Access New York City 9e (Access New York City, 9th ed) [Paperback]

Richard Saul Wurman (Author), Access Press (Author)

Book Description

Series: Access New York City, 9th ed | Publication Date: August 8, 2000

ACCESS Travel Guides are the choice of travelers who demand real access to their destinations. Organized by neighborhood, the way people really explore, they feature:
-- Detailed maps keyed to the entries
-- Color-coded entries to distinguish restaurants, hotels, shops, parks, and sights
-- Restaurants rated by price and ambience
-- Notes on history and architecture
-- A "Bests" section with recommendations by locals and well-known frequent visitors
-- Websites and e-mail addresses

ACCESS New York City takes travelers right to the core of the Big Apple with the latest lowdown on more than 150 places to stay and more than 1,300 places to eat -- from four-star dining to delicious dives in the East Village -- and enough shops, museums, and landmarks to satisfy the most voracious appetite. The ninth edition boasts new features on hot neighborhoods outside of Manhattan, plus special tips on where to take the kids, from the Bronx Zoo to Serendipity 3.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A frequent contributor to the Washington Post, Travel & Leisure, GQ, and dozens of other publications, he often appears as a travel consultant on CNN and Live with Regis and Cathie Lee!, and can be found on-line in his column called "The SavTravs Weekly Hot Tips." He lives in Washington D.C. and New York City.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Sophisticated and brutal. Exhilarating and oppressive. Earthy and aloof. A thorough description of New York City might exhaust the largest vocabulary. New York is indeed a city of dynamic contrasts, from the sleek granite high-rises of Wall Street and Midtown to the crumbling tenements of Brooklyn and the Bronx, from the bohemian spirit of Greenwich Village to the old-money atmosphere of Upper Fifth Avenue, and from the avant-garde art galleries of SoHo to the Apollo Theater and historic churches of Harlem.

Weighted down by wall-to-wall buildings and 7.4 million people, New York in its density may seem relentless and chaotic to first-time visitors. But it's essentially a city of small neighborhoods best explored one at a time. Don't exhaust yourself by trying to race from one end of the city to the other in the hopes of seeing "everything." Instead, make a list of must-sees in each neighborhood and enjoy all they have to offer before moving on to the next.

One of New York's chief attractions is the overwhelming number of places to visit. Every night on the town doesn't have to include dinner at a four-star restaurant and a Broadway show to be memorable, and you don't have to spend your days splurging in the expensive shops on Fifth or Madison Avenues. Some of New York's greatest pleasures are simple, and often inexpensive: sitting on the front steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and watching a mime while eating a hot dog; whiling away an hour in a cafe, sipping a cappuccino as the world goes by the window; walking through Central Park on a clear day and gazing up at the brilliant blue sky above the tall buildings; and, when you've said and done as much as you can, waving good-bye to the Statue of Liberty from the window of a departing plane, humming "New York, New York."

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Collins Reference; 9th edition (August 8, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062772740
• ISBN-13: 978-0062772749
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,439,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The perfect guide book for your first or 100th visit., August 13, 2000

By 

"cavewoman2" (Youngstown, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Access New York City 9e (Access New York City, 9th ed) (Paperback)

The Access New York City Guide is divided into sections for each region in the city, with separate maps for each area and detailing, in color code, destinations and places of interest in each area, including hotels, restaurants,(both rated for quality and expense), and shopping. It is the easiest New York guide book I have used, because I am able to find where I want to go, see the easiest way to get there, and know what's there when I do. The guide contains maps for subway and bus travel and airport access. I prefer this area-by-area format because I can see easily all the attractions in each part of the city. This has a distinct advantage over guides which group by topic; for example, I might find a hotel that suits my needs, and by checking the area on the map, I can find a restaurant on the same page, in my price range, within walking distance, and know what's cooking for dinner. Other guides would have you searching another chapter. This is the latest of many editions of the Access New York City guide, and is just as enjoyable from your armchair at home as it is from your tourbus. Also included are such fun tidbits as a list of movies filmed in the city, books written about New York, and little-known facts about the histories of the most famous landmarks. Altogether this guide and its logical format would make your hundredth trip to the city as exciting as your first.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointed in the newest edition, February 1, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Access New York City 10e (Paperback)

First of all,let me say that I have always been a big fan of the Access series of books, and usually buy one for every city I am visiting. I live in Manhattan and my NYC Access book is used ALL the time, esp when visiting new neighborhoods or when I have visitors. I could always count on Access to provide great recommendations for places to eat and visit. I just purchased the newest edition and am extremely disappointed. I live on the upper West Side and the information provided for my neighborhood in the 2002 edition is SO OUTDATED and not useful. They list stores that closed more than four years ago, very few of the fun restaurants where the locals eat are mentioned and many of the "unknown famous landmarks" are no longer listed. My neighbors and I cannot figure out how they chose the restaurants that are listed. Since I know that the information for my neighborhood is full of errors and omissions, how can I trust it for exploring new neighborhoods? The new format is horrible. Previously, whenever friends moved into the city, my housewarming gift basket ALWAYS included the latest edition of NYC Access, but no longer. There are better guides available.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This book is outdated!, April 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Access New York City 10e (Paperback)

We just returned from a trip to New York City. I am a HUGE fan of Access books and have used them for cities around the world for the last 14 years. However, the current version of the New York City Access is woefully outdated and was a waste of money. We found several businesses had moved and one, the venerable Balducci's, had gone of out business. Needless to say, this de-railed us a few times and was inconvenient to say the least.

Things change quickly in New York. If Access wants to be in the business of publishing guides of New York, they need to commit to annual updates.