The Travel Blog

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when planning a Grand Tour of Europe. In this guide, Rick covers the best of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland.You’ll find a healthy mix of big cities, small towns, and exciting regions, including:London, Paris, Rome, Amsterdam, Prague, and BarcelonaRothenberg, Siena, Toledo, Hallstatt, and GimmelwaldProvence, the French Riviera, the Romantic Road, the Berner Oberland, and the Cinque TerreRick’s candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants. You’ll learn how to find the right bus in Rome, an inexpensive crêpe in Paris, and which museums and sights are worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.

Price: $12.70  $22.70

"The Rough Guide First-Time Europe" tells you everything you need to know before you go to Europe, from visas and vaccinations to budgets and packing. It will help you plan the best possible trip, with advice on when to go and what not to miss, and how to avoid trouble on the road. You'll find insightful information on what tickets to buy, where to stay, what to eat and how to stay healthy and save money in Europe. "The Rough Guide First-Time Europe" includes insightful overviews of each European country highlighting the best places to visit with country-specific websites, clear maps, suggested reading and budget information. Be inspired by the full-colour 'things not to miss' section whilst useful contact details will help you plan your route. All kinds of advice and anecdotes from travellers who've been there and done it will make travelling stress-free. "The Rough Guide First-Time Europe" has everything you need to get your journey underway.

Price: $9.23  $19.23

When the author and her husband set off on a bike ride from Versailles to the vineyards and champagne cellars of Epernay and Reims, they knew nothing of the Marne valley through which they would ride, except that it had been the scene of unimaginable horror and devastation during WWI. Their route followed the coach tracks and footsteps of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in their abortive attempt to escape the French revolution, leading finally to the square in central Paris where they died on the scaffold. In three weeks the couple cycle 500 miles, dining sometimes in luxury and often on weird makeshift meals in their tent. Along the way there are traumas, epiphanies, occasional matrimonial disagreements and the odd glass of champagne. "It is unlikely that any other cyclist could be less competent than the author, nor be so unsuited to wearing skin-tight Lycra." Susie Kelly

Price: $16.01  $26.01

Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2012: At age 26, following the death of her mother, divorce, and a run of reckless behavior, Cheryl Strayed found herself alone near the foot of the Pacific Crest Trail--inexperienced, over-equipped, and desperate to reclaim her life. Wild tracks Strayed's personal journey on the PCT through California and Oregon, as she comes to terms with devastating loss and her unpredictable reactions to it. While readers looking for adventure or a naturalist's perspective may be distracted by the emotional odyssey at the core of the story, Wild vividly describes the grueling life of the long-distance hiker, the ubiquitous perils of the PCT, and its peculiar community of wanderers. Others may find her unsympathetic--just one victim of her own questionable choices. But Strayed doesn't want sympathy, and her confident prose stands on its own, deftly pulling both threads into a story that inhabits a unique riparian zone between wilderness tale and personal-redemption memoir. --Jon Foro

Price: $23.99  $33.99