Customer Reviews

Munich & The Bavarian Alps (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

...I can affirm the genuine worth of this book. The maps are convenient, easy to use, and marvelously clear. Furthermore, the organization of the guide is wonderfully helpful in assisting the traveler (or resident, as the case may be) in finding cultural destinations, culinary spots, that may have otherwise been missed.

This guide is, like most all of the Dorling-Kindersley series, geared toward helping the traveler ascertain what things might be of particular sightworthiness. Unlike the Michelin guides, this isn't particularly into the business of rating destinations, and it certainly isn't going to provide the standard domestic AAA guide service of pointing the traveler toward "hot" restaurants. For a diverse, wonderfully cosmopolitan city, this guide provides a marvelous introduction, and though it neglects a few potential interests in outlying regions, does an admirable job of hitting all the highlights, and even including pictures of most.

The material was current as of late spring 2003.

If you're planning on spending just a few days in Munich, then this compact little guide will be indispensible in locating the famous beerhalls and tourist sights. The maps are more than adequate and the walking descriptions to each locale are precise and accurate. There is also corresponding material on how to use the U-Bahn in the city and which station to take for each particular site. There is a separate chapter on the beerhalls of the city with a brief ranking system for the nosiest places, the friendliest, the cheapest beer, etc.

If you're planning a lengthy sojourn in Munich or if you already know the city well, then this book would not be as helpful. It is basically intended for the casual tourist and the information on the intriguing environs of Munich, including Bogenhausen, Haidhausen and areas of Schwabing, is not detailed. Many of the best sites are neglected because most tourists don't want to bother or simply don't have the time to stick around. The chapters on Berchtesgaden and Garmisch are excellent, however. So this is a thrifty guide you can stick in your pocket and consult when you need to find a restaurant, beer haunt or hotel. In short, if you're a first timer to Munich, enjoy the greatest city in Europe and be sure to tuck away this guide.

I bought this book to prepare myself for the trip to Germany (and pass through Munich and Bavaria) I'll take in October. This will be my first trip to the area and I'd like to learn as much as possible before I leave home. So far this book has provided me with a lot of info, especially with the abundant number of beautiful, colorful photos. There was a saying that "picture is worth a thousand words" and that's exactly where this book excels compared to other guide books I've read (Lonely Planet, Fodor's, and Rick Steves).

This book is focused on Munich and the surrounding Bavaria so it covers a lot of details. The major sights are featured in the text and accompanied by several photos. The lessser known sights (which are usually not covered by more general guidebooks) have one or two paragraphs and usually a small photo.

IMHO this is the best and most awesome travel guide book. It has a thick glossy cover with colorful glossy pages inside which really feels luxurious in your hands and looks luxurious to your eyes.

I really recommend this book to anyone who's interested in Munich & Bavaria and/or travelling to the area. I also recommend Eyewitness Germany and Eyewitness Berlin.

I used this book as my guide travelling around Munich and I can strongly recommended it to others. The layout of the book is clear and logical which makes choosing destinations and getting there easy. The maps in the book are all in full colour, as always in this series, showing roads as well as public transport routes. Countless illustrations enrich the reading - each carefully drawn so as to say more than a thousand words found in other guides. The choice of restaurants, hotels etc were all great picks. I managed to find a couple of real gems of restaurants in the recommended list here. I can assure that speaking from personal experience: you can use this book with complete confidence!

If you are going to Munich or travelling around Bavaria then this is without doubt the finest guide that you will find. Have a great trip!

If you are planning a trip to southern Germany this book is a must. It covers Munich very well but the real impressive part is the Alps. No matter where you are going in the Alps this book will be helpful. The pictures are wonderful and it makes a great coffee table book when you get home. Highly recommend.

These guides have the best pictures! I don't take them with me though. Too heavy and not as practical as other guides like Rick Steve's. They are great for reading up on your future destination though. Amazon always has them at a good price(as they are not cheap brand new)and it doesn't matter if you buy a used one or one that is a few years old. There's no admission prices in them anyway.

I bought Munich & Bavarian Alps as well as Austria as I am planning a trip there shortly; I have also bought Brussels previously. The great thing about these guide books is that they are details and include almost everything in the areas your looking at. Pictures, history, small area maps, attraction location on maps, tips,,,etc. They are great for planning your trip especially if your planning to explore the surrounding areas and not just Munich.
The only 2 cons to this I have are:
1) The size; it is not very practical to have all this weight when your planning to do a lot of sight-seeing and walking. I don't tend to read about attraction while going to them.
2) I am used to the AAA city guides, which have detailed maps, with all attraction on a separate laminated maps that you can carry with you; they also include a very clear public transport maps, which I find very helpful. The DK guides don't have similar maps, and I had to buy separate maps for the cities I wanted to visit on this trip to carry around with me.

I have used these books for London, Paris, and Rome, and I can tell you they are excellent for figuring out what to see, and do. The graphics are outstanding. My one gripe with this particular book, is the total lack of a subway and train map (they call them S-Bahn and U-Bahn) for Munich. The other DK Eyewitness books, for London, Paris , and Rome, all had these maps of public transport. The Munich system is not just 2 intersecting lines, like the Rome system, but quite a bit more extensive.
I looked it up on line, and was rather surprised at the size of it, but then again, Munich does have approx 1 million people, so it makes sense. It should obviously be included, and is, in several other travel books for this area.

These line if books are great for any traveler. A friend/Travel coordinator let me know about them when I visited Egypt a few years back. I recently bought one for Germany, Bavaria and all I can say is outstanding! I was able to see so many places and had so much information before hand the need for a travel guide wasn't even necessary. I would recommended this this reference to anyone.

This book is so good because it covers most of Bavaria! We went to Munich, Dachau, Eagles Nest, and all around the region, and this book gives you a historical background of the area, pop culture tips, maps of all areas, and even a little language. For the major attractions, it tells you the hours of business, recommends restaurants, covers the local cuisine and important information such as public transportation, etc. I also used the Eyewitness Prague book too on another trip which is exactly why I got this one. Eyewitness puts out a high quality product. Even the people I was visiting in Bavaria were referencing this book! :-)