1 comments about Wallpaper City Guide: Rome (Wallpaper City Guide).

1. This is an inexpensive guide for wannabe Beautiful People with a lot of money to spend in Rome. Interesting tips on contemporary design, however.

2 comments about The Secrets of Rome: Love and Death in the Eternal City.

1. this is an excellent translation of the erudite work by Corrado Augias of the history of Rome. Through a series of stories Augias transports the reader between the past and present, in what seems a first hand account of the history of this great city. the chapters can be read as individual essays, and the footnotes make for great reference for interested readers. I can see a Secrets of Rome Part II in the future.



2. This is a very interesting book, one of the best that I have read on Rome.
   It is not a guide book with an in depth narration of several sites and personages. A must read!

1 comments about Copenhagen Laminated Pocket Map by Pocket-Pilot.

1. Half the fun of traveling is the trip planning. The pocket map is perfect for that & such a perfect size to travel with. I like to travel light. It includes a ton of information, so I leave the heavier guide books, that have already been read, home. Very durable & easy to view. Don't leave home without it.

5 comments about Czech & Slovak Republics (Country Guide).

1. I bought this book because I couldn't find the Prague book in time (I live in France). Plus I like more of a country history instead of just city history. As an experienced traveler, I can say that overall this book is good. It's hotel suggestions must have been good because they were all full. The maps were very nice. The restaurant suggestions were great. Only a few complaints: It didn't tell us that the castles are closed on Mondays (we found out when we saw the big CLOSED sign on the castle). Also there is not much info on tipping. The book said 5-10% yet EVERY restaurant added at least 20%. I got the impression the book hadn't been really updated since the previous version.



2. Sadly, I ran out of time to explore the Slovak Republic, something I hope to do the next time I go into Eastern Europe. So I can only attest to the Czech republic portion of this book. I found it extremely useful, especially in planning my trips outside of Prague, though it does contain a good portion about Prague. One of the best suggestions was to include a visit to Litomerice after the somber tour of Terezin. I didn't take the advice on booking ahead on my trip to Cesky Krumlov and spent about an hour finding a place to stay and I went late May. Not speaking any Czech beyond hello and thank you, I had a lot of trouble with the Czech train system, especially outside of Prague. I found the bus system to be better than the Czech train system since you could buy a ticket on the bus as you boarded and the bus drivers were friendlier to me than the ladies at the ticket windows at the Main Train station in Prague and in Cesky Budjovice (where my train to Cesky Krumlov was early and I didn't understand when it showed up, so I took a bus instead) Either way, it is extremely inexpensive to travel around the country, so at the very least take a few day trips outside of Prague, if not longer trips. I was lucky this new edition came out months before my trip. Another great guidebook by Lonely Planet. As for an earlier review, Prague Castle counts as a museum, so its closed on Mondays.



3. Just returned from the Czech & Slovak Republics and found this book invaluable. Excellent, correct descriptions of localities. Useful to those of us who drove the country and trained too. The mini phrase section is all you need, so don't buy a separate phrasebook. Those going to Prague should also buy the DK travel guide for that city which is excellent and colorful.



4. As always. I've been using Lonely Planet Guides from time ago and I think that they are one of the best (if not the best) travel guides you can afford.



5. I have used LPGs for years, and many travelers like myself are older people. Lately the LPGs font size has gotten very small and really hard to read, probably to save money.
   Make the fonts readable for older people, even if the product becomes larger and a little more costly. This applies to all recent LPGs I have bought. Guides are not helpful if you have to struggle to read them. This is particularly true with maps. Last month I gave my daughter in her 40s a guide for Ireland, and her first comment was "I can hardly read it". However, your content, as usual, is exceptional.

No comments about Wonderland: A Fairytale of the Soviet Monolith.

No comments about Michelin Red Guide 2008 Great Britain & Ireland: Hotels & Restaurants (Michelin Red Guide: Great Britain and Ireland).

2 comments about Barcelona Pocket Pilot Map.

1. I've used these Pocket Pilot maps for years for different cities throughout the world. They work great. They fold down small enough to easily pack in your pocket but still have enough detail to get you around to most addresses. They also list major hotels, major shopping centers, churches and other points of interest which is very helpful as a tourist if you're staying in a larger hotel. They also have a subway map of the city and the subway stops and which lines are served are clearly shown on the city map plus a close approximation of where the entrance/exits are for the subways. They're very durable don't get destroyed by being stuffed into your pockets.



2. This map is the perfect size to carry in a back pocket. Easy to use while walking.

5 comments about Michelin Green Guide London (Michelin Green Guide: London English Edition).

1. If you are spending more than a few days in London to "see the sights", then you must have this book. All other tour guides to London are superficial in their coverage of the major museums and tourist sights. This book offers the details the others lack, with well written descriptions of the collections of the major museums including their highlights. The strength of this book is when you want to know more about a particular museum or sight than where it is and when it is open; it is actually most useful when you are in the particular sight. This book does NOT cover hotels, restaurants, etc.; for that information, try any of the other guide books on the market.



