Rick Steves' Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more
Flip to back
Flip to front
Rick Steves' Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol Paperback – March 26, 2013
$15.20
FREE Shipping on orders over $35.
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
Start reading Rick Steves' Vienna, Salzburg & Tirol on your Kindle in under a minute.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?.
|
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Rick Steves has spent 100 days every year since 1973 exploring Europe. Rick produces a public television series (Rick Steves' Europe), a public radio show (Travel with Rick Steves), and an app and podcast (Rick Steves Audio Europe); writes a bestselling series of guidebooks and a nationally syndicated newspaper column; organizes guided tours that take thousands of travelers to Europe annually; and offers an information-packed website (RickSteves.com). With the help of his hardworking staff of 80 at Europe Through the Back Door—in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle—Rick's mission is to make European travel fun, affordable, and culturally broadening for Americans.
More About the Author
Rick Steves advocates smart, affordable, perspective-broadening travel. As host and writer of the popular public television series Rick Steves' Europe, and best-selling author of 40 European travel books, he encourages Americans to travel as "temporary locals." He helps American travelers connect much more intimately and authentically with Europe -- and Europeans -- for a fraction of what mainstream tourists pay.
Over the past 20 years, Rick has hosted over 100 travel shows for public television, and numerous pledge specials (raising millions of dollars for local stations). His Rick Steves' Europe TV series is carried by over 300 stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Rick has also created two award-winning specials for public television: Rick Steves' European Christmas and the ground-breaking Rick Steves' Iran. Rick writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions.
Rick Steves also hosts a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. With a broader approach to travel everywhere, in each hour-long program Rick interviews guest travel expert, followed by listener call-ins. Travel with Rick Steves airs across the country and has spawned a popular podcast. Rick has also created a series of audio walking tour podcasts for museums and neighborhoods in Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice (with more tours, including London, coming in 2010).
Rick self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door (now updated annually), in 1980. He has also written more than 40 other country, city and regional guidebooks, phrase books, and "snapshot" guides. For several years, Rick Steves' Italy has been the bestselling international guidebook sold in the U.S. In 2009, Rick tackled a new genre of travel writing with Travel as a Political Act, reflecting on how a life of travel has broadened his own perspectives, and travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world. Rick's books are published by Avalon Travel, a member of the Perseus Books Group.
In addition to his guidebooks, TV and radio work, Rick is a syndicated newspaper columnist with the Tribune Media Services. He appears frequently on television, radio, and online as the leading authority on European travel.
Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, Rick jokes, "I realized I didn't need my parents to travel!" He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a business which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a well-traveled staff of 70 full-time employees. ETBD offers free travel information through its travel center, website (www.ricksteves.com), European Railpass Guide, and free travel newsletters. ETBD also runs a successful European tour program with more than 300 departures -- attracting around 10,000 travelers -- annually.
Rick is outspoken on the need for Americans to fit better into our planet by broadening their perspectives through travel. He is also committed to his own neighborhood. He's an active member of the Lutheran church (and has hosted the ELCA's national video productions). He's a board member of NORML (working to reform marijuana laws in the USA). And Rick has provided his local YWCA with a 24-unit apartment building with which to house homeless mothers.
Rick Steves spends about a third of every year in Europe, researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and making new discoveries for travelers. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.
Over the past 20 years, Rick has hosted over 100 travel shows for public television, and numerous pledge specials (raising millions of dollars for local stations). His Rick Steves' Europe TV series is carried by over 300 stations, reaching 95 percent of U.S. markets. Rick has also created two award-winning specials for public television: Rick Steves' European Christmas and the ground-breaking Rick Steves' Iran. Rick writes and co-produces his television programs through his company, Back Door Productions.
Rick Steves also hosts a weekly public radio program, Travel with Rick Steves. With a broader approach to travel everywhere, in each hour-long program Rick interviews guest travel expert, followed by listener call-ins. Travel with Rick Steves airs across the country and has spawned a popular podcast. Rick has also created a series of audio walking tour podcasts for museums and neighborhoods in Paris, Rome, Florence and Venice (with more tours, including London, coming in 2010).
Rick self-published the first edition of his travel skills book, Europe Through the Back Door (now updated annually), in 1980. He has also written more than 40 other country, city and regional guidebooks, phrase books, and "snapshot" guides. For several years, Rick Steves' Italy has been the bestselling international guidebook sold in the U.S. In 2009, Rick tackled a new genre of travel writing with Travel as a Political Act, reflecting on how a life of travel has broadened his own perspectives, and travel can be a significant force for peace and understanding in the world. Rick's books are published by Avalon Travel, a member of the Perseus Books Group.
In addition to his guidebooks, TV and radio work, Rick is a syndicated newspaper columnist with the Tribune Media Services. He appears frequently on television, radio, and online as the leading authority on European travel.
