007

I really needed a better handle on the bus system. I mastered the tube (loved the tube map)and the train but felt very awkward with the buses. I wanted to use them since I had the Oyster pass. I'm serious about this.

Nancy Mulder in Minneapolis, MN USA 01/28/2007

Improve the index. Looking up "Greenwich", for example, does not even reference the self-guided tour!

[Editor's Note: You'll be glad to know this was corrected in the 2007 edition of our London book.]

Carrie McKenzie in Wauwatosa, WI USA 01/04/2007

Everything else in the London 2006 Guide was just right. Thank you.

Ann Thamert in Arvada, CO USA 10/31/2006

I believe the Science Museum and War Museum deserve A little more fanfare I go to one or the other every time in London and I think are more intersting then V&A for example but I could be wrong but i doubt it.

John Brangwin in Bellevue, WA USA 10/26/2006

Perhaps I missed this -- but would include more local guide types for walking tours, etc. The Bob Steele tour was great -- wish I had others with local specialists

Randy Koslo in Princeton Junction, NJ USA 10/15/2006

Every question I had was answered in the book. Tube map very useful.

Toni Stickrath in Garden Grove, CA USA 09/25/2006

Keep the information current. I love your books. They are my main source of information.

jodi in burnsville, mn USA 09/21/2006

Provide more upscale Hotel Recommendations

Hellen in Westlake, Ohio, USA 08/26/2006

I found the guide to be very helpful with a lot of great information that enhanced my time in London. However, in a time of true need, the book failed me. One week ago, I was at Heathrow Airport in the midst of everything that was going on with the terror plot. My flight was cancelled which meant I needed a place to stay for one night. I needed lodging that was close to the airport because I didn't want to spend the money to go back into town since I was coming right back the next day to try to fly out. When I opened up the guidebook expecting to find a plethora of information on hotels near Heathrow, I was very disappointed to only find one recommendation. Although I understand your reasoning in telling people to look for places in town because it is easy to go between Heathrow and Central London, this particular situation required me to stay near the airport. Since I could not get a sense of my surroundings I ended up paying 5 pounds to use a hotel reservation service in the airport. All this to say that I suggest adding more information on hotels near Heathrow airport for stranded passengers who don't want to commute into London due to time and money restrictions. And on that note, I will put my two cents in for the Heathrow Lodge. It was an extremely clean facility run by a very friendly staff that did a great job of managing all the stranded passengers. There was even a free shuttle to and from the airport. Aside from this one aspect, your guidebook served me very well and I was thankful to have it with me.

Alyssa Prigel in Golden, CO USA 08/20/2006

Better food listings. I recommend: Tayabs, a Pakistani restaurant in Whitechapel (look it up in browse.gaurdian.co.uk). Fantastic food at good prices, with lots of London yuppies but in a neighborhood with lots of immigrants, so you feel like you're getting something authentic.

Summers Henderson in Somverville, MA USA 08/18/2006

Remove Please take the Elizabeth House off your recommended list! Other than the hotel, we had a marvelous time and always have scored big with your guide books. Ireland and Paris were right on.

John Murphy in Georgetown, MA USA 08/09/2006

I think it's a great guide. Highly recommended. I was so grateful for these books that I sent him a postcard from Paris.

Sandra Williams in Lincoln, NE USA 08/08/2006

Can't think of any. It was most helpful.

Joe Palisi in Mt. Pleasant, SC USA 08/05/2006

Actually you could expand the British Museum by a page. Add a note on the DaVinci Code tours (my 16 year old daughter expressed an interest on a trip to Europe to see what she had read about, which was the driver for this trip). Fdor has a Guide to the Da Vinci Code and there is a plesant "Walking the Da Vinci Code in Paris" that Peter Caine wrote. Great layout for the book Introduction and Orientation were perfect. You might consider moving the maps (especially the tube) to the inside front and back cover as some othe trave books do. Eurostar was an excellent reccommendation and the booking through you was great. Side trips were also a great bonus THANK YOU!