2. this book has great maps and many, many suggestions about places to dine. in conjunctions with rick steve's london 2006 all you could possibly need fora great week in london



3. This guide has nice, detailed histories of the all the sights but is so poorly organized and indexed that it is almost impossible to use. God help you if you know you want to visit the War Museum but don't happen to know that its full title is "Imperial War Museum"... you'll never find it in the index or book. Want to go to Hampton Court? That is in the index, but finding the map which shows where it is (mentioned in text but missing from index and table of contents) is difficult. Oh, well, just flip through the book for 15 miniutes, you'll eventually find it, but only a cryptic two words on how to get there. Organization by neighborhood is not, in itself a bad idea, but requires careful indexing. Also, the book seems to assume you will drive through London on your Michelin tires (not advised in London's insane traffic) and provides almost no information on public transport. Pass this one by!



4. This is a premature general review. I am currently going through the guide, the visit in London is projected for end-September.
   
   This seems to be a very comprehensive guide, providing a great deal of historical information.
   Insofar as museums are concerned, I would have preferred more details on artists' works of particular importance and interest, at the expense of the quite extensive background and general information provided in this guide. I cannot imagine being able to take time to absorb such information, even if read on the eve of the visit in the museum itself, certainly not on the spot; I would want then to know what to look for and pay special attention to in specific exhibit.



5. We are just back from a trip which included London. As always, Michelin is the best at having handy maps of districts you are interested in exploring. And the size fits nicely in a coat pocket. But, as my wife said, the descriptions are not inspiring. I find the maps and portability matter while on a trip. But for planning, maybe something else might be better.

1 comments about Frommer's 24 Great Walks in Rome (Great Walks).

1. If you've never been to Rome or you're the seasoned expert, you'll enjoy this book. It is packed full of interest walks through Rome. Rome is really a city that is just really pleasant to walk through and around. It has great public transportation, but on those nice, warm days, it's a real treat to meander through the streets of Rome just taking in the scene and the atmosphere.
   
   If you're looking for lots of travel recommendations in the areas of lodging and eating, this book is probably not for you. If you're looking for something to do while in Rome and to make the most of the time that you have there, then this books IS for you. One of the things that I liked was how it took a walk that I had been on so many times and then pointed out things that I had never seen or knew were there. I learned a lot from this book, and I've been to Rome over a dozen times.
   
   Each walk is set up well -- the book tells you how to get to your starting point and then tells you how to get back to the starting point after you've finished -- either by bus, retracing your steps or some other form of transportation. The book also has some excellent photography that really helps to situate you in your surroundings.
   
   Seriously consider purchasing this book before your next trip.

5 comments about Frommer's Paris Day by Day (Frommer's Day by Day).

1. I bought the book thinking it would help me make the most of 3 days in Paris. On net, I would say it added very little. The section on Monmartre was useful -- most of the rest not very. As much as I hate to say it, Rick Steves does a much better job in helping one make the most of their time in Paris. In addition, some of Christi's picks were just bizarre. For example, if you had two days in Paris, the gastronomic capital of the world, why would you make one of your meals a falafel sandwich, no matter how good it was.



2. If you have researched your Paris trip but you don't want to lug around your travel books on your trip, I would get this book. It is small, light, user friendly but it not all inclusive. I read Let's Go Paris, Lonely Planet and Frommer's prior to my trip so I have a general idea of what I want to do already. I'm taking this book with me so I have the locations of museums, metro stops, and restaurants that I might want to check out.



3. My wife and I spent 3 days in Paris based on this book's recommendation. I'll guarantee you...you will get lost on your 2nd day, and you'll be bored to death on your 3rd day unless if you enjoy shopping over sightseeing. Here is my advice...Do not spend too much time wasting at unknown (less-known) places like what this book is recommending.



4. This guide is the right size (I carried it in my pocket) and gave me all the info that I needed for a great trip. I particularly loved the walking tours through the many "neighborhoods" outlined in Paris - and the guide gave me info on a lot of "off the beaten path" shops, stores, restaurants and attractions. It had good, solid current Metro information - and it's tips on cheap travel in and out of Paris (I stayed by CDG airport) saved me about twenty euros a day in train cost. I would highly recommend this guide (and I am sure I will use it again).



5. I zone out when I read dozens of restaurant and hotel descriptions in other guides, so I found this book to be really refreshing. Is it comprehensive? No. Which is just as well, since Paris is constantly changing anyway. I appreciated the walking tour ideas, especially the fact that it includes an estimate of the time it takes to get from stop to stop. I don't like to make strict travel plans or be weighed down by big guidebooks, so I found the walking tours, as well as the themed tours (Romantic Paris, Art Lovers Paris etc.) very helpful and I loved the fact that I could stash it in my purse to consult the Metro map when I needed to. It was easy to use the book as a starting point and then start exploring on your own. I actually read this series of books before other guidebooks now to get my imagination going when I'm preparing for a trip. I'd totally recommend this one for someone who's interested in soaking up the city.