I am currently living in Belgium and have gone through several guide books to help find the spots to visit. Many other books focus on hotels or restaurants, but the Rough Guide focuses on where to go and what to see when you get there. It has useful information on how to get there by car, train and even bike. I take this book with me on my travels around Belgium and am enjoying learning more about this wonderful country.

Having spent an academic year studying and travelling in Belgium, I went through a great many different guidebooks to enhance my Belgian experience. The guidebook experience was a mixed one - some multi-area guidebooks devoted but a few pages to Belgium (Rick Steves' France, Belgium, and Luxembourg - very spotty on the Belgian information), others were more focused on the culture and history of Belgium than the intricacies of getting to a specific place (the Insight Guide to Belgium).

So, having gone through the gamut of books on Belgium, I can wholeheartedly say that this is the best one out on the market at the current time. The coverage given to tourist sites and getting around this small-but-wonderful country is outstanding...it helped me find some great, off-the-beaten-track destinations that other guidebooks might pass over. The coverage given to Luxembourg within these pages is also very well-done (not to mention helpful) -- something sorely lacking in other guidebooks.

The Insight Guide to Belgium is also recommended, but more as a cultural and historical primer. For the practicalities of everyday Belgian life, this is the only book you'll need (and its physical size is great - the least cumbersome and yet most informative guide I've ever carried around on my travels). So...what are you waiting for? Go to Belgium and take this book with you!

Thanks to Amazon's great Out-of-Print Service I am now the proud owner of an immaculate copy of this book.

Martin Battersby traces the transformation of the dressmaker to couturier during the Art Deco period. This was a time when the fashion illustrater was almost as big as the designer and the book covers illustrators such as Paul Iribe and Erte. There are over 100 illustrations, many in colour. It is a great reference book.