Rick Steves Belgium: Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp & Ghent (Rick Steves Travel Guide)

This covers four main Belgian cities, three of which we will be visiting next week. It spends the most time covering Bruges and Brussels. We will start our trip with three days in Bruges, and feel more than ready with Rick’s included maps, suggested walks, and discussion about which chocolate shops are best. And so many more tips. He even includes taking a side trip to Flanders Fields, which we had already planned on doing. Now we know more about what to expect there.

Steve’s books are always. So helpful. They’re full of the information that regular people can use.

Very good book. Excellent information.

Having a book to use as a guide beats any tablet or smart device. The information is well presented which covers the spirit of the cities and towns. It’s almost as if you have your personal guide.

I’m a fan of the Rick Steves guidebook series. I’ve always found them practical and reliable in helping organize a first-time visit. One of my favourite features is the in-depth walking tours, and I relied heavily on these on a recent trip to Brussels, Bruges and Flanders Fields. But while wandering the medieval labyrinth of cobblestone that is Bruges, I became aware of limitations to the Rick Steves Formula. The first is repetition. Between the city orientation, walking tour and separate listing of places to sleep and eat, much of the same information is repeated. If edited down to its core content, this volume could be probably be less than half its size. This may explain the separate marketing of his “Pocket” guides, which I will priorize from now on to save space and cost. The other disappointment might be attributable to the disorienting effects of heat exhaustion under an unusually intense summer sun, but for the first time I found his walking tour instructions less than clear. “Turn right” and “Jog to the side” are not explicit enough in a town of multiple, snakelike alleys converging at or near the same intersection. Much more useful was the reference to landmarks, such as “the alley immediately to the left of the church as you face it.” I would encourage the editors to stick to this for all editions. Also, the maps for the walking tours try to cram too much information into tiny print. A solution would be to split them up into separate, easier-to-read, full page segments. Still, the cultural and practical information, combined with the sense of discovering things as you wander at your own pace, will keep me coming back to this series.

It’s Rick Steve’s! You can never go wrong with his travel books. Helpful and practical and not unrealistic (gives prices and suggests modest options). His advice feels like it comes from an average person trying to explore on a budget… just like me! We must have a dozen of his guides!

Always start your planning for a European trip with a Rick Steves guidebook. They're the best for prioritizing your time and not focusing on high end travel. Other guidebooks that may go into greater detail are best used to supplement the Rick Steves books. I say this based on decades of travel to Europe and several years of living there.

Wonderful book on an area, not on the most traveled list!

Rick is the ultimate authority on transparent and well told travel tips for Europe. Experiences are as exactly as described in his books. This edition is packed with good information and a small travel size to hit the road with me.

R8ck Steves always give a comprehensive with easy to understand travel information especially Snapshots.