Customer Reviews

Toronto City Guide

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just got back from a 4 day trip to Toronto with this book as my guide, and I must say it's one great book.

The format of this book is different from other guidebooks like Lonely Planet and Fodor's, but it's also the best part about it. The author breaks the city into 35 or so sections, and devotes two pages to each section. On the left hand page is a map of that particular section. These are great maps; they contain street numbers, locations of major sites, locations of restaurants, and locations of little things like convenience stores. On the facing page is a (unually historical) description about that section of town. Need to find out where you are? No need to break out a large, clumsy, fold out map of the city. Just figure out what part of town you're in, turn to that page in the book, and there you go.

The rest of of book contains usual guidebook info like listings of major restaurants, sites, how to get to/from the airport, more maps (the one of the subway is very useful) and stuff like that. NOTE: one thing the book lacks is hotel information. Nothing about budget accomodations, B&B's, fancy hotels. . .nothing. So don't rely on this book to get you a place to stay for the night, but you can rely on it for everything else.

After reading this book, you want to know why more publishers haven't used this format. You can not only find hundreds of things with computer-like speed, but it's about the most detailed and interesting travel guide I've read. If you're someone who gets lost walking around the living room, you'll have no problem getting around Toronto with this gem. What's more, you get a real restaurant guide thrown in (including 99 establishments with complete reviews), plus more local Web sites than you can handle. This is the best value you can imagine. When do we see a similar book about Montreal - or any other city for that matter?

What a great book! I can't think of anything they've left out. Five stars all round, but especially for being the most Web-savvy guide on the market. If you want an idiot-proof reference for Toronto in your pocket, go no further than this one. The others just don't come close.

This book on Toronto, the city of my birth, is one of the most practical and interesting books on the city. Each chapter is cleary set out and includes not just real practical help, but interesting trivia too. There are many street maps which accompany text : they are very precise, yet not over detailed, so the reader never gets bogged down in unnecessary mire.
The chapter on City life and entertainment is my favourite: starting with an annual calendar of events to suit really every taste, it then proceeds to break down all types of entertainment into different categories, again with well laid out plans on how to get there.

Metro Toronto is now a huge, sprawling multi-cultural city, yet the author has managed superbly to break down the city into manageable , readable sections entitled: Neighbourhood Profiles. which for every 34 neighbourhood section on each double page, has the map of the neighbourhood on the left side and on the right, complementary and again, interesting, practical information for the visitor.

John Must has done a really thorough job on this and coupled with the really affordable priced, pardon the pun , but this book is a must.

If you're going to Toronto for World Youth Day, this is a really cool book to take along. There's lots of awesome maps and neat and useful stuff you probably won't find any place else. Check out all the Web sites and make sure to visit some of the neighbourhoods they've covered. I used this book on my last visit and found it a great guide. It's also inexpensive, really easy to use and fits in your pocket with no problem. Go for it!

This book was hyped by some friends of mine, but I want to nit-pick. First, all those dozens of neat maps don't show where to find 24/7 laundromats. (Shame!) Despite an awesome selection of restaurants (count 'em: 387) there's n'ere a mention of all-day breakfast joints. (Double shame!!) Who cares if everything else in town is staring you right in the face? So, I'm going to dock this book a quarter of a star on principle.

As a 30-year-plus resident of the city, I thought I knew all there is to know about Toronto. But when my out of town friend visited this summer, I let this book organize our walking and eating tours of the city. We were both delighted with this helpful and handy guide. It's packed with history and maps, easy to use, extremely current, and offers interesting information and useful tips that were unfamiliar even to me. My friend is a major traveler, and told me she wishes every city had a guidebook this reliable. The author obviously knows the city inside and out -- and loves Toronto.

This isn't a road map, though you'll find walking and sightseeing guides of all downtown blocks (neighborhoods) and then some.

It's a great travel guide, but it won't point you the shops of the basic necessities. A city shopping guide it is not. (Get another book if you want bargains.)

This isn't a historical guide, though you'll find it a good read. (For this, seek out those "Toronto Sketches" series instead.)

The lists of churches, attractions and annual events is very far from comprehensive. (He probably didn't interview many of Toronto's growing cultural communities.)

It also lacks the cycling route maps and walking route maps promoted by the city's Parks & Recreation department. (The city has budgeted to support these well-designed city exploration routes. I even doubt that he talked with the city's tourism department.)

So, for me, a city guide it is not. Toronto residents will find it, at best, great advice of where to go this coming weekend.

I am sad to see there are some quite unfriendly reviews of this book. I used it every day when I first came to this city and still consult it with pleasure and in confidence. I have found it always useful and while I have learned much more about what is in Toronto I have not needed to buy a different one.

I've purchased dozens of travel guides for many different cities/countries over the years and this is the worst one I've ever seen. I bought it based on the reviews, but am very disappointed. I'm going to ditch it and try a more familiar publisher.