Best of Europe 2010

Guidebook corrections:

Please note: The following corrections were submitted by readers and have not yet been confirmed by Rick. Check updates from Rick for the latest.

Vienna: Tram 1&2 no longer make a circular route around the ring road. You have to change over if you want to make the complete circle without heading out of town. There is a seperate Ringroad tram for tourists, but it is not covered by a city transit pass. Schnell and Sauber Waschcenter in Berlin is closed. There is a new laundrette further up the street. Vernazza does have a laundrette. It's behind the internet place. Long walk from the bus stop to the Catacombs of San Callisto in Rome.

Kristen in Gail, TX USA 08/22/2009

Yes. Hello. I recently returned from Rome, where I used BEST OF EUROPE 2008. Excellent book. I have 3 suggestions/questions/comments. First, you might consider adding as an important site the chuch San Giovanni Laterno. (I probably have the spelling on Laterno wrong). My understanding (based on discussions with guides and looking at other guide books) is that it is the most important church in Rome from a historical perspective.

Second, what would be the best "site" to learn more about acqueducts? The importance of the abundance of water to ancient Rome is overwhelming, but is there a tangible site (historical ruins or modern day engineering) that could represent this?

My third comment is more administrative - the Borghese Gallery website would not let me make a reservation independent of buying a ticket. As you poiint out in your book, transportation to the Borghese is not so easy, and I did not want to pay for a ticket at a particular time and then arrive too late to use it. So the Borheses reservation web system did not seem to work at all for me. Plus there were so few people there when I arrived that a reservation was not needed. (I was there about July 5).

Keep up the good work with you books, and if there is any way I can contribute to your organization or become involved in it, I could be interested.

Vicki Zenner

Vicki Zenner in Springfield, VA USA 07/27/2009

The ferry leaving Sorrento for Capri is 7:45 a.m. and not 8:00 as printed. We were lucky enough to catch this ferry and it left on time!!

Perhaps a sentence to say "rather quit breakfast in Sorrento and catch one of the very early busses to Amalfi and have breakfast there". Busses are empty and we went with locals who were going to work!

Joy Decomarmond in Tampa, FL USA 07/02/2009

The Prado no longer offers free admission on Sundays. It is still free on Sunday 2 hours before closing though. Nobody in the ticket line and on the train ride into Madrid seemed aware of this change. Also, the Puerta del Sol was completely covered up and under extensive renovation when we were there.

David Feng in Berkeley, CA USA 06/14/2009

We have the 2009 Best of Europe book and are trying to book museums in Florence, Italy. According to the guidebook you can book online via: "Florence Museums' official website,www.pierreci.it".

However, a through search of this website did not turn up any reservation pages for Florence museums (there were a bunch of museums listed for Rome/Naples though).

Rick's website lists the offical website for Florence museums as: www.b-ticket.com/b-ticket/Uffizi

This seems to be correct. Please make correction in next release of book.

Thanks!

Michael Chung in Portland, OR USA 06/11/2009

From the Nice, France, airport to Cannes (Antibes, Cagnes Sur Mer, Juan-les-Pins, etc.) bus #200 is available ONLY from Terminal 1, NOT from both terminals. Plus, if you have a lot of luggage you might want to consider getting the shuttle to the Nice main train station (Nice Ville) and taking the train to your destination.

Bart Brady Ciampa in Vancouver, WA USA 05/11/2009

We ate at the Barsalon Tapas Bar in Brugge recommended in your Best of Europe; while the food was good, the menu and servings seem to have changed drastically from what is described in your 2009 book. You may want to revisit the restaurant for an update of the description.

Bob Kuning in Albuquerque, NM USA 04/08/2009

We had some trouble in Vienna. Tram 2 does not stay on the Ring -- it goes across the Danube Canal to Friedrich Engels Platz. We had to take Tram 31 to get back to the ring. The detour added an hour or so.

