Streetwise Brussels Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Brussels, Belgium - Folding pocket size travel map with metro map [Map]

Streetwise Maps (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2007

PLEASE NOTE: A newly updated version of this STREETWISE map is available. The map may be found by searching for the new product ISBN: 9781931257527 Thank You.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Don't leave home without STREETWISE.' --The New York Times

'STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential.' --Travel + Leisure Magazine

'In a strange city, your sense of direction is only as good as the map in your hands. The best maps to carry are published by STREETWISE.' --Chicago Daily Herald

About the Author

STREETWISE® is the first map to be designed with modern graphics and is the originator of the laminated, accordion-fold map format. We’ve set the standard that every map company has imitated but never duplicated. Our mission is to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel safe in a place where you’ve never been before and to enable you to experience a familiar place more fully.

The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Brown, who had been in international publishing for many years, setting up subsidiaries for textbook publishers. In the 1970’s, Brown traveled extensively throughout Africa, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Brown would take a large paper map, cut out the city center, folded it up and slip it into his pocket, thus preventing him from looking like a tourist in areas where discretion is the better part of travel. This was his tool for surviving.

After many years on the road, Brown settled back in New York and decided to start his own business, based on the adaptations he had made to maps in his travels. His goal was to give someone the ability to navigate easily in unfamiliar terrain.

He started with a new map format: the accordion fold. Such a simple idea, but at the time it was revolutionary. No more struggling to fold an awkward, oversized paper map. This new format would enable the user to blend in like a native, instead of stick out like a tourist. Brown then added lamination to ensure that the map would be a lasting tool.

More important than the format was the design of the map itself. It had to be a map that not only succeeded above and beyond any map he had used, but was esthetically appealing as well. The look of it had to be as striking as the functionality. Color was introduced in a way that was never seen before in a map - vivid purple for water, soothing gray for the background of street grids, gold to highlight elements of the map. Clarity, conciseness and convenience in a very stylish package.

Building the business was a 24 hour job. Brown sold the maps during the day, zipping around Manhattan making deliveries on his Harley Davidson. At night he packed the orders and did the design work. More titles were added, each title requiring months of research and design.

Today, STREETWISE® produces over 130 titles for major destinations, regions and countries throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. We have grown from the back of a motorcycle to selling millions of maps around the world.

Yet each title is still painstakingly researched and updated. STREETWISE® is one of the only, if not THE only map company that conducts research by walking or driving an area to ensure accuracy. After all, what good is the map if what you hold in your hands doesn’t match what you see on the street sign? This lengthy fact checking results in superior accuracy; in effect, we’ve done the work, now you have the adventure.

In the end, it’s not about the map, it’s about getting out and finding your own authentic experience wherever you go. It’s about being in a city or a region and discovering things that you never thought you would find. You can do this if you have confidence and you have confidence if you have a great map. STREETWISE® is the great map that you need.

Product Details

• Map: 1 pages
• Publisher: Streetwise Maps (December 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886705526
• ISBN-13: 978-1886705524
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 3.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,117,316 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Travel > Europe > Belgium > Brussels

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very handy during my 10 days in Brussels, August 23, 2005

By 

Anirudh Sahni (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Streetwise Brussels Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Brussels, Belgium - Folding pocket size travel map with metro map (Map)

Came in very handy during my 10 days in Brussels. Durable and quick to fold/unfold. Shows all the little streets, main tourist sites and hotels, although the small print can be hard to read. Includes a street index. Street names are in French only, contrary to what the previous reviewer said, but that's adequate.

Shows Metro stations as color-coded dots but doesn't explicitly show the lines connecting them, so I had to refer to a transit map initially to be certain how the Metro lines ran. However, Brussels' transit network is complex enough that you will need to carry a separate transit map anyway if you plan to use the trams or buses as well as the Metro.

The city tourist office gives out a free map of the city center that is actually easier on the eyes, but lacks a street index and doesn't show Metro stations.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Map of City + Environs, Bruxelles, January 23, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Streetwise Brussels Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Brussels, Belgium - Folding pocket size travel map with metro map (Map)

I bought several Streetwise City Maps and this one is the best -- about the size of an envelope (accordian folded with 9 sections/folds). It is very detailed in the city center, public transport, and the larger urban area. Highly reccommended.

Most place names are in French + Flemish.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars TERRIBLE, March 23, 2006

By 

Lauren Healy (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Streetwise Brussels Map - Laminated City Center Street Map of Brussels, Belgium - Folding pocket size travel map with metro map (Map)

this is one of the worst maps i have ever read. the streets are printed so small it is near impossible to read, and the street index is impossible to use due to the fact that some of the streets are listed by the article and others by the first word. give yourself a break and just pick up a free map at any of the numerous tourist information boards located around the city, most notably in grand place. the only reason to get this map is if you are going to be traveling in the brussels suburbs, where the free maps do not cover.

oh, and one more thing. the easiest way to get around brussels is through their easy and free subway system. this map does not have any of the stops on it, as opposed to any of the free maps.