Best of England Guidebook

In Rick Steves Best of England you'll find essential Rick-tested information on the following top destinations, plus condensed coverage of several "Best of the Rest" cities and regions:

• London
  • Nearby: Windsor and Stonehenge
• Bath
  • Nearby: Glastonbury and Wells
• Cotswolds
  • Chipping Campden and nearby
  • Stow-on-the-Wold and nearby
  • Moreton-in-Marsh
• Lake District
  • Keswick and the North Lake District
  • Ullswater Lake Area
  • South Lake District
• York
• Edinburgh (Scotland)
• Best of the Rest
  • Oxford
  • Blenheim Palace
  • Stratford-upon-Avon
  • Warwick Castle
  • Liverpool
  • Durham
  • Hadrian's Wall
• Extras
  • Self-guided walks and museum tours
  • Easy-to-follow color maps
  • Gorgeously illustrated destination overview
  • ​Trip planning: Pre-trip checklist, festivals and holidays, recommended two-week itinerary
  • City/region-specific advice on planning your time and avoiding lines
  • Transportation: Trains, buses, city transit, and driving
  • English history, culture, and cuisine
  • Advice on managing money, communicating, reserving rooms, handling emergencies, and other helpful hints

What's the difference between this Best of England guidebook and Rick's complete England guidebook?

Rick Steves England, the complete guide, offers more coverage of more destinations in a mostly black-and-white format.

The shorter Best of England guidebook focuses on England's top destinations and sights, is in full color, and is updated a little less frequently than the complete guide.

Both books are packed with hand-picked recommendations and Rick's travel advice and tips for saving time, money, and hassle.

Should I get this Best of England book in addition to Rick's Great Britain guidebook?

Nope — if you're going to Scotland and/or Wales as well as England, you'd be better off sticking with the Rick Steves Great Britain guidebook, which covers even more places in England than the Best Of guide, plus our favorite places in Scotland and Wales. (If Edinburgh is your only British stop outside England, you can just take Rick Steves Best of England, which includes Edinburgh. But if your Scottish travels are more extensive than what's covered in our Great Britain book, you could supplement your Best of England book with Rick Steves Scotland.)

Should I get the London guidebook (or London Pocket guide) in addition to this Best of England guidebook?

If you're spending only a few days in London, Rick Steves Best of England is all you're likely to need.

If, however, you're spending four days or more in London, the extra information in Rick Steves London can be worthwhile. It offers more in-depth sightseeing information, several additional self-guided city walks and museum/sight tours, and more specifics on shopping and nightlife, plus activities for kids. The city guide also includes a few more hotels and restaurants than the London chapter of Rick Steves Best of England, and generally a more nitty-gritty approach to practical advice.

It would make less sense to supplement Best of England with the smaller Pocket London guide, which offers no more sightseeing advice, walks, tours, or practical information than what's already in the Best Of guide.

Latest updates: When we learn of critical changes to the information in our guidebooks on England, we post them. (Of course, it's still smart to reconfirm critical transportation and sightseeing details locally.) Armed with a Rick Steves guidebook and these late-breaking updates, you're set for a great trip!

Submit feedback: Once you've used this book in Europe, we'd love to hear your feedback — good or bad — about our advice on sights, hotels, restaurants, and travel tips. We're also interested in any tips or discoveries you made while in Europe. Your comments help us improve our guidebooks for future travelers.