The Rough Guide to Washington DC - Edition 4 [Paperback]

Jules Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 16, 2005 | Series: Rough Guide Travel Guides

The Rough Guide to Washington DC is the most comprehensive handbook to the US capital. The guide includes a 16pp full-colour introduction to the the city''s highlights, from the Washington Monument and the White House to the seafood of Chesapeake Bay and panda bears of the National Zoological Park. The authors give expert description''s of Washington''s incomparable museums and showcase architecture, from the Lincoln Memorial and the Supreme Court. There are critical reviews of restaurants and hotels for every budget, as well as the lowdown on the best bars, clubs, shops and music venues. The author has been a regular visitor to Washington DC for many years and gives the lowdown on all the neighbourhoods from historic Georgetown to trendy Adams-Morgan, plus topical angles on history,politics and city development. Full-colour maps give coverage of every region of the city.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The holiday-makers' favourite guidebook series. The Sunday Times Travel Magazine --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Jules Brown is a veteran Rough Guide author, with eight guidebooks to his name, including Barcelona and England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Rough Guides; 4th edition (May 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843534010
• ISBN-13: 978-1843534013
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,929,767 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A guidebook so bad it might be dangerous, March 31, 2008

By 

DCpostdoc "DCpostdoc" (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Washington DC - Edition 4 (Paperback)

I moved to DC a little over a year ago and originally purchased this guidebook to have on hand for visiting family and friends. I have since realized that it contains numerous errors, ranging from strange judgements about DC's "highlights", to erroneous geography, to downright nonsensical advice about dangerous neighborhoods.

Just to give a few examples:

1. The guidebook refers to the area around Connecticut Avenue as "New Downtown". I have yet to hear anyone refer to that neighborhood by that name- and I spend time around both "Old" and "New" downtown. If you use it, you will get a blank stare.

2. The map-maker seemed confused about where the DC waterfront is. The Waterfront neighborhood of DC is the area around 4th and M Southwest. The map-maker shows the Navy Yard area as the "Waterfront". This is actually the Anacostia river waterfront, not the Potomac Waterfront. IT IS ALSO A DANGEROUS NEIGHBORHOOD TO WALK AROUND IN AT NIGHT. This is an inexcusable error.

3. The advice about avoiding bus lines and relying on cabs in questionable neighborhoods is useless. Cabs won't go to questionable neighborhoods. On the other hand, buses in questionable areas are often safer- there are often people around bus stops, and the bus drivers keep something of an eye on things.

Those are the examples I had to point out as a warning to people from outside DC who might be tempted to rely on this guide. There are other issues with the guide- a bit of snarkiness, and I'm not sure I'd consider Rock Creek Park, a nice city park, to be more of a must see than the Lincoln Memorial. (If you need your green space, there are much better ways to get it, such as Great Falls or a short drive towards the mountains.)

Also, sights considered, for travel purposes, part of the DC area, such as Annapolis or Manassas, are ignored.

Bottom line: Usually I love Rough Guides when traveling. This one isn't up to the standards to the rest of the series.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book for smart travelers who appreciate a dry wit, May 18, 2008

By 

Lisa (PDX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rough Guide to Washington DC - Edition 4 (Paperback)

I used this guide on my first trip to Washington D.C. It was comprehensive and chock full of good, sound advice about the city and its attractions. The restaurant part was exceptional - everywhere I ate was delicious, healthy, unique and well-priced. I am still dreaming about the falafel place in Adams Morgan which was suggested in the book and thoroughly enjoyed, and was not a place I would have pursued on my own.

There are little bits of humor which spring up in unexpected places in the book and they provide a good dose of lightness to the otherwise fairly dense text.

Of course you can always get a D.C. guidebook from DK or Lonely Planet and follow around the rest of the tourists/lemmings while you are on vacation, or you can pick up a copy of this, The Rough Guide to Washington D.C., and end up thrilled with a special travel experience, like I did.