1 comments about A Traveller's Companion to Moscow (Travellers Companion).

1. Compiled and edited by Laurence Kelly (son of a former British ambassador to Russia and a regular visitor to Moscow for most of his life), A Traveller's Companion To Moscow is a collection of selections from letters, diaries, memoirs and novels tracing the story of Moscow from Neolithic times to its formal establishment in 1147 A.D. as one of many royal hunting camps and fortified settlements (Kremlins), to its history as the city of Moscow invaded by or in thrall to the Khans, the Tartars, the Poles, and the French. This is the story of a turbulent city as recorded through the voices of visitors and residents from Catherine the Great, to Pushkin, Stendhal, Gogol, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and so many, many others. Also specifically designed and intended as an on-site travel guide for the use of visitors this vibrant, complex metropolis, A Traveller's Companion To Moscow is replete with maps, engravings, notes on history, art, architecture, and city life. Highly recommended reading for armchair travelers and students of Muscovite history.

1 comments about Knopf MapGuide: Moscow (Knopf Mapguides).

1. As the founder of a company devoted to enriching cultural and business travel to Russia, we are always looking for a good books to recommend for our clients. One rare book in my collection of Avant-Garde graphics is by Alexandr Rodchenko and Varvara Stepanova, "Moscow Reconstructed." Written in 1936, it is a huge volume which describes with pride the re-construction of Moscow, the capital of world socialism. Throughout there are pop-ups, handles which take away old scenes and uncover new vistas. "Knopf MapGuide: Moscow" reminds me of "Moscow Reconstructed" in that it encourages the reader to interact with the text by unfolding a series of bound maps and viewing the selected neighborhood along with the best in sites, shops and restaurants.
   
   Most of the major streets are in both Cyrillic and Latin script, something most maps available in the West don't have.
   
   The listings of sites in each neighborhood will please most any visitor to the center of Moscow, and the names are given in both Cyrillic and Latin (but because of an overuse of transliteration, many places will have names unfamiliar to all but Russian-studies majors, such as "Sobor Vasilya Blazhennovo"-more commonly known as "St. Basil's Cathedral"). There are no web sites for sites, nor is there admission pricing listed, although the restaurants have the price of an `average' meal.
   
   "Knopf MapGuide: Moscow" is a unique guide in its small size and easy-to-use format. It is perfect to accompany the adventurous walking tourist exploring the center of Moscow, and is a useful aid for those Discovering Russia.
   
   Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York

No comments about Cool Restaurants: Moscow (Cool Restaurants).

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No comments about Moscow: A Cultural History (Cityscapes).

2 comments about Expat guide: Moscow.

1. Expatriates do ordinary jobs in extraordinary places. Moving yourself and your family anywhere out of your home country needs careful planning and planning a move to Moscow is a particularly bewildering experience considering all the negative publicity Russia and Russians receive. Travel books just don't focus on the things you need to know. Reading a book such as Expat Guide: Moscow makes it so much easier to imagine what lies ahead and remove a lot of the doubt. I wish I'd had a book like this.



2. I traveled to and from Moscow and lived in the belly of this Mega City. This book highlighted many known factors, but provided me with enough insight to issues not thought of, that the value is priceless.

1 comments about Moscow (Insight City Guides).

1. I'd already traveled to Moscow 10 times or so before I bought this guide. However, it showed me places to go and things to do in a great, logical manner with really nice color pictures to go along with it. The maps were helpful. Included info on Metro stops. A friend of mine who also travels on company business to Moscow bought the same book independently. We both thought it was a really great guide. BUY IT!

4 comments about Fodor's Moscow and St. Petersburg, 6th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. This Fodor's 6th edition is substantially better than the 5th-- chock full of up to date practical info, and the metro maps have both Russian and an English version for pronunciation, which is so helpful to those who are not fluent in Russian. Even the quality of the pages themselves has been upgraded--the pages are white instead of gray. If you want lots of photos, get another guide book, but if you want truly useful info, and the one book you will carry around with you with answers to just about everything--this is it. This book was invaluable to us on our week-long trip to these cities.



2. As the founder of a company devoted to enriching cultural and business travel to Russia, we are always looking for a good, general guidebook for clients. "Fodor's Moscow and St. Petersburg" has good neighborhood guides to the two main cities of Russia. The entertainment, bar, restaurant and hotel suggestions are comprehensive (as far as quantity and general pricing range, although the pricing and quality levels cited are not always accurate).
   
   One annoyance is that there are no Cyrillic displays of a sight's name (just transliterations into Latin script), which means that you are likely to miss a sign right in front of you for, for instance, the Toy Museum. It is particularly annoying to see the (inaccurate) reference to David Lean filming part of "Dr. Zhivago" in the Hotel Metropole-the closest the cast and crew came to Russia was Finland.
   
   Note, however, that we always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION! All in all, we recommend "Fodor's Moscow and St. Petersburg" as a good additional guidebook to bring if you are staying more than a few days, or if you want to bring just one book for your journey of Discovering Russia's two greatest cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
   
   Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York



3. As a frequent traveller who has always depended on Frommers, I purchased for the first time a Fodors guide to Russia (alas, Frommers will not publish one for a few months). I am sorry to say that I find this book to be confusing in finding activities to see in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Keep in mind that I am both a Reading teacher and an English teacher, so that if I had difficulty sorting out where to go and how to find the sight, it must really be weak. Also, some sights were overlooked. In short, wait for the Frommers addition to be published.



4. Let me preface this by saying that I was born in Moscow and am a native speaker.
   
   First the positives: This is a book on Moscow and St. Petersburg. So it mentions many of the major sights.
   
   Now, the negatives. Basically this is a dismal book. Do not expect any of the maps to be helpful. They are not very detailed, and, amazingly, the metro stations are not marked on them. (If you've been to Moscow you know why this is outrageous.) The map of the Metro, one of the most important pieces of information in the book, is hidden away somewhere, unmarked and unindexed. Once you do find it, you realize it's printed over 2 pages, so much of the downtown stations/transfers are swallowed up by the binding, and are thus unreadable. Don't rely on the maps for accuracy either; a restaurant marked on a street (with the correct address) may actually be on the other side of town. In addition, there are 2 restaurants in St. Petersburg that are listed as near the same Metro station. They are about 2 miles apart. But really, this is understandable -- the names of the actual stations sound somewhat similar. All those crazy Russian names sound alike, don't they?
   
   If you want to do something such as go to a street market, take a boat ride, etc., the book will provide you with the location, price, or working hours, but seldom all three. Maybe this is why the authors of the book are constantly suggesting that you just buy a guided tour. But if I wanted to go on a package tour why did I buy this 350-page self-guided tour book?
   
   If you go to Moscow to check out the newly flourishing culinary scene, you may be surprised to find that one of Fodor's top choices for dining is, you guessed it, TGI Friday's.
   
   And, generally, the organization was poor and the details sketchy. Fortunately, I speak Russian, and could have strangers on the street give me directions. For free.

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