I recently returned from a 3 month tour of Europe and took this book with me. While it did have a number of major European cities in it the actual information about them was definetly lacking. I found my self usually better off with out a book at all as opposed to only having this one. Several other travelers we met felt the same way and some were lucky enough to have Lonely Planet guides. For the money spent I'll stick to them or Rick Steves in the future. i.e. This book would take you to the train station/ subway but then fall short on what the heck to do to get a ticket!!! Which is important information stranded in 20 different stations/ subways a month each with different customs. Frommer's did do an excellent job of pointing out all of the gay and lesbian districs and bars in each city and the gay friendly hotels and shops... but they also have a strickly gay guide to Europe as well. The amount of space used for this information could have been better allocated for more pertinent information. I'll have to give a thumbs down on this book. Take something else with you or take nothing at all.

Frommer's does a good job with the general hints on travelling cheaper, but unless you plan on visiting only the major cities and capitals only, look for another book. There are 24 major cities and surrounding areas covered from Ireland to Budapest, but that's not many cities in comparison with all of Europe. I only will have a short time in Europe and that means that I will only be able to visit two of the cities listed and have to use another book for everything in between. Lonely Planet is much more inclusive and definitely covers the lower price scale.

Just returned from a 2 month trip using the 2002 guide. I found the recommendations for the restaurants to be excellent. After realizing that the Frommer's writers and I had the same tastes, I made it a point of seeking out all of their 'starred' recommendations for restaurants. The sightseeing descriptions and recommendations were also quite good. The hotel recommendations were not as good. A few of the hotels we stayed in that were not 'starred' or listed as a 'Find' were not as comfortable as hotels in other books.

We traveled with this Frommer's, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet and Rough Guides through France, Belguim, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Italy. We liked Rick Steves' recommendations for lodging, Frommer's for restaurants and both for sightseeing. Lonely Planet and Rough Guides were not used if in a Frommer's city. If in a Rick Steve's city (but not Frommer's) we used Lonely Planet for restaurant recommendations (not as good a Frommer's but better than Rick Steves).

Background: Two travelers, professional, early 30s with enough money to stay out of the hostels, but did not want to blow the bank of 5 star lodging. Rick Steve's packing philosophy. Both traveler's love to eat!!

My partner and I are going to Europe this summer for an extended vacation and were planning on spending a good amount of time in Germany. We were hoping to find a comprehensive guide that would give cultural cues and listing of gay/gay-friendly hotels, clubs, restaurants, etc. We were hoping to find such spots in almost every city were were planning on visiting.

The book was intended to be that guide. However, once we opened it up and started looking we were dismayed. Basically, for Germany, they make the crass statement, "Why call this part 'Germany" when Berlin is the only city included? Well, that's the first place you think of Germany? What German city has the most fascinating (and scariest) history? The widest cultural spectrum? The hottest gay nightlife? The most gays and lesbians? Berlin."

So, Germany's guide was limited to Berlin. I, quite personally, don't give a crap that the Frommer writers think this is the only city to focus on/write about. The book promises to deliver this information, as they do in other cities on their USA guide, yet absolutely don't deliver. [Wow], my partner has spent time in Germany in the past and knew generally of (at least) the gay districts in Frankfurt, Hamburg and other cities.

So, if you haven't figured it out yet, find another guide. Unless you only want to travel to the few cities in Europe that Frommer features, don't buy this waste of a good tree and ink.

Having brought this along for not one but two Europe trips where it wasn't even worth the space it took up in my bag, it's time to retire it to a shelf permanently. Frommer's is trying to capitalize on the success of Fodor's GAY USA books which are pretty informative and well organized. Frommer's offering is too little, too late. Now-a-days there are gay mentions in lots of mainstream travel books. Virgin, the same people who bring you the record company, superstores, etc. also make travel books for major European cities which always include gay bars and gay hoods. Dorling Kindersley may not be gay, but they are hands down superior to any other guide out there and worth every cent. Just grab a Spartacus or look online to find out where the gay areas are, or pick up a gay mag or flyers once you get there. By all means, don't plan on this book giving you anything but a frustrating, jarbled mess of vague maps and bland information.

Like the description for this book says, there IS more to queer Europe that gay Paris. Unfortunately this book only hits on 7 other countries, so if you're headed anywhere in Scandinavia, forget it. Same with Portugal, Ireland, Switzerland, and a bunch of other European countries. Make sure you're going to one of the Chosen 8, or this book will be worthless.