Anthony O'Connor in Alexandria , VA USA 07/28/2006

The maps are a little too simple, I'd like to see more detail as they have confused us on many occasions (not just this book).

Sonja Kalbfleisch in Portland, OR USA 07/16/2006

We enjoy fine food - In fact, we often will eat several inexpensive meals and then eat one or two really amazing meals on the same trip. Your guide book really didn't help us on the other end of the spectrum. However, you could recommend "Harden's" food guide for those who are interested in extensive restaurant reviews of London.

A. Lee in Boulder, CO USA 07/09/2006

Quick list of free and/or the best bargain sights to see.

Rose Wisner in Newcastle, WA USA 07/02/2006

My partner and our mothers and I just returned from a fantastic 2 week trip to England, mostly based out of London. Your advice on how to best see what the area had to offer made for such a great time for us all. I just kept saying "Let's see what Rick says." The only different advice I would give would be to anyone wanting to take the river cruise to Hampton Court Palace. In the interest of time at the palace, I would suggest taking the train to Hampton Court and the boat back down to London. Going upriver gets you to Hampton Court later in the afternoon and cuts into time at the palace. But what a beautiful, relaxing journey it was. I can't wait to take Rick on our next European vacation!

Gary Grainger in Mesa, AZ USA 06/08/2006

Rick Steves is amazing. I LOVED this book. My family made fun of me because I re-read favorite parts of the book on the way HOME from London. It was just a great guide. I'm definitely going to use Rick Steves guidebooks again in the future for other countries and cities. I am interested in studying abroad next year and am trying to decide where in Europe to do so. I am also planning a backpacking trip across Europe two summers from now.

Kristy in Albany, NY USA 06/07/2006

Include Franklin's apartment. Maybe list prices for the various attractions.

Myron Marty in Monticello, IL USA 04/03/2006

Expand the section on museums, or add more museums to Europe 101.

Dan Deans in Ashburn, VA USA 03/28/2006

A day trip to Paris really doesn't seem realistic. After deciding to go for the last three nights of our trip, we couldn't imagine trying to attempt it in one day. Transportation to and from your hotel and the Waterloo station along with to and from the Gare de Nord station, with the trip via Eurostar, would likely account about 7 hours of your day. With the lines at the Eiffel tower at midday, along with the time the Louvre demands, you would go back being disappointed with what little was seen of Paris and how much was seen of the inside of the Eurostar train. I recommend a minimum of two nights with an early departure and late return.

Steve Everist in Bellevue, WA USA 03/23/2006

Add Sally Botwright to your guide for London tour guides. We loved her. www.sallybotwright.co.uk

Susan Russell in Corte Madera, Ca USA 03/21/2006

An explanatory section warning Americans that UK stores often will only accept credit cards that feature "chip and pin," as of 14 Feb 2006. Our cards were declined and we reverted to cash from the ATM on all purchases except theatre tickets.

Diane Graber in Iowa City, IA USA 03/20/2006

Never having been to Europe we didn't quite know what to expect until we read Rick's book. By the time we boarded the plane we felt comfortable going to London.

Barb in Tacoma, WA USA 03/16/2006

I haven't seen much else outside of Cambridge- but after reading the book, I can't wait to get back. I amd a pilot for a major airline, and am sure to try to get trips to Stanstead again.

Kandy Cassano in Memphis, TN USA 02/15/2006

I would like you to add a restaurant. In the Spitalfields market there is a BBQ place named 'The Arkansas Cafe'. Anyone visiting Spitafields or even in the vicinity of Liverpool Street Station at lunchtime should not miss the opportunity.

It's run by an good old boy from AK named Bubba who is nearly perfect except for being a 'yellow-dog' Democrat. A real character. The food is a bargain by London standards, the beef and burgers the best in London near enough, and he does a damned good grilled duck breast or grilled chicken dish for those not into beef. Vegetarians will starve, unfortunately.

Don Stadler in London, UK 02/04/2006