Lonely Planet London - European Travel Books

Paperback - January, 2006 - Lonely Planet Publications
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By: Sarah Johnstone and Tom Masters
ISBN: 1740598318

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Reviews by readers

The perfect London tour guide, for the budget traveller or the crazy spender.

Lonely Planet always publishes up-to-date issues of your city of choice. They cover the board and general to the minute and often times over looked hidden treasures. The 2006 London edition follows exactly with that tradition. I went to London for 4 days and there wasn't a day that passed that I didn't have something to do or experience (aside from the typical major tourist attractions). LP provides ideas for walking tours, mesuem tours, bus tours, shopping tours, and even rainy day tours. What I appreciate the most about LP are the maps and train routes that are provided in the back. London can be a tough place to navigate on foot, since a lot of roads just suddenly end or turn into something else, so a good map is key to keeping your sanity. The only limitation that I found with this book was its excerpts on other cities outside the city limits. It only offered a few agendas for day trips outside of the city. But then again, I guess if I really wanted to leave London and go somewhere else, I'd just have to buy that city's LP guide. Also, if you are looking for a hotel, London is SO incredibly large, there is no way that the LP can list each one, so do your homework online, becuase there might be better deals that aren't listed in the book. Overall, this book is an imformative read and a great travel companion.

One Of The Top Guides To London

There are many guides to London. From what I can see there are two good general guidebooks. These are the Eyewitness Travel (DK) guide which is the one that I personally prefer or Lonely Planet (the present book). These two books are both just around 500 pages and both are tremendous efforts. They are well balanced guides with lots of photos, maps, history, etc. Both are clearly 5 star guides.

I would rate both (and DK Eyewitness Travel and Lonely Planet) head and shoulders ahead of Frommers or similar books that are less well balanced, i.e.; fewer photos. Overall, the DK guide has better photos and visuals. In fact I am amazed every time I pick up and read that DK guide with the quality of the photos and technical detail. Those graphics make for a better souvenir so it gets the nod as the better book, but it is a close call.

The city has lots of fun things to see and do but time is usually limited and it is expensive - so these guides are good investments. This book is well balanced and like the DK guide it pulls a lot of things together such as history and culture, food, towns and lots of interesting information on London. The book brings it all to life with just magnificent photos and maps, including subway maps.

I have one suggestion, and that is to buy the guide before planning your trip. The guide has lots of information and tips on places to see.

Either case this is an excellent buy. 5 stars.

Average London travel guide

It seems like the Lonely Planet guides are really hit and miss. Some are outstanding, but others are quite lacking. Unfortunately the London guide is not very impressive. For starters, the entire book is poorly organized and confusing. London is an enormous city, with several distinct areas, but this book does a very poor job of helping the reader understand where things are. There is almost no cross referencing to help the reader find things that are described in it. I was also disappointed with the maps, which have decent detail in some parts, but no detail whatsoever in many other parts. Finally, this book lacks the detail that I was able to find in some other guides. Overall, I was quite disappointed with this book.

If you want really good London tavel guides, the Rough Gude to London and the Eyewitness London guide are far, far better.

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