Fodor's New Orleans 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides) [Paperback]

Fodor's (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fodor's Gold Guides | Publication Date: September 5, 2006

One of the most exciting and exotic destinations in the US, New Orleans evokes images of sultry nights of jazz and Cajun cuisine, and welcomes 1 million visitors each year for Mardi Gras alone. "Fodor's New Orleans 2007" will help you to make the most of your holiday, with its unbiased reviews of all the main tourist attractions, as well as recommendations for hidden gems in our Off the Beaten Path sections. We provide plenty of practical travel advice to help you plan your trip, and also lots of background historical and cultural information so you can get a feel for the place. This all in one package gives you everything you'll need to create the perfect holiday. Before you leave for New Orleans, be sure to pack your "Fodor's" guide to ensure you don't miss a thing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Every Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by resident experts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; Revised edition (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400016924
• ISBN-13: 978-1400016921
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,247,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Regrets in New Orleans, January 30, 2007

By 

Pam M. (New England, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fodor's New Orleans 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

When I got an unexpected mini-vacation, we quickly settled on New Orleans. I searched half a dozen guide books and settled on this one, the only one up to date with post-Katrina. I had also gotten the DK Eyewitness guide, which was pretty much useless since it was all pre-K.

This book was the best purchase. I believe several updated books will be coming out in the next month or two, but this was my only choice and I was worried how accurate it would be. I didn't have any regrets. The book does an excellent job of painting the post-K New Orleans scene. It wasn't a paragraph or two injected in, they actually re-wrote the book. And very accurately (which is hard to do for a city under renovations). I was prepared, for example, when I encountered places that couldn't take credit cards. The book had warned me of that.

Since I only had a couple of days, I was able to lay out where we were going to go and what to do. I left N.O. feeling like I did what I wanted (and of course have a list of things to do NEXT time.)

For the curious, yes you can still see the signs of destruction. And the signs of renewal. If you're longing for the old style New Orleans, stick to the French Quarter. Almost everything there is back up and running, even if the tourism rates are not. If you've ever been curious about N.O. but was reluctant due to the crowds and rowdyness...go now. The night life is still there (that never really died) and there's a place for everyone from Burbon Street's all out hedonism to the side bars who barely fit 10 stools and offer up a quiet place to sit and talk and laugh.

Definitely no regrets about this book, or going to New Orleans. If you ever get the chance, GO GO GO. They need your tourism money to rebuild, and you can really get some bargain deals on everything down there. Tip everyone as well as you can, because if they were't there doing their job...you can't be there to enjoy yourself.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Post Katrina, but Primarily Touristy, April 28, 2007

By 

Lisa Shea "medieval swordfighting enthusiast" - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Fodor's New Orleans 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

First, for the basics. This book was actually written in 2006, not 2007. You figure if it was printed in September 2006 that it was researched and written and edited in the early months of 2006. With the rapid pace of change going on in New Orleans right now, they really should have labelled this a 2006 book. For example, when talking about the Aquarium of the Americas, they say it "is slated to reopen by the summer of 2006". They didn't visit it after opening to report on this key attraction for a book titled 2007?

However, on the up side, this WAS written relatively recently, and after the Katrina hit of August 2005. So even though it was only a few months after that disaster, and much has changed since early 2006, it at least was AFTER the Katrina storm went through. Many other guide books are still pre-Katrina.

The Fodor's book isn't nearly as "pretty" as some of the other New Orleans books out there. There are pretty much no photographs or pictures of items. You have to imagine what different types of iron work look like, or what a type of architecture would look like. The maps are extremely plain and sometimes hard to follow.

About half the book isn't about New Orleans - it is about the surrounding area, movies, the index, pages for writing notes, and so on. The parts that are about New Orleans are laid out very poorly. For example, let's say you're getting a hotel in the French Quarter and want to explore what your options are. Other books have one area on the French Quarter where you can examine the shopping, restaurants, maps, bars and so on. In Fodor's book you have to jump to one area to look at the restaurants, an entirely different area to see the shops, and it gets very complicated.

The book pegs the prime touristy spots - like Brennan's with their bananas foster, or Cafe du Monde with their beignets. However, some of the best gems of restaurants and shops we found on our visit there in April 2007 weren't in the book at all. They weren't recently opened, either. It seems that the book promotes the top tourist locations, but doesn't find the 'great unknown locations' that I would normally expect from a well written travel guide.

Also, it's hard for me to really trust in a book where each entry seems to read like a glowing press release. Surely not every single location they choose to list in the book is the best in its class? I think the only negative comment I found in the book was along the lines of "avoid airplane seats across from the bathroom".

I don't mean to say this book is awful. It does point out many interesting historical points about locations. The touristy spots it features are of course touristy for a reason - they are mentioned in books or movies, they were the launching point for a famous drink or food, they have gorgeous architecture. What the book provides is well written and the things it mentions as features for the locations are very interesting to go and see.

I would just temper the book with the knowledge that it's more of an overview of the area than an in depth local's insight. Certainly pick up this book for the general popular spots, but I'd grab another book or two to get the great photos, great maps and details on the restaurants and shops that are off the beaten path.

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Post Katrina Driving Tour, July 26, 2008

By 

S. Larios - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fodor's New Orleans 2007 (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

The book's organization was not as user-friendly as other tour books, but the driving tour to survey the Katrina aftermath was easy to follow and worthwhile.