Customer Reviews

Washington, D.C. (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We try to visit DC every couple of years, and next time we were thinking of paying for one of those guided city tours. We don't need the sites pointed out to us, but those tour guides always seem to have good information and anecdotes about the sites that you don't hear anywhere else. I thought that maybe we could save a couple hundred dollars if we could find a book that has that type of information. I bought the Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C., and I also checked out the Frommer's Guide. They were very informative, but they didn't get me excited about any of the sites. They were pretty much just reference books (with very limited photos). However, when I opened up the Eyewitness Travel book, I was blown away. The color photos and color floor plans/cutaways of the buildings are outstanding. It really got me interested in places that I wouldn't have thought twice about if I had read just a text description.

The book also tells about the history of certain places and tells you what to do and where to go on three guided walks. It is a gourgeous and entertaining book that doubles as a tour guide (only cheaper). To keep up with the other guides, it also includes hotel and restaurant information.

I am not sure what the previous reviewer is talking about. I find it funny how some people politicize everything that they see, hear or read. I am into history, not politics, so this book was exactly what I was looking for.

The Eyewitness Guide to Washington, DC starts off with a brief introductory section that includes a history of the city, general information, as well as a summary of the major galleries, museums, and memorials. This section is almost reminiscent of a Frommer's guide as it includes a best of list and a sample itinerary, which are both staples of that guidebook franchise.

Next, the book moves on to a section-by-section examination of the city. There are five geographical areas within the city as well as two more beyond that are broken down here. Each section offers a reasonable amount of information on major attractions. With the maps, photos, and 3-D style cutaway representations of some of the major buildings the Eyewitness Guide is far superior to others when it comes to giving you a sense of the physical reality of Washington. No amount of words can communicate as thoroughly what a place is like compared to these pictures. I found this invaluable in helping me decide which attractions were most important for me to visit in my limited time in the city.

The book also contains a list of hotels and restaurants but this is the weakest part of the guide. There are only the most basic descriptions and information and no ratings are offered at all. Another guide such as Frommer's Washington, D.C. 2007 (Frommer's Complete) or the The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C. (Unofficial Guides) will be far more helpful for this aspect of planning your trip.

Overall, I found this guide very useful for deciding what to do while visiting Washington, DC. It is nowhere near as helpful for choosing restaurants and hotels and I recommend buying a second guide to get more information of that kind. No one guide will have everything you need but this one will be a great start.

Another success for the DK Eyewitness series. Well thought out, with the excellent graphics that are DK's hallmark. Well indexed, user friendly, and pocket sized. As a DC resident I own a lot of DC guidebooks; this is the one I'd recommend first, to both visitors and new arrivals alike.

For the first time visitor to Washington, D.C., this book is invaluable. With it's excellent descriptions and insights, grasping a sense of the city's many offerings is easy and fun. But what truly sets this book apart from other travel guides, are the unique and informative full color layouts of the city streets, complete with 2-D images of the buildings for reference. It's nearly impossible to 'get lost' with this guide in your hands!

I used this guide for a one day trip to D.C. I especially liked how it laid out all of the floorplans and highlights of the Smithsonians, and I appreciated the Metro layout. For D.C., I might recommend this as the primary guide, and not recommend getting both a Frommers type and one of these, which I do for larger cities.

I usually love the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides, which may have raised my expectations of this one on Washington, DC. There could easily have been an extra twenty or thirty pages - or am I just being greedy?

As I live in Australia, I thought Washington DC would mean the entire capital. The book mainly focuses on the areas along the Potomac, such as the Mall, Georgetown, and Foggy Bottom. Areas such as Dupont Circle and Kalorama have been relegated to the 'Further Afield' section, which I found disappointing.

There's quite a good section on the White House and the beautiful buildings which surround it, but again I was left wanting more.

It's still a beautiful book though, and the photographs are clear and crisp, but there just wasn't enough for this armchair traveller. I guess I'll have to get out of my armchair and experience Washington DC for myself. At least this travel guide has whet my appetite!

There is tons to do in Washington DC and despite several trips there I have yet to see it all. This book has been invaluable in planning things from the obvious like the Smithsonian's and the mall to the obscure like the international Espionage museum. I highly recommend its use for planning a trip in the area. Good DC Subway map as well as excellent recommendation on restaurants and hotels. The pictures are wonderful for understanding the various areas.

In planning for a trip to D.C. I purchased the most recent fodors gold travel guide. It was nice and got me headed in the right direction, but did offered little help after the air and hotel reservations were made and I had planned a day to day itinerary. I wanted more information...and more photos of the places I was going to be visiting and the overall history behind it all. The DK eyewitness guide did not disappoint me. If you have ever seen a DK book you have an idea of what to expect, lots of valuable and interesting information along with great photos and brilliant 3-D cutaway drawings of the major buildings of Washington. This book is slightly geared towards visitors from outside the US (it describes our currency, our government, our electric plugs, how to drive here, etc.) but is still invaluable for anyone who wants good information on D.C. The guide is small enough and could be carried around easily, and it even has a large metro rail map in the back cover. I look forward to using the DK eyewitness guide in D.C.

I purchased this book about a month before my trip to Washington D.C. It was very informational. I especially liked the maps of each floor of some of the Smithsonian museums. The pictures in this book are fabulous! I even brought the book with while on some of our walking tours. While at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial I referred to this book as it explained the symbolism of the four granite open-air rooms, one for each of Roosevelt's terms in office. After returning from our trip I have used this book to help identify items in pictures I took, but couldn't remember exactly what they were. I would recommend this book to anyone traveling to Washington D.C.!

From the Metro map on the back inside cover to all the great pictures this guide is a winner! It's small enough to go in a purse and it has quite enough information in it. I loved that it told you which Metro exit to get off on for each attraction. The organization was good and I had no problem finding places at all.

This little gem covers the main points of each attraction, has a plethora of maps that are easy to follow, and is quite simple to just pull out and use. Of course one must mention the pictures as they enhance the experience by leaps and bounds. Bravo! I brought this guide and the The Unofficial Guide to Washington, D.C. (Unofficial Guides) and this one I used almost constantly while that one stayed at the hotel although there were useful parts to it.

The only thing I was not overly impressed with was the restaurants so I turned to my fellow yelpers for help on that.