Product Description

• 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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #273813 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-23
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Review

"Complete, concise and filled with useful information." -- NY Daily News

From the Publisher
Its simple. Frommers is the name readers can trust for complete, easy-to-use, and up-to-date travel information. These guides offer all the practical details in a fun, user-friendly format, helping readers discover the world in a whole new way.

The candid, authoritative hotel and restaurant reviews are the best in the businessincredibly detailed, and including carefully chosen selections for every taste and budget, with an emphasis on moderately priced choices. Were the only major guidebook series to go the extra mile and list exact prices for every establishment and activity covered, so readers know what to expect. And whether theyre on an expense account or a tight budget, readers get the very best bang for their buck. Frommers Complete Guides offer a wealth of sightseeing, sports, strolls, and special momentsall accompanied by detailed, accurate color maps that show the way.

Most guidebooks read like textbooks or promotional brochuresbut not Frommers. We know that readers turn to Frommers when theyre planning a vacation, so even though these guides take the details seriously, theyre filled with a sense of fun and discovery.

No wonder Frommers Complete Guides are turning heads. And no wonder readers have discovered that Frommers is the key to an unforgettable vacation.

From the Back Cover

Experience a place the way the locals do. Enjoy the best it has to offer.

• The Benelux countries offer an extraordinary range of language, history, cities, and natural beauty. Our author highlights the best and most unique aspects of each.
• Outspoken opinions on what's worth your time and what's not.

• Exact prices, so you can plan the perfect trip whatever your budget.

• Off-the-beaten-path experiences and undiscovered gems, plus new takes on top attractions.

Find great deals and book your trip at Frommers.com

Customer Reviews

Great guide with excellent recommendations
We traveled to Brussels and Ghent in August and used this guide extensively. I definately would recommend this for your travels to Belgium!

Frommer's Benelux bombs!
I used this guide book during a recent trip to the Benelux region of Europe. I found the book useful in helping me pick out good restaurants. It also listed the major sites I wanted to see. I did not find the book useful in reserving hotels and describing each site. I especially found the maps to be of poor quality. Many of them mislabeled the location of sites and failed to include important street names that would make it easier to find sites, restaurants, and accomodations. As a frequent traveler, I rely on good maps in guidebooks to get around cities that are unknown to me. Frommer's got me to take wrong turns repeatedly.

Unfortunately, there do not seem to be many books out there covering exclusively the Benelux region of Europe. At least I did not find any that I liked, so Frommer's was the best choice among many bad choices.

A Travel Guide Without a Focus
When I first started travelling to Europe 25 years ago, the Frommer guides were like beacons. They had a very definite goal in mind: To let you enjoy Europe for $XX dollars a day. Their books were fun and informative; but somewhere along the line, the Frommer people lost touch with their leadership.

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.