DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: London
Packed with photographs, illustrations, and maps, Eyewitness Travel Guide: London includes in-depth coverage of London’s unforgettable sights from the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace to the trendy piazza of Covent Garden. Unearthing the best of the city’s stunning architecture, palaces and parks, west-end musicals, world-class art galleries and museums in between, there are 3D aerial views of London’s most interesting districts, cutaways and floor-plans of all the major sites, and det
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Eyewitness vs. Frommer’s,
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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|Anonymous
Dorling Kindersley – Hats off!!,
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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|Anonymous
A guide that gives you pictures rather than just words!,
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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