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Comment on DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London Reviews by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:49:28 +0000

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

A guide that gives you pictures rather than just words!, September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eyewitness Travel Guide to London (Paperback)

My family and I recently vacationed in London this past summer, and found this guide to be a wonderful resource. It is clear, easy to understand, and covers every aspect of your visit to this lovely city on the Thames. Many travel guides have wordy narratives and microscopic maps, but not this one. Once you open it's cover you will be treated to wonderful full color photos, detailed color drawings, maps, and illustrations. You will be inspired by this book because it literally shows you what you'll see in London, even before you leave home. You will be able to identify sites like St.Paul's, Westminister Abby, Trafalgar Sq, and will actually recognize them when you arrive in London (this is no small feat)! In addition to a liberal amount of practical travel information, many historical facts are provided to whet your interest, and prepare you to absorb more from guided tours or plaques you may read. Finally, even after you return home, you will find yourself looking at this guide to refresh your memory, and to explain some of the finer points when telling friends "what you did on your summer vacation". It is a beautiful book, a great travel guide, and a wonderful keepsake.

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Comment on DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London Reviews by Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:03:22 +0000

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

Dorling Kindersley - Hats off!!, October 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Eyewitness Travel Guide to London (Paperback)

If you are planning to tour central London, this is THE guide you should buy. There is nothing better. DK is amazing. I have used it to visit each and every attraction listed, and it works really well. Each attraction is explained in detail with colour photographs for most. You can actually read the book and plan your trip to the hour!

The added bonus are the maps. Wow! Forget A-Z. Forget Collins. The maps are SO EASILY READABLE!

Finally, a few shortcomings are: (1) the pictorial sketch-maps are not very accurate, but that is not so bad. (2) the outside boundaries of the pictorial maps do not mention the street names, so you have to look up the map pages and plan (3) web site addresses should have been listed with each attraction (4) the approximate cost of admission per adult is not listed where applicable. But, in most cases, I could find these on the web (5) the opening timings for attractions are not correct in a few cases (eg Royal Naval College, Greenwich) (6) the book weighs quite a lot! But the guide has good glossy paper and is bound very well.

Besides these not very significant shortcomings, this is the greatest guide I have used. It made my touring really enjoyable.

Finally, if you look through the pages, you will realize what kind of effort and research must have gone into preparing this guide. No wonder it is so good! Hats off to editors/researchers/artists at DK. (DK's other books are really great, too)

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Comment on DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London Reviews by "alenchik"

"alenchik" — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 12:08:14 +0000

81 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

Eyewitness vs. Frommer's, May 24, 2001

"alenchik" (NYC) -

This review is from: Eyewitness Travel Guide to London (Revised) (Paperback)

The verdict - Eyewitness is more useful and user-friendly than Frommer's, most of the time.

On a recent 2-week excursion to London, I brought Eyewitness and Frommer's along for comparison purposes and to be sure not to miss anything. I ended up using Eyewitness every day throughout the day and referring to Frommer's only for occasional reference. Mapwise, Frommer's is virtually unusuable with its pull-out map being too clunky while covering too little. Eyewitness' many maps at the back of the book were a life-saver, and the mini neighborhood maps in each section were a nice touch as well.

Visually, Eyewitness is more appealing with its colorful photographs and better paper. Initially I thought all those photos, drawings and captions would be too distracting and superfluous but they turned out to be quite nifty.

The restaurants featured are a select few (perhaps too few?) and the couple we tried based on recommendation from Eyewitness (Sofra and L'Odeon) did not disappoint.

I must acknowledge that Frommer's tends to be more in-depth when it comes to historical info and off-the-beaten-track/quirky stuff. At the same time, there seems to be almost too much text in Frommer's which can be difficult to weed through when hunting for a hint or two in a rush. Frommer's also includes admission/ticket prices missing in Eyewitness, while neither guidebook bothers to provide info on free admission times offered by many museums.

And, since I have your attention, here's a sample of the places I grew to love in London during the trip -

The National Gallery (be sure to check out the audio tour - it's an immense resource)

The Courtauld Gallery (a small but mighty collection)

The Theatre Museum (do ask about a complimentary - on Wednesdays, at least - tour of the nearby Drury Lane Royal Theatre - it's the most underappreciated tourist attraction in London!)

A walk in Kensington gardens - as close to urban heaven on earth as it gets.

Have fun!