Rick took his first trip to Europe in 1969, visiting piano factories with his father, a piano importer. By the time he reached 18, Rick jokes, "I realized I didn't need my parents to travel!" He began traveling on his own, funding his trips by teaching piano lessons. In 1976, he started Europe Through the Back Door (ETBD), a business which has grown from a one-man operation to a company with a well-traveled staff of 70 full-time employees. ETBD offers free travel information through its travel center, website (www.ricksteves.com), European Railpass Guide, and free travel newsletters. ETBD also runs a successful European tour program with more than 300 departures -- attracting around 10,000 travelers -- annually.
Rick is outspoken on the need for Americans to fit better into our planet by broadening their perspectives through travel. He is also committed to his own neighborhood. He's an active member of the Lutheran church (and has hosted the ELCA's national video productions). He's a board member of NORML (working to reform marijuana laws in the USA). And Rick has provided his local YWCA with a 24-unit apartment building with which to house homeless mothers.
Rick Steves spends about a third of every year in Europe, researching guidebooks, filming TV shows, and making new discoveries for travelers. He lives and works in his hometown of Edmonds, Washington, where his office window overlooks his old junior high school.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
45 of 47 people found the following review helpful
By
Golfer 4
on October 28, 2009
Format: Paperback
Comment
Sending feedback...
We used this book on our recent trip to the Bavarian Region. It was very good for Salzburg, Innsbruck, the Berchtesgaden region, and the Fussen/Garmich region and it is a great packing size. However, Rick's books focus on traveling by train, so if you are traveling by car they do not include other good options. So you may want to consult other books. I used both Frommer's for good towns to visit and Karen Brown's books for good driving itineraries. Karen provides good info on lots of small towns, beautiful scenery, and pretty lakes to visit. We didn't do all of her itinerary since it would take too much time.
I do wish Rick had included Munich as part of the book, as it is part of Bavarian Germany and would have been perfect for our use (I didn't want to carry around the larger Germany book for just that info).
I do agree with the other reviewer that didn't feel that Hallstatt was worth so much fuss. It is nice, however there are many beautiful lakes and towns in this region and if I did it again, I would not go out of my way just to see Hallstatt.
The hotel we stayed in was not very comfortable and I am not sure there are any really good options.
A couple of general notes on the area. The drive between Innsbruck and Fussen was incredibly scenic through the mountains and not too difficult to drive (it is windy). Also the Alpenstrasse is very nice. The boat ride at Lake Koenigssee near Bertesgaden is nice, but slow. The boat is not gas powered and moves pretty slowly so it takes 35 minutes one way to the church. It doesn't bother you too much on the way there, but the trip back seems slow. They have a good guide giving funny commentary but it was all in German.
Just remember when you go to this area that there will be so many scenic spots that you don't have to focus on just one. Also be aware that it can rain and be fairly cloudy over the mountains.
I do wish Rick had included Munich as part of the book, as it is part of Bavarian Germany and would have been perfect for our use (I didn't want to carry around the larger Germany book for just that info).
I do agree with the other reviewer that didn't feel that Hallstatt was worth so much fuss. It is nice, however there are many beautiful lakes and towns in this region and if I did it again, I would not go out of my way just to see Hallstatt.
The hotel we stayed in was not very comfortable and I am not sure there are any really good options.
A couple of general notes on the area. The drive between Innsbruck and Fussen was incredibly scenic through the mountains and not too difficult to drive (it is windy). Also the Alpenstrasse is very nice. The boat ride at Lake Koenigssee near Bertesgaden is nice, but slow. The boat is not gas powered and moves pretty slowly so it takes 35 minutes one way to the church. It doesn't bother you too much on the way there, but the trip back seems slow. They have a good guide giving funny commentary but it was all in German.
Just remember when you go to this area that there will be so many scenic spots that you don't have to focus on just one. Also be aware that it can rain and be fairly cloudy over the mountains.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
80 of 89 people found the following review helpful
By
Amazon Customer
on June 10, 2010
Format: Paperback
Comment
Sending feedback...
A couple of years ago I used Rick Steves's guidebooks to Rome and Florence, and they were excellent -- detailed, filled with "insider" tips, and amusing to boot. The Vienna guidebook has all that, but it's disappointing if you're going to Vienna for one of its primary attractions: classical music and its history. For example, while there is a 5-page section on music that is very informative, he mentions the Vienna Philharmonic only in passing, giving no information on the Musikverein or how to get tickets to a Philharmonic concert there. There is also no mention of the Central Cemetery (Zentralfriedhof), where Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and many other famous composers are buried. More irritating are ignorant comments such as this reference to the Vienna Boys' Choir: "They're talented kids, but, for my taste, not worth all the commotion." Or this one: "For me, three hours is a lot of opera." I honestly don't care about Rick Steves's "taste" -- a guidebook should be geared to all tastes. If he's not able to make informed comments about classical music in Vienna, maybe he should get a knowledgeable ghostwriter for that section.
