Customer Reviews

Access Washington, D.C. (Access Guides)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Once again a jewel of a guide. Comprehensive, lively, logical and coherent. Like so many other city guides by Richard Saul Wurman, this book combines an architectural overview with historical, anecdotal and practical aspects of the city in such a way that makes it a great companion to have before during and after the visit. As a matter of fact even if you don't go, you get the pleasure of intimate knowledge of the place.

When some friends mentioned they had never visited DC, I decided that I'd use some of the gazillion frequent flyer miles I have and fly them and the family up for a week and serve as a tour guide.

I lived and worked in DC earlier in my career and have visited probably another 25-times as well on business, so I wasn't sure a printed tour guide would be particularly useful. But, just to be thorough, I picked up a copy of this guide "Access Washington DC" along with another, titled "The Unofficial Guide to Washington, DC."

I liked the handiness of the Access guide, it's lighter, thinner and easier to carry around; the Unofficial Guide is heftier and every extra ounce that you're carrying around all day does get a bit annoying.

The Access guide is also easier to read -- pages are divided by section of town, it is profusely illustrated with easy-to-read maps, has multicolored headings to separate text and has an excellent index. I also liked its design; it's visually interesting and has an attractive cover with a nice double-column layout for its text. All of this makes it inviting to pick up and read. While I like the numbering of restaurants and sites in the text and how they are marked on the maps, I wish the text font was just a bit larger and that they had placed the subway map up front instead of in the back. But, these are just nit-picking points.

The Unofficial guide is bland in comparison. It is printed in black, white with grey-tone inset boxes, its text goes the full width of the page, left-to-right and its size is a bit intimidating to someone who might want to just check a resturant description and address or get a description of a monument or historical site.

As for content, each guide appears to be focused on a different target market: The Access guide oriented toward tourists -- with its text devoted mainly on restaurants, monuments, parks and historical and other sites of interest. And, the Unofficial guide appears to be designed as a combination reference book and tour guide -- perhaps aimed at those who move to DC or are there for significant lengths of time on business.

For example, the Unofficial guide is divided into the following segments: "Planning Your Visit to Washington," "Hotels," "Visiting Washington on Business," "Arriving and Getting Oriented," "Getting Around Washington," "Entertainment and Nightlife," "Exercise and Recreation," "Shopping in Washinton," and FINALLY "Sightseeing Tips and Tours," "Washington Attractions," and "Dining and Restaurants."

I used both and found content in each worth reading and believe that our trip was enriched by my use of them. As such, I would advise purchase of the latest edition of both -- skim the Unofficial guide before the trip and at night in the hotel and carry and use the Access guide with you.

Additional Note: A lot has happened since 9-11, more security and lines, no more tours of the Pentagon or the FBI Building; six month waiting lists to tour the White House; you have to get in line at 6 am for tickets to tour the Washington Monument and the Bureau of Engraving; the Capital tours are in plush new facilities, but groups are herded about.

Still, there's no other city in the world like DC. The museums are fabulous, the IMAX at the Air & Space and the Natural History museums are great fun, the sights are inspiring and the food is wonderful. For a clean, safe, free and walkable sightseeing vacation for the family that likes to sample foods from all over the world -- DC can't be beat!

R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University

The ACCESS guides are so smartly organized by neighborhoods that you'll be lurking like a local in no time. The color coding for attractions, restaurants, hotels and shopping make skimming for your favorites a breeze. More often than not, their sly 'insider' comments are right on the money. I used ACCESS Washington, DC to acclimate myself to my new home, and I still use it whenever company comes to town. Like any travel guide, the latest edition is a must (but even that won't compensate for fickle diners and undercapitalized restauranteurs) and it's certainly time for a newer version than the 2000 edition. But having said that, I still purchase an ACCESS guide if I'm going to spend any time in a city I haven't fully explored.

I am so sorry that the Access Guides seem to be disappearing. For my first trip to Washington DC, I finally ordered the 2007 version of this book--nothing newer seems to exist--and even with such an old publication date, it proved to be much more helpful than the other guidebooks that I'd already purchased. I love the Access format because it travels through each neighborhood in the city. Each section has a map with a number that designates a hotel's, museum's, shop's, restaurant's location. And the detailed information offered about each of those places is always helpful and often quite drole. I was in a quandary about which hotel to choose in Washington--location is always the most important thing with me. Access allowed me to make that decision by showing me where the hotel was placed and what restaurants, museums, etc. were close by. Other guidebook require a map of the city and then much page turning since their format is not so consumer friendly. Most guidebooks lump all hotels together, then all shopping together, etc. (I really don't need to know about shopping or restaurants in Arlington if I'm not going to get to Arlington.) Since the publication date of this book, several restaurants near the hotel had disappeared, as had the Border's book store. But, still, I found the Access guide offering the best information in helping me to sort out where to go and what to do. I am sorry to see this publication unavailable. I've made this guidebook my first choice whenever I consider traveling somewhere new. The books are always fun to read and the best source that I've discovered for quickly making me feel grounded in a new place. Everything changes--but this is a change that will lessen my pleasure of travel. Planning is one of the more enjoyable components of travel--and I so enjoyed planning with the Access guides.

I lived in DC for 21 years so I'm familiar with most of the entries in this book. The editor does a fair but not especially lively job of describing where to eat, drink, walk and gawk in DC.

The discription in the ad used to purchase the book, did not indicate what version it was. I entered the 10th edition (the most recent) in my search and this version came up. The book is 10 years old and worthless as a travel guide to Washington DC, since so much has changed.
In the future, I won't buy a book on this site unless I can determine without question that it is a current version or the version I specify.