Customer Reviews

Boston (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I reside in New England and this is another of my favorite books from this region of the country. DK has always published quality books in their Eyewitness Travel Guides and they have done an excellent job with this volume on Boston. It is very current and up-to-date. Unless you visit Boston on a frequent basis it is easy to get disoriented. I really found this book quite useful and the colorful layout of this book with maps, illustrations, photographs and text really inspired me to delve into its pages and check out one of New England's premier cities. The historical information on Boston was invaluable. I never realized some of the things I used to walk past. I think it is also very informative, not only from a historical perspective, but also as a point of reference for sightseeing, travel and enjoyment. DK did an outstanding job with this invaluable edition.

I purchased this guide and the new england guide as a package deal from Amazon.
This was a mistake since the boston chapter in the new england book gives the same info as this one.

aside from this, the book is great as any of the Eyewitness books I purchased so far.

I bought this because I've only read good things about the Eyewitness series for travel. This books gives you something most of the other travel books don't: color pictures and specific maps of locations in where you're staying. That's just the starter. You will also get history about each location, what to expect while dining in this locations (with colored pictures of dishes), lists of restaurants w/phone numbers, what to do, where to stay....

The layout of the book is lovely, and definitely worth the retail price of the book. If the cost is too much, try finding it used. I'm not sure how helpful the book is while you're travelling (my trip to Boston is a couple of month ahead), but it's great to get a feel for the city beforehand.

We bought this book and read through most of it prior to our trip. The clear photography and spirited writing style made it much easier to decide what we had to cram into our four-day mini-vacation, and what we would have to leave for another time. The illustrations are beautiful, but the text gave background information, as well as the basic stuff of prices, hours, transportation. I also carried it with me as we traveled around the city; it is small enough to fit in a purse or small backpack. I feel that this book contributed to our successful, enjoyable trip. Note: If you are going to the Boston area, be sure the eat at one of the "Legal Seafood" restaurants there. It is a local chain, and something of a landmark. The food and service are excellent.

I have lived in Bostion twice for a total of five years so I know the city well. And I own about a dozen of these Eyewitness travel books.

First let me make a short comment on Boston. Boston is one of America's most compelling places to visit in terms of historical landmarks, museums, and places to see, things to do etc. One comment if I may. Leave your car at home or just leave it parked at the hotel. Boston is not car friendly, but on the otherhand most things are all down in the central core or quickly reached by subway. When I lived in Boston, I sold my car. Not worth the hassle.

This is a perfect travel book for Boston. The book is rich in stunning photos and has many cutaway views of famous spots. Also included are maps, museums, cultural attractions, walks, restaurants, and more. It has a nice history review with famous people and historical time charts showing what happened and when.

You cannot go wrong. Take this plus grab a larger street map.

My favourite restaurant - "Anthony's Pier 4" for lunch or dinner on the harbour with a great view. Take a cab to get there.

This guide was slightly outdated, and I found that many of the prices and admission times had changed. I would say to be cautious of the copyright date for this book and either wait for a new one, or call ahead to confirm entry fees/prices before you visit Boston. As with all DK books the pictures are stunning in this guide. I happened to see many tourists using this book while I was there, and especially helpful are the street maps that are included, and the subway map too. I must say that I didn't agree with their Top 10 list - there were many other things of interest that could have/should have been a Top 10. For instance, the JFK Library/Museum was given less than 1 paragraph write-up in the book and should have made the Top 10. The book should have mentioned a few other things as well - namely that there are very few tour companies/trolley companies in Boston so you are, mainly, on your own when it comes to touring. There are very few chain restaurants and stores in the downtown area - mostly upscale shops and eateries. There are limited souvenir shops downtown, unless you consider sports items souvenirs. And, the part of the book that I felt was the worst disservice was their recommendation to go in September/October. The guide says that late Sept/early Oct. is the best time to see Boston, but... my trip was a wash-out for 2 of the 3 days I was there. Perhaps this was just a one time bad weather system? I'm not sure, but with such cold temperatures and high winds I definitely wouldn't recommend Sept/Oct as great visiting times.

I bought this guide directly in the USA when I arrived because differently from others of this series it has not been translated into European languages (not italian at least). I want to say that I have used this type of guides before and found them very useful and entertaining. "Boston" is a useful guide to get an idea of the town, because it divides it in rational and well defined sectors eventhough the large and small scale maps are in different parts of the book, and so not easily found at thumb. The description of all the individual sights is sufficiently satisfying but I found the book lacking in overviews of historical, ethnic, economical, litterary, artistic issues, differently from other books of the same series. For example it gives no idea whatsoever of religions in Boston, whick are extremely important to understand the toponomastic of the city and its development. There is never mention of a churches belonging to this or that confession.

As to artistic features, they are singularly mentioned in the places described but there is no overview as to where for example to find all works by Sargeant or Lafargue or Bullfinch, etc. Even modern architecture is not sufficiently described, some of the beautiful skyscrapers are just given for granted, while people interested in modern architecture would appreciate a notation on these buildings. Another point, in most of these guides there is a notation on places that must no be missed, so it is easy to choose in advance what to do that single day. Unfortunately the authors have not provided this kind of indication, which would be useful.

The interrelationship between the people, the culture and the city is not well examplified. Naturally I understand that this is not possible in this kind of guide, but as I mentioned other books from this same series are better.

I enjoyed using this guide even if at times I was slightly deluded.

I spent a week in Boston and this book was great in helping me plan that trip. It offers lots of suggestions by region of the city which was a great way to plan. The restaurant recommendations were excellent and it is always fun to see what they recommend as the regional dishes. For those looking to soak up the history, culture and fun of Boston this is a great book to use in planning that trip.

As with all Eyewitness Travel Guides - you can't do better. Great breakdowns by area, highlights of top tourist places and lots of other items of interest, also a great brief history. The book brought out lots of special interest info that the guides didn't even talk about.

other than a few places, i feel like i haven't gotten much from this book. it felt pretty vague. maybe i'll turn to fodors on boston in the near future.