Customer Reviews

Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guide to London

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Buying travel guides isn't exactly my thing - not suprising that it took me only minutes to get frustrated in the bookstore with the plethora of options available. For my purposes, I was looking for a book that would highlight must-see attractions, must-dine restaurants (I'm a food buff), must-walk streets, must-do road trips, etc. And critical that all this had to be presented in a easy to read manner, preferably as a simple bulletted list rather than paragraphs of information. But my biggest requirement was this: the guide had to be small enough (and light) to fit in my coat pocket, leaving my hands free as they should be.

From all these angles and more, the Eyewitness Top 10 guide was the clear winner. Not only does the book provide top 10 attractions for the city as a whole, but it also mentions top 10 things to do within each attraction - e.g., you'll find top 10 things to do at the british museum, top 10 things to do at tate modern (with a list of must-see art works and where they're located within the museum), etc. Further, the book seems to recognize that people have different styles of exploring new cities because the organization of the book makes it really simple to plan your day according to a variety of themes: attractions, eateries and even neighborhoods - so you'll know what to do if you plan to spend an entire day around westminster & the south bank OR around covent gardens, for example. There is also a listing of the top 10 restaurants around each area which really came in handy. The book is full-color with detailed (yet to-the-point) maps, pictures, underground tube map, directions, etc. The book also contains quite a bit of trivia about each location, but the best part is the presentation - short & sweet and never overwhelming.

The book contains a whole section on "Streetsmarts" which really helped me with the most basic of things - from understanding the foreign currency to making a phone call. Great section! I'm pretty sure I'll end up getting top 10 guides from this series for other european cities for future trips - they're easily the best travel guides I've found. And at less than 10 bucks a pop, can't imagine another guide that can even think of competing.

I usually don't bring guidebooks along with me when I travel but this made the cut based on its small size and weight. It was fairly invaluable and I found myself consulting it a lot on my recent trip. The printed Tube map is a great feature--nice to have one with me at all times. The book is divided into sections like museums (where it lists top ten things to see at each one), shopping, and restaurants, and further divided by must-sees in each London neighborhood. There are trivia and history included throughout, lots of helpful hints, and full-color pictures. The authors are full-time/native Londoners, so the information comes from a trustworthy place. I didn't feel bombarded with information as I do with other travel guides. Will definitely buy from this Top Ten line again, and at $10 each, the price couldn't be better.

This is a great guide for several reasons.
1. It is small and can fit in your jacket pocket for quick reference.
2. It is well organized by neighborhood.
3. the recommendations are right on.
4.the maps are extremely useful.

There are larger more detailed guidebooks out there. In fact I've used the standard eyewitness guidebook to London on a previous trip and it was great. This version is perfect for a returning visitor who wants some help navigating around London but has a basic familiarity with where things are.

This book made our trip to London a dream come true! We left feeling like we had really gotten a lot out of our trip without spending too much money. One thing I really liked about this book was the museum Top 10 section. So often you go to a museum and walk aimlessly. Having an idea of what we knew we wanted to see made our time much more efficient, and when you're only there for a week or so you don't want to waste a minute! Plus the book is smaller, which is actually a benefit (especially since I was the one carrying it in my purse), because it has maps and a map of the tube (subway) system. Having everything in one place is a great feature! And, I also thought this book was great because when I wanted to start scrapbooking I had descriptions of all the landmarks etc I had photographed already written down (which was great because I know I cannot be the only one to take photos while walking or touring and then later not remembering the name of the subject in the photo).

During a study abroad with 15 other students over ten weeks, this travel guide was indispensable and doesn't feel like a brick in your bag! The concise paragraphs and color photos are perfect for the traveler who wants to experience London rather than just read pages and pages of guide book material. People with other guide books were borrowing this one to figure out the top things to do (rather than sift through too much information in theirs).

Just returned from a 10 day trip to London and Paris, these guide books were FANTASTIC! Small enough to fit in a pocket or bag, PACKED with info on Underground/Metro, places to eat, places to visit. Brought along other guides, but ended up leaving them in the room, these books had it ALL!

It is hard to find a travel guide that can thoroughly explain London and this one does not even try. This one takes the most important things and is useful if you are going to be in London from 1-4 days. It has excellent restaurant recommendations and covers the need to see sights. Highly recommend for shorter trips to this amazing city.

I wasn't planning to buy a travel guide for London, but got this one because it's small and who doesn't love a top 10? I carried this with me everywhere and used it a lot. The maps are great. City maps also show you where tube stops are, in addition to the tube map included. There are overall top 10s and top 10s for each section of the city. It's a must have!

I brought this with me on my trip to London in October 2005 and stayed with friends. They are both native Londoners and were impressed with the suggestions in this "tiny" book. It was easy to carry around and packed with lots to do, even for long time visitors. The only top 10 missing was a listing of the 10 tea places to have afternoon tea that doesn't cost a Queen's ransom! Hint - try the Wallace Collection in Marylebone.

Went to London last year for the first time. We had 3 books and the Top 10 was the only book we really used. It has the maps of the city and the tude stations. The book is broken into sections of the city, so you can get a good idea of where to go to 1st. The streetsmart section is so-so and look for your own resturants at another source, especially if you are on a budget. Try Wagamama, the atmosphere and food was good and cheap. Best place to eat on a budget. Cheers!