1 comments about Portugal, 5th (Country & Regional Guides - Cadogan).

1. Travelling through Portugal trying to use this book led to a ridiculous series of misadventures. We had thought about renting a car beforehand, but ended up visiting Coimbra and Lisbon only - making this book completely useless.
   
   The guide's profile of each of these cities (two of the three biggest) was abysmal. The maps had no scale or even north/south orientation, and included only a small section of each city. Also, the location of each place to stay and every other sight was given in address only, rather than as reference points on a map (Such as they do in Lonely Planet). Several of the addresses were not even on the maps provided by the guide, and some were on streets that were too small for the guide to print the street name.
   
   Basically our strategy became to get to the city and go straight to the tourist office. The only time the guide was remotely helpful was in listing a laundry facility located in Lisbon - but again, we had to rely on a tourist office map to find it. This guide was endlessly frustrating, and we constantly had to rely on the help of other travellers/citizens, the ever-useful tourist offices, and our ability to wander endlessly, to find anything and everything from internet cafes to hostels to clubs to good dining spots to fado.
   
   Honestly, by the end of the trip if we'd had a match we'd have burned it. Instead we just threw it away.
   
   

No comments about Harpercollins Language Survival Guide: Portugal: The Visual Phrase Book and Dictionary.

1 comments about Moon Metro Barcelona.

1. I thought the metro guide was really easy to use- I love the fact that all the city maps are right there, easy to unfold. I hate carrying around a separate map or getting confused when a street name doesn't appear on a regular (tiny) guidebook map. I also liked the writing style- I even read about places I didn't plan to go because it was so entertaining!

2 comments about Daytrips Spain and Portugal (Daytrips Spain & Portugal).

1. Thank goodness on my recent trip to Portugal and Spain I brought along other travel books on the area. Unfortunately, this book is full of mis-information, particulary in the area of price. For example, often the most expensive hotel or restaurant in a town was rated with only one $.

   Also an accurate driving map would have been a nice inclusion.

   This is one book I didn't bother packing for my trip home.




2. I just used this book on a trip to Barcelona. It was one of two books that I used. This book allowed me to see many different thing in Barcelona in an organized and efficient manner. For anyone that is going to be wandering around spain and/or portugal, and spending just a few days in each place, this book is a must have.

No comments about Nouvelle relation de l'Afrique Occidentale: Contenant une description exacte du Sénégal et des Pays situés entre le Cap-Blanc et la Rivière de Serrelionne, ... de quantité de cartes, de plans, etc.Tome 5.

2 comments about National Geographic Traveler: Barcelona (National Geographic Traveler).

1. Great photos and drawings. The biggest differences between this and the Eyewitness Guide: 100 pages longer on the same material. This Nat'l Geo guide gives much more information on the individual sights, for example 6 pages on the Gothic cathedral, 2 full page photos, one almost full page drawing of the cathedral plan, 3 pages of smaller photos and text telling not only of its history, but giving a laid out tour through the cathedral. The book also includes individual walks through parts of the city (eg: Roman Barcelona Walk), It has the best information on festivals, bullfighting, and does the best job of describing the Catalonian sights outside Barcelona. Instead having maps at the back, the maps are included as the various sections of the city are described. The only real fault is their decision to list hours closed instead of hours open for sights ("closed 1 to 4"; does that mean it is open at 3 in the morning?).
   A real nice book, definitely keep in your hotel room in BCN, and maybe take on the street with you, at 270 pages a wee bit bulky, but dimensions same as Eyewitness and not that heavy.



2. The National Geographic Traveler: Barcelona is an excellent resource and is so readable that a traveler to Barcelona should consider reading it prior to travel as well as taking it for a guide. The book is a little heavy to carry around in your hands but fits nicely into a backpack. The book is full of colorful photographs and drawing and is extremely user friendly when trying to find your way around Barcelona. The book contains area maps where you can orient yourself to particular neighborhoods and the sites. Also suggested walking tours are included with well detailed maps. There are also larger excursion maps should the traveler wish to leave the city for such wonderful sites as Montserrat with it's cliff hidden Monastery and mountain hiking trails.
   
   There is a brief history of Barcelona and Catalunya. I suggest reading it so that you understand why the high school Spanish you learned is not quite appropriate here in Barcelona, an area that considers itself culturally and linguistically separate from the rest of Spain. There is a tension between Madrid and Bracelona and understanding the history helps the traveler enjoy and appreciate Barcelona even more.
   
   The parks located on Montjuic, overlooking the city, can be accessed by bus or climbed for those in good shape. Nestled in the park is the wonderful Miro Museum, comprehensive and interesting. The useum is primarily devoted to the vast works of Joan Miro but other artists are displayed, especially if the work is compared to Miro's styles.
   
   Parc Guell, designed by Gaudi, in all it's colorful whimsical fantasy is captured. The amazing mosaic tile work on benches, bridges, columns, buildings throughout the park make it very visually stunning and unique. Don't miss Gaudi's Casa Batllo, the most odd house imaginable. The roof tiles are like fish scales, the balconies are shark jaws, the wall are covered with coral and starfish patterns. It is if a giant fish had been turned into a multistory home. You have to walk across the street to appreciate the structure. The giant structure, La Pedrera is at least 8 times larger than Casa Batllo and evokes caves and moon landscapes. There is no way to describe La Sagrada Familia by Gaudi. It seems like a Disney world structure gone amok. The Gothic architectural details burst into fruit and vegetable clusters, with cold gray limestone contrasting against loud bright pastels.
   
