...but if you really must see all of Europe in one vast, hurried trip, this book is for you. Using the sights-by-day, Eurail-pass-by-night method, this book got me from Sweden to Romania. It was invaluable for getting my bearings as soon as I walked out of a train station in a new country, and gave me a good idea of how to get around using public transportation and walking tours.

If you're planning to spend any significant amount of time in a country, you're much better off with an in-depth country guide. But for people planning to zip through countries, this guide does a decent job of highlighting the major attractions in the major cities, and is much more convenient than lugging a dozen country-specific guides around.

For backpackers, the book is a bit heavy. The binding is sturdy enough to allow for tearing out countries you don't plan to visit or have already finished. (Not that I'm condoning destroying books...) Unsurprisingly, western countries like France and Italy get far more attention (and pages) than the eastern European countries, but these still get fairly specific and very helpful descriptions.

The abbreviated language guide in the back is useful, if you can hold an entire conversation using only greetings, numbers, and days of the week. Often criticized, the maps in LP guides are small and inadequately labeled, but they still give you more than enough information to find the local tourist info, where you can usually get a real map for free.

Ironically, because such a large portion of budget travelers rely on Lonely Planet, any "off the beaten track" tips noted in little sidebars are guaranteed to be over-visited by the time you get there. When we found a small hole-in-wall cafe in Istanbul proudly displaying a replicated Lonely Planet logo on its illuminated sign, I wondered whether LP's influence reaches a bit too far...

Overall, this is a great guidebook for backpackers and budget travelers, if supplemented with a recent Thomas Cook rail timetable and local information from hostels and tourist info centers.

- Mary Ann Miller, author of CH is for Chocolate: Individually Wrapped Tastes of Switzerland

This book is awesome. I am planning a trip to several countries in Europe next year and this book was recommended to me by a friend. And this was the best recommendation given for a trip. This book has everything required to travel to an unknown place with regards to the what to do, places to see, language translations, cultures, traveling budget, etc. I am so excited to take this trip with the guidance of this book. Thanks Lonely Planet.

This book gives you places to see and eat that are sometimes mainstream which is nice. All in all this book is great!

This book has been incredibly helpful in planning my trip and travelling around Europe. Unfortunately I had to leave my first copy of this book in London as I exceeded the baggage limit for the tour I was going on. I couldn't live without it though, so I bought a second copy after the tour to help me with the remainder of my trip.
The book is well set out with clear advice on everything from local customs to getting around and to and from cities, plenty of activities (with prices and opening hours for each), detailed city maps and food and accommodation options to suit even the tightest budget.
Everyone who is even considering backpacking around Europe should have a copy of this book!

This book is awesome, only if you need some basic tips of each country, if not get the Western and Eastern europe guide, but is really good for the traveller and lots of good tips and advice, so if you're going to differents parts of Europe this is the book to get, enjoy, I'm doing it!
Claudio

many of the places recommended weren't open anymore. maps were pretty terrible. information regarding subways and rails was pretty poor too.

the lonely planet books are THE best as far as i'm concerned, and the updates.

Very interesting to read, will be living in europe for 3 yrs and will take advantage of all the good tips!

it's really a great book!

if you are planning to take sometime off backpacking in Europe, or even if you live somewhere there and want some tips for a place to visit, this is the travel bible!

it's worth every penny!

LP has been a top travel publisher for a long time. A friend of mine gave me his copy of this book to peruse and I have a couple of things to add to what others have written.

This is a teriffic book for young people on a tight budget. It is also good for the rest of the population. I'm working on 70, and I found much useful information. Also, LP is one of the publishers that really try to be objective, which is terribly important.

I ordered the book today.

This book has been very helpful as I plan my trip to Europe...so many pages and so much information!!! the info is current too, which makes a huge difference. I haven't been to Europe yet, so I can not speak to how closely the book mirrors the Europe experience but from what I have heard the book does an amazing job!

This book was in perfect condition. It didn't take to long to arrive either. So far it's been a helpful tool in planning a less expensive visit to Europe. I would recommend it to anyone seeking the less traveled and less expensive path. Aim to avoid the over commercialized tourist traps with Europe on a Shoestring.

I'm going on an interrail trip next summer and this book contains everything you need to know about the European countries. The book is divided into chapters, a chapter for every country. You will find facts about the country, some history, a little about the culture, places you should visit, where you can eat, sleep and how to get there, if you need a visa or not and what kind of money you will need and much more. This book is really what you need if you are planning a trip around Europe.

For massive information pre-europe travel, this book can help with planning, sites, fair amount of maps, eating and drinking sites for many european cities.
Pros: Based on budget travelling so you receive good info on affordable places. Multiple maps, where to go, what to do.

Cons: small print, book is bulky and can't lug to Europe very well. Covers maybe too much in one book....

3 stars, good Europe planning guide.

Europe on a Shoe String is a great guide for ALL of Europe if you are traveling on a budget. It has great hostel and cheap hotel recommendations which I have used to make reservations. It covers every city from London to Moscow. The only bad thing I would note about this book is that is covers so many places, that it is brief on some cities (but obviously, it can't have everything). Overall, the best guide for traveling Europe without spending a fortune!

So the latest edition of Lonely Planet's Europe guide is out.
Note that most of the earlier reviews posted here refer to the previous edition(s), and there have been improvements in this new one!
Most importantly, this book now covers ALL European countries, including little-visited Belarus and Ukraine. It has basic coverage of European Russia, too.

