Customer Reviews

Moon Baltimore (Moon Handbooks)

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

 

 

Good tour guides for areas where you live are notoriously hard to find. The Moon Handbook written by Geoff Brown , who lives in Baltimore solves that problem; but it also makes an outstanding guide for out of towners.
There are many interesting takes on the normal tourist attractions including where you can find places that have appeared in John Waters films, and others such as Diner and the location of Ace of Cakes. Festivals and events are included. The beloved local dialect known as Bawlmerese and Hon is explained. All is written so that anyone could appreciate the information.
Considering that this book is 249 pages, it contains an astounding amount of facts including bits of history and explanations. Excursions out of the city to such places as St. Michaels, Frederick, Annapolis are included, giving information on sights, shops and restaurants. Phone numbers and internet sites are included- always valuable data.
Very adequate maps that are concise but easy to use and understand are included with sights on them. The book contains an index of shops, restaurants, nightlife, as well as a `normal` index. Anyone, including locals should appreciate safety in neighborhoods info - always a concern when visiting an urban area

Wow!! If you want to explore beyond Baltimore's touristy Inner Harbor, this is the book to own. I stumbled on this new gem by accident. You will not be disappointed and it is very current. Living in DC, close to B-More, one gets tired of the Inner Harbor thing. I knew B-more was a diverse place, but I felt I was only scratching the surface each time I visited. Who knew there was so much to do and experience in such a small city - and it's all in this book. Mr Brown captures the city in a concise, but readable way. I could not put it down and can't wait for my next trip there. I wish there was a book like this for DC. Well worth the price and obviously researched by someone who knows the city VERY well.

I am going to spend a few days in Baltimore soon and wanted the book to help plan my visit. To that end it worked. However, there was nothing special about it (I've read other guide books and this one was no better and no worse than the other guide books I've read). Basically it provided me with limited information on where to stay and what to see, but was not overly comprehensive. For example, places to avoid would have been nice. Also, the best why to get there if you fly into an airport other than BWI (Dulles for example is a big international airport and it 60 miles away - Reagan National is another option). Even the information for getting from BWI to downtown is sparse.

The things that are described are helpful. For example there are several special highlight sections providing the "best of ..." which I found helpful. The description of some of the major places to visit was helpful. But I felt the hotel section was a little sparse. The book only provides information on eleven hotels in Downtown and Inner Harbor area.

Having recently relocated to B-Town, I wanted a guide to augment the good old regular internet search for some interesting places and things to do. I tried Insiders' Guide to Baltimore. It sucked. Then I thought that Moon did me ok for St. Louis and Kansas City. They missed a few spots, but for the most part were solid resources. So here I am.

In the short time I have spent in Baltimore I have hit a few spots and my view on MOON BALTIMORE is about the same as the other two cities for which I have used this publisher. Yes, it is good. But there are a few misses along the way.

Breaking things down by neighborhoods, MOON BALTIMORE provides good information about unique shops, cafes and sights in Federal Hill, Fells Point, Hampden, Mount Vernon and the rest of the town. I circled those places and things that are of interest to me, then went back to take notes. I had circled a lot. We all have those areas that are of particular interest to us, and this guide gave me a number of good suggestions for weekend brunch, book stores, unique museums (the Decoy Museum!!) and watering holes. It will take me some time to check all these places out.

But I also like coffee shops, and this guide missed a couple of major spots. Yes, Bohemian Coffee House and Red Emma's are not for everyone. Yet it is exactly their uniqueness that would warrant inclusion in this guide. And although The 13th Floor in the old Belvedere building is mentioned, its downstairs neighbor, The Owl Bar, is unjustifiably not, a particularly noteworthy omission given that its pizzas are really quite good.

In all though, use MOON BALTIMORE the way you would use any guide. As one tool among several. If it points you to a few things you otherwise would have missed, then it does its job. MOON BALTIMORE does its job.

We used this guidebook for a long weekend in Baltimore, and never felt the need to consult any other tour books or seek out more information from the Baltimore visitor center. This book had all the information we needed. Lots of good details and neighborhood histories as well! For an expanded review, check out my Squidoo lens by searching goldenrulecomics on that site. Highly recommended.

As a frequent traveler to the DC area and beyond, I do a lot of day trips to the Baltimore and Annapolis areas. In fact, I thought I had pretty much exhausted the major attractions of both areas until I read this book.
Since the author resides in the Baltimore area, it is fairly clear that he has an insider's knowledge and enthusiasm for his home turf and it shows. This guide goes way beyond the Inner Harbor/Camden Yards environs and showcases interesting neighborhoods, shopping areas, historical sites, architecture, great restaurants (in all price ranges), and interesting and varied museums. I also provides sound advice as to when and when not to visit certain attractions and additional practical advice. With so many new things to see and do, this guide offers infinite possibilities to not only new visitors but to return visitors as well. It also contains easy to follow maps and great pictures that only add to one already attractive package.
The best feature of this book is somewhat intangible; it makes you really want to visit because it sounds pretty cool.

I bought this and the Insider's Guide to Baltimore. The other book was MUCH better - the earlier edition, not the most recent, that one got poor reviews. Anyways, back to this book. It only focuses on the inner city circle and is very general. It doesn't include anything you couldn't find through an internet search. It isn't a terrible book, but could definitely be better.