Customer Reviews

Cracow (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

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Used vs. New
I thought I'd save some money on used books but this and two used others I bought (Czech and Slovak republics for a trip to Prague and Bratislava, Berlin from same publisher) from various sources were dated enough to cause problems. Though the books were in good condition and I didn't find a date of publication on the online description or in the manual, they were all pre EU (Slovakia, Czech republic all joined the EU so there were no active border crossings as stated between Germany, Czech republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland), and prices were not just dated, but in pre-EU currency for Slovakia which uses the Euro. The inactive border crossings were a pleasant surprise, the use of Euro in Slovakia at best confusing. The lack of any information on the some hotels (for the Berlin edition, the Marriott we stayed in), which was opened at least 4 years ago, was annoying, as it made it harder to figure out what was nearby.

There was very little information and scant attention on nearby Auschwitz (near the polish town of Oswiecem), which despite its terrible past is a major tourist attraction for people of all religions and of particular importance to he history of both Krakow and Poland, if not the world which is still enduring ethnic "cleansing".

Eyewitness vs. Frommers or Fodors
For those who have used Fodors or Frommers guides, the Eyewitness guys have more drawings and pictures so it's easier to recognize the buildings and other items of interest and they look prettier with their higher quality glossy pages. However, they tend to be more expensive (when new) and the pictures use up space that cuts down on both the detail and breadth of items including restaurants and hotels. We used to buy one of each to get the best of both, but with 5 countries on the related trips 10 books was just too much to carry. I found the maps and organization on these guides - even the new one for Budapest we purchased - somewhat confusing.