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Comment on The Travel Book by Waiyip Tung "tungwaiyip"

Waiyip Tung "tungwaiyip" — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:11:08 +0000

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

It evokes the exhilaration from travelling, September 20, 2004

Waiyip Tung "tungwaiyip" (San Francisco, CA United States) -

This review is from: The Travel Book (Hardcover)

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, ... and continues on to the last country Zimbabwe, Lonely Planet has put together an extraordinary travel book that brings us to every country in the world. Listed alphabetically from A-Z, each country occupies 2 pages with vivid pictures and some impression of the lands. Even tiny Pacific islands get the same amount of space as everybody else, regardless of their size and popularity in tourism. Using a more liberal concept of 'country', it brings the total number to 230.

In just one volume, it makes no attempt to be a comprehensive reference book. Instead there are many fun ways to use it. Flipping it to a random page to get some inspiration for your next travel destination (you will likely end up in some distant place rather hard to get to.) Cover the title and try to name the country by the pictures alone (a challenging game given the pictures are more focused on people and landscape than instantly recognizable landmarks.) Or just read it cover to cover as I have prepared to do.

This book evokes the same kind of exhilaration from travelling. I was joyous like a kid while walking away from the bookstore with this 3kg book.

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Comment on The Travel Book by doomsdayer520

doomsdayer520 — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:29:30 +0000

64 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

Down to Earth Around the World, December 20, 2004

doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) -

This review is from: The Travel Book (Hardcover)

The adventurous folks at Lonely Planet have given us this nearly perfect book of photos and travel possibilities from around the world. Every nation on Earth, and a few non-nations like Antarctica or Puerto Rico, gets equal coverage in two-page spreads, regardless of size, influence, or fame. Now since this is a British book, the recommendations for each country can be a little curious, especially what the Lonely Planet editors think is representative of the United States (which you'll find curious if you're American). In general, just watch out for some poorly considered travel recommendations for out-of-the-way countries that are basically stereotypes, and merely sound cool but which the Lonely Planet folks couldn't have possibly done in person. Examples include "beach-hopping from one gorgeous sun-soaked spot to another" in Albania, or "taking a boat ride down the Euphrates River" in Iraq. Also watch for under-written stereotypical moments that list poverty and sex as calling cards of Cuba, fish as a trademark of Finland, national pride as characteristic of Moldova, or Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra movie as a real cinematic representation of Egypt. You have to give Lonely Planet credit for at least trying in the writing department though, and there are usually true treasures in their recommendations for each nation's literature, music, foods, and drinks. But in the end, the true value of this gigantic book lies in the tremendous photography, with consistently eye-catching shots of natural beauty, architecture, and especially real people from every spot on Earth. This is how armchair traveling is done. [~doomsdayer520~]

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Comment on The Travel Book by Ed Uyeshima

Ed Uyeshima — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:43:41 +0000

158 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

Spectacular Images Will Weigh Heavily on Your Coffee Table, October 13, 2004

Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) -

This review is from: The Travel Book (Hardcover)

I had no idea the editors of the Lonely Planet guides would have such an extensive library of National Geographic-quality photographs. After all, like other travelers, I am used to the miniscule text and overabundant data of their inevitably tattered handbooks. But this oversized coffee table book is nothing you can carry with you too easily, nor would you want to as this is not a comprehensive reference source for global travel. It's merely a staggering feast for the eyes.

The stunning images in this wonderful book provide a potent reminder of what a diverse place the world is, as it covers each of the 230 countries existing today in visually enticing two-page entries. The text for each country is minimal but creative within the following standard sections:
--"Best Time to Visit" - Not only time of year but in some cases, when in history was the best time to be there.
--"Essential Experiences" - A bulleted list of the top five to eight things to do in that country.
--"Getting Under the Skin" - What to read, listen, watch, eat and drink in each country...what happened to "smell"?
--"In a Word" - The one word or expression in the country's native tongue that epitomizes its spirit.
--"Trademarks" - What you immediately think of when someone brings up the name of the country.
--"Surprises" - ...which really amounts to some interesting trivia and arguable observations, e.g., under the entry for the United States - "New Yorkers love to help strangers."

Your enjoyment of this comprehensive approach will depend on what your degree of wanderlust is. Since mine is quite high, I love poring through the book to get a visual sense of each country's identity. Unless you are a geography addict, you will be surprised that many of these countries even exist. It's also intriguing to see the entries for current hotspots like Iraq and North Korea where their political turmoil is mentioned but contrasted with some unexpectedly vivid photos. Note the surcharge for delivery above as this is indeed a big book, over eight pounds. Say, isn't that the weight of the human head according to the little boy in "Jerry Maguire"? I wonder if that's a coincidence.

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Comment on Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Larry Ketchersid "author of Software by the K...

