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Rick Steves is a great author and story teller. He’s energetic in his videos and completely fearless in his travels. As a young female traveler in Europe, I found it hard to relate to this book. It might be time for a new generation to kick off the backpacking through Europe craze through a clearer lense.

I'm counting this as a book read, even though I skimmed some chunks of it and hence wouldn't usually count it as read. I'm moving to Germany soon and have been trying to read some guidebooks on Europe and/or Germany. This one caught my eye because it was the only 2017 edition of a Europe guidebook in my library's very small Europe travel section.

I've heard good things about Rick Steves recently; this is my first book of his (I've already checked out his Germany guidebook and plan to read that next), and I was impressed. Although he regularly recommends his own books, shows, apps, etc. to help out travelers, he also gives a lengthy rundown of different brands of guidebooks in the beginning of the book, encouraging people to check out whatever books work for them.

And this is technically a guidebook, but not really, which is maybe why I was able to read so much of it (instead of skimming over to the stuff that interests me). It's part guidebook, part travel memoir, and part travel advice book (does that count as a guidebook?). It was really useful, but also felt really personal, which is why it worked so well for me.

Somewhere between the first half and the first two-thirds of the book are just his travel advice. The entire book (the "back door" concept) is based around how to travel easily and cheaply in Europe and get the most bang for your buck. It's not really about "budget travel," but rather, about smart travel: where to stay, what food to get, how to behave--just how to maximize your experience to get the most experience and least hassle. He gives extensive advice in the first part of the book on lodging, food, transportation, budget and money, etc. Some of it is terrifying and some of it is really useful. He is pretty clear about what he thinks are the best options for things, and will back up his opinions with reasons (for example: he recommends staying in hostels to meet fellow travelers, or to stay in B&Bs if possible for the personal experience that is usually cheaper than a huge hotel).

The second half/last third of the book goes through every country in Europe with his thoughts on each. Once again, this is not a guidebook; he gives brief notes on traveling in each country, how to sight-see, and so on. He does not (usually) give recommendations for specific restaurants, lodging, or locations to see (that is for the other guidebooks), but gives broader recommendations for what cities to stay in and what local sights or experiences he thinks travelers should take in. He gives some recommendations for specific tourist spots (i.e. get there early and/or reserve a ticket ahead of time), but most of what he says about each country includes overviews of the country and its people, what the food is like, and what the cities are like.

One thing Steves really pushes in this book is the idea that you are traveling to have a new experience, not to experience typically American things but in another country. He encourages people to meet new people, strike up conversations, go exploring, check out slightly-less-popular tourist destinations, hiring guides, trying new food, etc. And that was what I really appreciated about this book: not a guidebook listing every possible sight I could want to see, but a book listing personal experiences with European countries and how to navigate them. Highly recommended, and I intend to dig into some of his other stuff (books, apps, shows) soon.

Definitely a good intro to traveling abroad. About 2/3 of the book is Travel Skills, but I think it's something that even experienced travelers could use; Steves provides lots of detail on things I wouldn't have thought to research.
When it comes to learning about the actual countries this book serves mainly as a good starting point. He devotes about 20 pages to each country that he chooses to cover (not all countries included) that gives you a bit of an idea of what you might want to see. After reading this book, I intend to research more on the places that got me interested, as well as research places he left out. (Milan, for example, wasn't covered at all.) Another iffy aspect of the Back Doors section is when he chooses to describe one experience from a city rather than anything else, such as when he describes watching geese get force fed in Dordogne to make foie gras-- not something that at all endeared me to that town.
This book is a great launchpad into other guidebooks and more specific research. But if you know where you're going in Europe, I might skip the Back Doors sections and pick up a more specific guidebook.

Very helpful guide when planning a trip to Europe!

This was a great overview of things to know before I go on my European trip in a couple of weeks. Definitely would recommend for anyone planning an extended trip to Europe.

This was very different from the other Rick Steves books that I have read in the past. Looking at the table of contents I felt a little disappointed. It focussed more on customs, language barriers and other aspects of travel and not on the European countries themselves. But the first part of the book was actually really helpful and a good reference that I'm sure I will use again.

While this book offers little new or earth-shattering information to those who have visited Europe, it's an EXCELLENT resource for anyone planning their first European trip. The first half of the book focuses on logistics, and covers literally everything from how to get to Europe and how much to budget, to what to do should an emergency arise during the trip. The second half of the book breaks down each of the countries, and focuses on top places to see, suggested time to spend at each place, top cultural experiences, and fun little anecdotes from the author's previous travels. While I had little use for the first half of the book, the second half proved useful in planning my future European travels. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is considering traveling Europe, and needs a good place to start.