   The city life of La Rambla, the main artery of Barcelona, is a site of constant entertainment. From early morning to late at night the streets are active. The residents of Barcelona eat dinner so late that even at midnight the side-walk cafes are full of merriment. Trees line the street so you will protected from sun-burn as you stroll up and down this main street of the city.
   
   The Gothic Neigborhood, the oldest part of the city, is well described with a detailed map. In this neighborhood is the ancient Cathedral with its wonderful lush interior tropical garden. Stop and rest in the garden which is like a miniture Brazilian forrest, misty, cool, and dense with color.This courtyard is very different from the nearby wide, dry, hot Placa Reial with it's Gaudi designed lampposts. Within the Gothic neighborhood is a suggested walk that is highly recommended since it takes the walker to numerous Roman artifacts and structures on which Bracelona was constructed. Next to the Gothic area is La Ribera, a wonderful area, full of ancient buildings and shops,as well as the Museu Picasso, containing a fantastic collection of Picasso's work. Nearby is the Parc de la Ciutadella, a wonderful place to stroll and relax before visiting the Museum in the grounds of the park to see the city's collection of art from a range of eras and styles. North of the Gothic area is Passeig de Gracia, a more business like atmosphere similar to Paris. Here is located the Antoni Tapies foundation with a collection of Tapies' work as well as a small temporary exhibition of contemporary artists.
   
   A visit to the church of Santa Maria del Mar reveals the beauty of a Gothic austere brickwork church that impresses with the power of the brick and stone alone. Within the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya,located high above the city, an amazing collection of early Christian images can be found. The flat Byzantine style is powerful and entertaining.
   
   There are great seafood restaurants on the waterfront as well as nightclubs and strip joints with male and female strippers working the bars in an area called the Rambla de Mar and the Maremagnum. From the waterfront you can climb a tower and get into the cable car, Teleferic Aeri, and cross the entire city and end up in the high parks above the city. Near the waterfront is Port Vell with its gigantic iron column topped by Christopher Columbus looking toward the West.
   
   The book ends with suggested excursions, the primary one of which is a short train ride North of the city to Montserrat. Here you must go by cable car to reach the little mountain town of Montserrat. Within the church is the mysterious Black Virgin. Also available are wonderful hiking trails in the mountain overlooking the vast plane toward Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea. The guide book is highly recommended for its great suggestions on walks, maps, sites and background information.

No comments about Madrid.

1 comments about Lonely Planet Lisbon ( Lisbon, 1st ed).

1. I have been spending prolonger periods of time in Lisbon, and thought I felt a 'local' there. I thought I knew all of it - its unique Old City and other sights to see, the places to hang out, things to do. I would have never thought that I would need a guidebook. In fact, Lisbon is a very easy and relatively inexpensive city to get around (unlike chaotic Rome, ... London, or confusing Asian cities). It is a wonderful place, which I thought I could fully enjoyn without the help of any guidebook. Yet, even for someone like me who knows the place and speaks the language, this Lonely Planet guidebook proved extremely useful. It is indeed one of the best LP books I have ever used - extremely well-written, entertaiting, easy-to-use, and filled with precious information. I thought I had seen all the beautiful sites, but this guidebook led me to even more places which I would have not otherwise found: to beautiful coast resorts just outside the city, Estoril just on her outskirts, etc. - with full advice on places to visit, to eat, etc. I thought that I knew what to do at night (it's not hard to find night life in Libson), but this guidebook opened my eyes even more to the wonderful life of the city after dark: the less-known discos and cafés with live music from São Tomé e Principe or Cabo Verde, the Angolan and Mozambican restaurants, etc. Also, I had been unable to find more 'formal' places for business lunches, and this book has that also ! All this is, without mentioning the excellent coverage on the city's history, art, architecture - an excellent guide indeed to her museums, churches and other sites. So, even if you do feel confident, don't go to Lisbon without it - you might be missing something you would not otherwise find.

No comments about Buying Property in Portugal (NativePortugal).

3 comments about Hotels and Country Inns of Character and Charm in Portugal.

1. "This series has long been respected as one of the best of its kind. Each book contains detailed color maps and a listing of accommodations by area. They include color photographs, the address and phone number, a star rating, amenities, price, and a brief paragraph describing the property. Newly revised and updated, these excellent guides to accommodations in Europe are highly recommended for all libraries." Library Journal



2. "The best guides for the finest kind of vacation." Elle Magazine



3. Rivages has the best guides for lodging we have found to date. We travel with our two children and look for informal, charming places. We have just discovered this series and used it for our last trip. The places we stayed were family run B & B's. The houses were very pleasant, but having hosts that were willing to sit down and offer some help about the best places to eat, visit and hike in the area was really key to a very fine vacation. I recommend these books to anyone going to the areas they cover (Ireland, England, France, Portugal and Italy, I think).