Larry Ketchersid "author of Software by the K... — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:02:29 +0000

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

Try the recommendations in the book, they are spot on, July 30, 2006

Larry Ketchersid "author of Software by the K... (Texas) -

This review is from: Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

My wife and I now have over 15 Eyewitness Travel Guides...obviously we like them. There are several reasons, and the Paris guide points these out quite well:
- the restaurant recommendations are spot on, at least for our taste. I have been to Paris more than 20 times, 5 or so for pleasure, the rest of business. I stay in different areas. I always pick a restaurant close to my hotel from this guide, and it never fails to meet my expectations (which were well set from the book)
- the maps and summaries of the attractions help you make the most efficient usage of your time. True, when on business, I do take a couple of hours to tour, but I cannot linger at the Louvre as I do when I am there for vacation. These guides help me map out what I want to see, where it might be in the museum, and even suggest when to go
- I try to go see Jazz and Classical performances while in Paris. I would not have had a great Jazz evening at the Bilboquet if not for finding it in this guide.
- What can I say, I am a convicted map-a-holic (which really irritates my wife, until we turn the corner and there we are!). I don't carry extra maps, I just carry the guide book, and use it's street maps and Metro maps to get around.

The final piece I like on these books are their simplicity. I had the rare pleasure to take my mother to Paris. Mom is not one for maps, but I let her peruse the Eyewitness Book, and she found some things that she wanted to see and where she wanted to eat (she loves mussels, and found several recommended restaurants in the guide book) and found places she didn't want me to take her (the Catacombs, but my son and I took her anyway).

Though many people do not enjoy these guides because they have too many pictures, I find that the pictures help me navigate the city, the attractions and the restaurants. Sometimes when in Paris I just wander and stop somewhere for a glass of wine...then I look in the guide to see where I've wandered to and if there is anything close, like a jazz club that I should go sample.

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Comment on Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by C. Mar

C. Mar — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:32:42 +0000

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

Just got back from Paris, This book is all you need, March 28, 2003

C. Mar (Leesburg, VA United States) -

This review is from: Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Turtleback)

I just got back from Paris and can honestly say this is all you need. I kept this book in my pocket the whole time. It has great maps for getting around. The Metro map is quick and easy to use for getting around. The book breaks down Paris into areas and gives you pictures and descriptions of all the interesting sites to see in that area. Each description provides a metro stop and a location on one of the maps. The maps give you locations of all the metro stops. This was an invaluable tool for my group. We would go to an area and have full confidence wandering around knowing that DK would help us if we ran into a problem. I bought a bunch of books before my trip, but this is the only one you need!

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Comment on Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by Robert Moore

Robert Moore — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:54:43 +0000

129 of 130 people found the following review helpful:

An almost perfect travel book, June 20, 2003

Robert Moore (Chicago, IL USA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Turtleback)

There are two kinds of travel books: those you use to help you plan a trip and those you want to have in your pocket when you make it. This exceptional book falls into the latter. Although it features some information on hotels and travel, these aspects of a prospective trip to Paris will be handled much more thoroughly by other volumes. Where this book excels is in its comprehensive coverage of things that any traveler will want to know, primarily the question: Where am I, and what do I want to see while in this section of Paris? Some travel books contain more information, but many of these fail to filter that which is likely to be of interest and that which is not. What is amazing about this one is the usability and pertinacity of the information presented.

The book begins with a brief history of Paris, and then provides an overview of the city as a whole. Much of the remainder of the volume consists of introductions to specific areas of Paris, letting any traveler know what the immediate highlights in any area are. The presentation of the information is as attractive as one can imagine, with beautiful graphics, beautiful photographs, and marvelous summations of the various highpoints in the city. The book ends with a useful index and a collection of high quality maps. Best of all, the book is amazingly compact and durable given the sheer mass of information it packages. Unlike its competitors, it will never be an encumbrance because of its size.

I have not looked at any of the other DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, but this one is so gorgeous that it is definitely the series that I would look at first in any trip that I was contemplating making. It is such a marvelous book that one could consult it with profit merely as a way of getting to know a city, even if one is not planning to travel there.

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Comment on LUXE Paris by Andrea M. Jacks "A.M. Jacks"

Andrea M. Jacks "A.M. Jacks" — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:12:46 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Indispensable, June 2, 2009

Andrea M. Jacks "A.M. Jacks" (Seattle, WA USA) -

This review is from: LUXE Paris (Luxe City Guides) (Pamphlet)

This little baby was so useful! It intelligently has the closest metro stop listed for every location. All of the restaurant recommendations were spot on. The walking tours listed showed off all the best places. We even used it beforehand to find a hotel. It might be helpful to mention that we were in Paris for a week and this book (in addition to lots of internet research beforehand) was all we needed to have an amazing time.

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