The prices and other practical details really seem to have been updated specifically for this book - unlike in certain earlier shoestring guides, which simply seem to have been compiled by picking info from the already published (few years old) individual country guides.
So the info in this one is pretty correct as of 2006 state of affairs - that's when it was researched. Be prepared for some changes, of course, especially in some of the still rapidly-changing Eastern European countries.

The contents include the usual practical details all LP guides provide: not just an overview of sights and history, but practical matters like accomodation and transport details, all with actual prices (remember, these do change!), as well as useful info on things like getting visas and crossing borders.
Coverage of individual countries definitely varies though.
You will still find that the most popular Western European countries are covered in pretty good detail, certainly enough for an "All-Europe-Trip", while coverage of Eastern European countries is much more brief, in case of less visited ones really sketchy - hence the 4 stars only.
For more obscure countries like Belarus or Ukraine, this guide only provides detailed info on the capital and at best one or two other towns/cities, or perhaps just a brief overview of the rest of the country.

So this book is great value if you are still in the planning stages of your trip, and simply want to have an overview of the entire continent, prices, visa matters and all, to help you decide where to go.
It will also be an adequate guide to take along if you are planning a whirlwind tour of the continent, concentrating on the more established tourist destinations, with only brief forays to less visited countries.
However if you are planning to spend any length of time in Eastern Europe, I definitely recommend getting LP's separate Eastern Europe guide - it covers it in maybe three times as much detail as this book.
If you have a specific interest in a few countries rather than the whole continent, get the individual country guides to those ones.
But if you have only a summer holiday to tour our continent, you will probably find this book has enough information for you.

Have a good trip!

I have lived in Europe and traveled just about everywhere over there. Even though I know it well I always carry guidebooks and maps when I travel. Normally I carry Michelin. I used this book for my 2006 EurailPass and Eurolines bus tour of 17 countries. "Europe on a Shoestring" is amazing. It covers more and in greater detail than any other "Europe" book. I have all of the well-known books from the well-known authors and publishers and none of them comes close.

Highlights:
Hostel DJH recommendation in Dresden.
Hotel G9 recommendation in Tallinn.
Excellent country and city maps.

The other big "Europe" books selectively cover some or most of western Europe but none do eastern Europe like this one.

If there is one book to pack this is the one.

Well for starters ive traveled for years now breaking the 40 country mark and this book may be the best ive ever used. i do carry others that are area specific(i.e. cities etc. NK Top 10) but over all when doing multi country trips. This book is a must, it will assist you in transportation from locations to the next. And from my experience rather up todate on places to stay, currency hot spots, food vendures. The book is a backpackers bible.

I have used LP all over the world, and have also used some of their comprehensive guides such as South America and SE Asia, but attempting to write a guide book about as many countries as Europe has is impossible. South America has 13 countries, SE Asia 11 and Europe comes in at over 50. There isn't a big enough book for all that info.

I bought this book thinking that I was only going to hit major cities this fall while living in Europe for four months. Even so, the book just does not cover what you want to know. It is frustrating to open the book and not learn what you are after.

I do give LP 3 stars for trying. There are maps which are great as always and the best thing that I found in this book were the blurbs about how to get into the city from the airports. If you are traveling in Europe, you can't buy every country guide, but honestly, this book is not that much help and I rarely carried it. Better to book your hostel online, check with them, and wing it when you get there. Skip the book this time and just go for it.

I have used LP all over the world, and have also used some of their comprehensive guides such as South America and SE Asia, but attempting to write a guide book about as many countries as Europe has is impossible. South America has 13 countries, SE Asia 11 and Europe comes in at over 50. There isn't a big enough book for all that info.

I bought this book thinking that I was only going to hit major cities this fall while living in Europe for four months. Even so, the book just does not cover what you want to know. It is frustrating to open the book and not learn what you are after.

I do give LP 3 stars for trying. There are maps which are great as always and the best thing that I found in this book were the blurbs about how to get into the city from the airports. If you are traveling in Europe, you can't buy every country guide, but honestly, this book is not that much help and I rarely carried it. Better to book your hostel online, check with them, and wing it when you get there. Skip the book this time and just go for it.

LP is a great book and had lots of awesome ideas. If you really want to have the best time of your life, buy a copy of Party Europe as well. LP tells you where to stay and eat, Party Europe will tell you how to have fun. Great combination. Can't wait to head back to the old country.

The book itself is awesome, lots of useful info.
Unfortunately I realised I will only be using 40% of the book, since I'll be just visiting 3 or 4 countries and it may have been better to get one book for each one of them with more detailed info.

I bought Europe in a Shoestring as a preparation for my move from Italy to the UK. The book is an excellent reference for accomodation and eating, plus it gives the essential info on places to see and where to go.
I'm planning to travel through Germany, France, Luxemburg and Belgium, spending a day and an half in each destination. I wouldn't suggest this guide for detailed notions and longer stays.

This is a very useful publication with up to date information. Although each area can only be covered in fairly brief detail due to the number of countries and cities involved, it is very useful for someone like myself moving quickly through Europe, wanting the most important information immediately. The only improvement I would wish for would be more detailed and wider-reaching maps.

I had no idea how big this book is. It was the heaviest item on my after-college backpacking trip to Europe, hands down. But what it lacks in portability, it makes up for in comprehensive, well-written information for the low-budget traveler.

My only complaint: the maps are sometimes hard to read, and local maps will often give you a better, caricatured look at the landscape.