Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet New York City

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

 

 

This is one of the more comprehensive travel guides to New York that I have found. It includes lots of vital information on transportation and clear, helpful maps, which I found invaluable on my trip to the city. There was also a great deal of information of interest to visitors from outside the US, which I found interesting.

The sections on the outer buroughs are a little brief, but most tourist visitors to the city are probably more interested in Manhattan anyhow. A great travel guide, but if you're a resident or planning on moving to New York, another book might be more helpful.

I bought this book before my arrival to New York. I have lived here for the last year. I used this book so many times to walk around, I double-checked lots of small details in this book without finding a single out of date information. I already feel like a New Yorker, and love this city! This book can equally help a weekend visitor, a short-time tourist or somebody who moves to New York for good.

Of all the Lonely Planet guides I have used, I found this one most disappointing. The layout is indeed enticing, with excellent integration of text, pictures, maps, and amusing graphics. The critical flaw, however, is that it makes a lousy companion for when you are actually touring New York City.

The walking tours are inane collections of random descriptions--I was shocked to discover that my free AAA guide gave me a much better sense regarding the character, history, and culture of New York neighborhoods than Lonely Planet's glossy, but shallow, approach in this book. Many of the things I would have wished to learn about New York, such as its rich architectural, historical, cultural heritage throughout its different neighborhoods, were not to be found. In general, great on fluff and presentation, but lacking in substance for one of the world's most substantial cities.