Michele Smith in Burlington, MA USA 04/06/2009

I tried to book the Pension Corvinus in Vienna and was quoted 109 e for the Db and 17e for parking, Both signifigantly higher than your book. I thought these guys had a pledge to give your prices or they were dropped from the book next year??

Barb Evans in Lindsay, ON Canada 02/14/2009

The restaurant section on London (on pgs. 629 and 633) lists one restaurant that appears to be closed: Soho Spice Indian restaurant is not in the location indicated in the book.

CW in The Hague, Netherlands 02/02/2009

Internet access, page 924, 2008 Best of Europe: The public library in Amsterdam has moved as of 07/07/07 - thanks to the kindness of a stranger, when we arrived at the old empty location on Prinsengracht, he told us it is now located near the Central Train Station, not too far away on foot. The 2008 guidebook says there's free internet and cheap sandwiches - still true! The price of the food has gone up, but the cafe and its food were delightful as was the whole library. It was fabulous to get off the streets of Amsterdam into a big, bright, clean and smoke-free oasis; there were probably 50 free internet terminals, and while all were occupied most of the time, they did come available regularly. It was a relief not to have to avoid the pot smoke in all the cyber cafe 'coffee shops' as my son is under 18 and not allowed to enter them (nor would I like to expose him as he's asthmatic and the wafts that he did catch made him choke and cough). It was defintely a challenge to find clear access to the internet in Amsterdam so thank the gods above for the new library! It's open from 10 AM to 10 PM every day.

Suzanne Canada 10/10/2008

Add 10-15% to whatever prices (museums, Roman pass, etc.) are mentioned in the book.

Ferdie Pernia in San Francisco, CA USA 07/26/2008

Not really a 'correction'. But Institut St. Sebastian, Salzburg was really heavy with cigarette smoke, even though the bedrooms were smoke free. (And even at that, we kept our bedroom windows open.)We couldn't take the stairs because the smoke filled the hallways so badly. Otherwise, it was a lovely place to stay. Friendly.

Heather Cameron in Coldstream, BC Canada 06/13/2008

Yes, Please note that the American Express offices in both Paris and Madrid downtown locations are permanently closed. The only American Express services are at the airport. I wanted to change my AMEX traveler's checks and was disappointed to find this out. In Madrid, check with several banks before trying to cash an AMEX traveler's checks. Some charge a hefty fee. I found that Banco Santander did not charge a fee at all. Some of the entrance fee prices were a bit higher than quoted, I understand this since you have to go to print early and such. Maybe just a short sentence like: "as we go to print, please note entrance fees might be subject to increase" I think that it wasn't so major but it might be a problem for some. Also, in Toledo, Spain it is no longer possible to enter the Cathedral without paying for the museum entrance.

Linda D. Chaffee in San Bernardino, CA USA 12/20/2007

PARIS (SEPT 2007) - Metro will no longer sell Museum Pass and they are only sold at the Louvre...the underground entrance (Carrousel du Louvre shopping mall)

Karen Canada 10/29/2007

the price to hike on the trail connecting the towns in the Cinque Terra is now 5E instead of the 3E listed in the book.

Mike Thompson in Los Angeles, CA USA 10/08/2007

A minor nitpick in the 2008 edition. On pages 250 and 251 it says that the Paris Metro closes down around 24:30, which I take to mean 12:30 A.M. With only 24 hours in a day, shouldn't that be 0030?

Ira Joffe in Houston, TX USA 10/01/2007

We used your 2007 book extensively in travels to Eastern Europe (it is still travelling with friends who had an extra 2 weeks). Please add to the Auschwitz-Birkenau info on catching the shuttle bus from Birkenau back to Auschwitz: When finished touring Birkenau, the shuttle bus will be parked in the lot with the other tour busses, go to the parked shuttle and get on. If you don't, the bus will pass you at the shuttle stop where you got off from Auschwitz. Several people were standing at the shuttle bus sign, and the bus went right by us. I asked at the info counter and they said we should have gotten on the parked bus. We would have had to wait another hour, and there isn't anything else to do there once you've toured Birkenau. Walking the 1.8 miles wasn't an option at that point so had to take a taxi for 15z back to Auschwitz. The rest of that chapter in the book was excellent.

pam carlson in encinitas, CA USA 09/26/2007

we are planning to visit greece. i am a fan of rick steves....i couldn't find any rick steves book on greece. did i just miss it?