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
42 of 51 people found the following review helpful
By
Edwin Brown
on August 4, 2009
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
Having followed Rick's recommendations many times in the past, we chose Hallstatt as our number one spot to visit in Austria this June, based on lengthy TV coverage we taped some years ago. This book was not available before we left, but we ordered it as soon as we returned to see what he had to say about Hallstatt now.
Having reserved four days at his highly recommended Gasthof Simony a few days before arriving in Austria, we fortunately canceled it when we received a surprising invitation to spend our entire time in Austria with some Austrian friends who had just rented a place for the summer in Steinback am Attersee, in the heart of the Salzkammergut only a short distance from Hallstatt.
When our friends took us to Hallstatt the day after we arrived in Steinbach, we found the place overrun with tourists despite its being early June -- and wondered what it must be like later in the summer. An hour there was quite sufficient! The view of lake Attersee from our friends' chalet in Steinbach was far superior to what we saw in Hallstatt, with far more amenities on the lake shore and only a scattering of tourists at that time of year.
Even more disappointing was the book's cavalier dismissal of the rest of the Salzkammergut, suggesting that if you've been to Hallstatt, you had seen it all. Quite the contrary, we found any number of places at least as charming, far less crowded, and offering much more by way of history, surrounding attractions, restaurants, lake activities, and other amenities that make Hallstatt seem very third-rate.
Perhaps it's time to take another look, Rick!
Having reserved four days at his highly recommended Gasthof Simony a few days before arriving in Austria, we fortunately canceled it when we received a surprising invitation to spend our entire time in Austria with some Austrian friends who had just rented a place for the summer in Steinback am Attersee, in the heart of the Salzkammergut only a short distance from Hallstatt.
When our friends took us to Hallstatt the day after we arrived in Steinbach, we found the place overrun with tourists despite its being early June -- and wondered what it must be like later in the summer. An hour there was quite sufficient! The view of lake Attersee from our friends' chalet in Steinbach was far superior to what we saw in Hallstatt, with far more amenities on the lake shore and only a scattering of tourists at that time of year.
Even more disappointing was the book's cavalier dismissal of the rest of the Salzkammergut, suggesting that if you've been to Hallstatt, you had seen it all. Quite the contrary, we found any number of places at least as charming, far less crowded, and offering much more by way of history, surrounding attractions, restaurants, lake activities, and other amenities that make Hallstatt seem very third-rate.
Perhaps it's time to take another look, Rick!
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
19 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By
Hans Atlanta
on October 27, 2012
Format: Paperback
Verified Purchase
Comment
Sending feedback...
Let me start out with the positive: if you are not much of traveler, this book will be good. It describes things adequately for the person who has perhaps never left the USA. The author guides you to all the most obvious tourist attractions and holds your hand through them.
However, I have traveled before, so this book was a disappointment.
Consider this: if you had no particular knowledge of Vienna, and if you made a list of what you can guess or what you already know about Vienna, what would be on your list? Well, you can guess that Vienna will have a cathedral of course, because all European cities do. And there will be museums, of course. Moreover, some king will have built a palace or two. And there will be a city center for walking; every city has all that. You might even have a Walt-Disney level of knowledge about Vienna, having heard of the Vienna Boys Choir or the Lippizaner Stallions.
If all that is true for you, then you lay out the content of this book. This book covers only the most obvious tourist attractions. There is very little information about things that are not totally obvious to begin with.
Would you buy a book about New York City that had one chapter each on: the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art? If so, then this Vienna guide is for you.
The Nightlife section is two (2!) pages. Surely, there is more happening in this city after dark.
What is good about this book: once you have been guided to an obvious spot, the author goes into loving detail about the place. You won't have to buy a museum guide, because this book will take you through in great detail. It is impressive in that respect.
The restaurant section was so-so.Read more ›
However, I have traveled before, so this book was a disappointment.
Consider this: if you had no particular knowledge of Vienna, and if you made a list of what you can guess or what you already know about Vienna, what would be on your list? Well, you can guess that Vienna will have a cathedral of course, because all European cities do. And there will be museums, of course. Moreover, some king will have built a palace or two. And there will be a city center for walking; every city has all that. You might even have a Walt-Disney level of knowledge about Vienna, having heard of the Vienna Boys Choir or the Lippizaner Stallions.
If all that is true for you, then you lay out the content of this book. This book covers only the most obvious tourist attractions. There is very little information about things that are not totally obvious to begin with.
Would you buy a book about New York City that had one chapter each on: the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art? If so, then this Vienna guide is for you.
The Nightlife section is two (2!) pages. Surely, there is more happening in this city after dark.
What is good about this book: once you have been guided to an obvious spot, the author goes into loving detail about the place. You won't have to buy a museum guide, because this book will take you through in great detail. It is impressive in that respect.
The restaurant section was so-so.Read more ›
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Most Recent Customer Reviews
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
