Guide to Guides

by Richard P. Greenfield
(Page 2)

Now let's assume you have a few free days after your business is finished, or you aren't going for business at all. You want to take in museums, restaurants, theaters and, yes, shopping.

Two newcomers to the high-end of travel guides come from Alfred Knopf and Dorling Kindersley. Both publishers have sized their books at approximately the same length and width as an old passport/ticket wallet, which means that unless you have a jacket with very deep pockets,these are shoulder bag items. The Knopf Guides are excellent in their coverage of local history, customs, flora and fauna, and architecture.

Dorling Kindersley has titled its series Eyewitness Guides and while there is some overlap between the Knopf titles, there is vastly different look and feel to them. The Kindersley guides are designed to be read especially while exploring. Kindersley has already published titles for Prague, London, New York and Paris. Future titles include France, Vienna and San Francisco & Northern California.

Both the Knopf and Eyewitness guides occupy a high-end tier. While each has adequate listings for hotels, restaurants and shops, if you are spending time in a city and want to go beyond the basics, you should consider some of the guides published by the smaller and regional presses.

Ulysses Press of Berkeley, California, publishes the Hidden titles, such as Hidden Hawaii, Hidden Bay Area, Hidden Pacific Northwest, etc.). I have given these guides as gifts to friends headed off to those areas, particularly Hawaii, and have always received glowing reports. Sasquatch Books publishes guides that cover the West Coast from Northern California to Vancouver. Wherever you are going, and particularly in the U.S. and Canada, check to see if there is a locally or regionally published guide. You will often find gems overlooked by the larger operations.

The other segment of the lower level of the guide market used to be aimed at just the student traveller but is now considerably more inclusive. The Let's Go series, used by students and budget travellers for over three decades still exists. They have been joined by the Real Guides, The Rough Guides, and the Time Out guides.

The Real Guides really are downmarket versions of the format used by Knopf and Dorling Kindersley. Even though they are not passport wallet sized, they do include local history, and often intriguing passages from writers who have set novels in a city or town or country. The Rough Guides also follow this format, and have features that list other writings about a destination, and even movies that were shot in a specific place. The Time Out guides come from the alternative magazine Time Out in London. These guides also have some history along with comprehensive lists of hotels ranging from the near deluxe to budget dives, and they feature much the same information on restaurants. All of these guides are worth the investment of money and time.

Finally, and inevitably, the dreaded shopping guides. Face it, you go away, you better be coming back with a few things for friends and family. Any and all of the guidebooks mentioned above have some information on what is available and where to buy it. On my shelves right now are no fewer than four separate shopping guides to Paris. Next time I visit the City of Light with a flush fist full of Francs there will be local merchants getting the Pour le Merite, for bravery under fire.

Most travellers, however, don't know where to look so they frequently pay too much for too little. The Born To Shop series is dedicated to making sure that everyone has an equal chance to exceed their credit limit. Born to Shop covers New England, New York, Britain, Hong Kong and Italy, to to name a few. If your travels must include clothes and other retail and wholesale encounters, then this series is a must.