[Editor's Note: Unfortunately, Rick has not yet written a guidebook to Greece. It has been on his to-do list for quite a while so check back with us in the future.]

Olivia USA 08/03/2007

The all-you-can-eat rib dinner at The Hobbit restaurant in Brugges is now 16E. They didn't make any profit on our two teenage boys! Also, Paris Museum Passes were not for sale in the Metro.

Linda Moore in ceresco, MI USA 08/01/2007

The Eiffel Tower does not open until 9:30 AM- most of the prices were low; that's to be expected- everything is going up! In Rome, Restaurant Coco, p 954, was not open; perhaps on vacation but it was quite closed down.(Ostaria da Mario a good second choice)

Brenda Paull in Mercer Island, WA USA 07/08/2007

On Page 413-Getting Around Gardens in Versailles, you state that the tram is free with all day pass and otherwise 5 Euros. This is incorrect. The tram is 4.5 euros with all day pass and 6 euros without the pass.

On p 319, it is stated that a Paris Metro map is available at the beginnig of the book-it is not there!

On p 681, it is stated that a London Tube map is available at the beginnig of the book-it is not there!

[Editor's Note: We apologize for the missing Metro and Tube maps. They are included in the Paris and London guidebooks but not Best of Europe. When we adapted the text to use in Best of Europe, we missed deleting those references.]

Vinay Malur in Queensbury, NY USA 06/18/2007

P445 of Best of Europe 2007 - Hotel du Parc from Avignon, France, the contact information should be: hotel.parc@modulonet.fr http://perso.modulonet.fr/hotelduparc

Shizuka Suzuki in Los Angeles, CA USA 06/02/2007

Switzerland--I just checked the website for Pension Restaurant Gimmelwald (located in Gimmelwald), and it says that the Pension has closed for good.

Jessica in Plano, tx USA 05/27/2007

Either the Treasury in Vienna has been restructed, I am reading the guidebook incorrectly, or you may have miscounted the number of rooms in the Treasury. There are 15 rooms, not sixteen. The collection's highligh (10th century crown of the Holy Roman Empire) is in Room 10, not Room 11 and the royal vestments from the 15th century are in the final room (room 15) as there is no 15th room.

The audio guide for this site has increased from two euros to three euros.

Archie Malcom in McDonough, GA USA 05/23/2007

The Prado has been rearranged, so it was really difficult to follow the self-guided tour.

Melissa in Honolulu, HI USA 04/24/2007

-pg. 966 Venice, Italy: The map is no longer free; it's 2.50 Euro.

pg. 987-8 Venice, Italy: repeated sentence: "...interior glows mysteriously with gold mosaics and colored marble."

pg. 990 Venice, Italy: The combo ticket for the Correr Museum and Doge's palace is now 12 Euro.

Cindy in Vacaville, CA USA 03/27/2007

-pg. 245 Copenhagen: The Carlsberg Brewery tour is not free. It's 40kr and includes 2 tastings.

-pg. 1142, Amsterdam: The Rembrandt museum is not entirely covered by Museumkaart; you must pay 5 Euro in addition to showing your Museumkaart.

-Netherlands: You don't mention that the Museumkaart covers several museums listed in the Haarlem and Den Haag sections.

-pg. 1168 Grote Kerk: it's now 2 Euro.

Cindy in Hall, CA USA 03/27/2007

The train station in Toledo, Spain did not have any lockers or baggage check. We did not carry much with us that day, but we did have to carry it.

Vanover in Chicago, IL USA 02/23/2007