General Books

This guide provides execllent information about local sites throughout Beligium. It gives very clear guidance concerning what you can find and access information. It also helps you to locate the sites with indexed maps and diagrams.

I have found that this and the other DK Guides are bit weak in providing guidance about what to see. That is, it offers little qualitative information--everything sounds equally wonderful. And we all know this is not necessarily the case.

So I always find another guide that has more opinions and recomended tours to determine what to see. I espiecially look for guided the provide suggested walking tours. This has worked out well for the most part. I use other guides to plan the trip and the DK Guide in the country.

It has very usable maps although sometimes too limited in scope and you may require a local map to get around beyond the central city. Also, because the book is a bit heavy and too large to fit in a jacket pocket after the first day or so I leave it in the hotel and rely on the local map when walking about.

The one topic I find most reliable is DK's restaurant recommendations. The two places I tried in Brussels were fantastic and offered everything that the guide described. I have had equal success with DK's restaurant recommendations in other cities/countries.

I think this is an indispensible travel guide as long as you know what you are using it for--planning or background info, etc.

The Rough Guide to Belgium and Luxembourg is a pleasingly different guide that stands out for uncovering hidden gems and quaint surprises, providing travellers with all they need to know to make the most of their time in these two countries.

The guide is packed with details for every attraction from the art galleries of Bruges to the forests of Ardennes and provides revealing background information behind the art, history and politics and most importantly, the low-down on Belgium’s best beers.

Take the hassle out your trip by using Rough Guides’ detailed maps, concise practical advice and discerning reviews of handpicked restaurants and accommodation. This new edition includes even more photos to really inspire your trip.

Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Belgium & Luxembourg

When you try to write a book for everybody, you wind up writing for nobody. Let us take accommodations as an example: They are classified as Expensive, Moderate, and Inexpensive. Now I am not on public assistance by any means, yet I can barely afford Frommer's Inexpensive accommodations, which average around more than $100 a night.

There are guidebooks which are good at accommodations and restaurants but not on sights; and there are others (like the superb DK Eyewitness Guides) which concentrate on the sights. I am hard put to place Frommer on this spectrum. In the Netherlands, he downplays the Zuider Zee Museum in Enkhuizen and the Open Air Museum in Arnhem, yet spends 3 chapters on Luxembourg, including one on "Planning a Trip to Luxembourg." Hello! When was the last time you got the wife and kiddies mobilized for a fun filled 3 week vacation in the tiny Duchy of Luxembourg?

On the plus side, the "Best of..." lists are a useful counter to the general lack of emphasis in this guidebook.

If you were visiting the U.S., you would want a guidebook to show you why you might want to spend more time in New York than Youngstown. Once the best of guidebook series, Frommer has been reduced to cataloguing sights. Where's the excitement? Not here.

• A highly informative guide to a great trip in the Low Countries
  Leads travelers to the best of the Netherlands (almost 1 million North American visitors in 2001), Belgium (capital of the European Union and headquarters of NATO), and Luxembourg (which has more Michelin-starred restaurants per square mile than any other country)
• Delivers the scoop on top cultural attractions in Brussels, Bruges, Amsterdam, Luxembourg City, and other urban centers
• Reveals the best local experiences, from the forests and resorts of Belgium's Ardennes and the wine trail of Luxembourg to the windmills, tulip fields, and carnival celebrations of Holland
• Thoroughly updated to reflect the latest changes in hotels, dining, and attractions

This map covers the following areas:
Main Brussels Map 1:17,000
Brussels City Center Map 1:11,000
Domaine Royal Area Map 1:21,000
Brussels Area Map 1:140,000
Brussels Metro Map

Completely revised and updated, this guide includes: * Opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights * Friendly places to eat and sleep * Suggested day plans * Walking tours and trip itineraries * Clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot

America's #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick's time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.