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Do European airports sell travel guides in English?
A friend of mine asked me that today - and I don't know!
She wants to eliminate carrying on her guide books (like Rick Steves, Fodors, or whatever) and she's thinking about just buying a couple when she gets there. (She's heading to Madrid and Paris.) What do you think? |
In Madrid, hit the FNAC store and they're going to have the travel books. There are a couple more English bookstores in Madrid too. Just look in the MadridMan site.
For Paris, the Bretonne (spelling?) has a large selection of travel books. The WH Smith on the rue du Rivoli has a big selection too. But, you're going to pay a premium for buying them in Europe. Blackduff |
she'll perhaps pay a lot more for what?
take the old books and rip out the relevant sections, usually a fragment of the book, and then buy new books when you get back IMO or Xerox relevant parts and save the books |
They might; they might not. I kind of doubt you'd find Rick Steves books in any European airport store, though.
Anyway, I think it's a silly idea and one that will probably involve her running around wasting vacation time. I don't see what's the big deal about "carrying" the guidebooks with her - I mean, she'd have to carry them to the airport is all, and if she buys them the minute she lands in Europe she'll be carrying them from then on anyway, so ...???? Tell her to xerox relevant pages if carrying those books to the airport is really a big concern. |
Here are 34 Fodor's titles that take up zero space and weigh nothing: mslit.com/default.asp?srch=1&pub=Fodor%27s+Travel+Public ations
...and here are 500+ more from other publishers: mslit.com/default.asp?mjr=TRV |
Probably not in English...perhaps!
As someone else said...just rip out the parts you want,,,,OR copy, OR take your best/smallest guide. OR study up good before you go, and make your own notes on what you might want to do.(type in small print on 8x10 paper and fold your sheets in half.) How long is the trip!? I'm not dumb, but just cannot figure out Robespierre's reply.??? Makes no sense, or relevant to the question (OR what am "I" missing?) (:>) |
<b>e-books</b>, dear. They're quite the latest thing - the ultimate in eliminating carrying on guide books, as the OP asked (or lugging dead trees, as I like to put it).
Welcome to the Twenty-First Century. |
Robespierre:
Yes, I know about e-books ..Kindle and others, but I like to think I'm classy enough not to ASSUME everybody has one! They are wonderful,but "fairly" new. I figured that is what you meant by giving so many titles....wouldn't it be great to travel with one? I'd be curious as to what percent of travelers have an ebook. While we are on the subject...which brand do you like? I'd like input about experiences and reviews of various brands. Thanks! and best bang for the buck?...aren't they about $400 or more each., with books at $10 a title.? |
I don't believe I ever implied that <u>everyone</u> has an e-book reader - but given the rate of proliferation of SmartPhones and BlackBerries, it won't be long before they do.
Okay, let's start with the terminology. An <i>ebook</i> is a digitized version of a graphic work. Many are available in several data formats, for such devices as Palm Pilots, Pocket PCs, iPODs, and dedicated readers such as Kindle. The "reader" can be as simple and inexpensive as a 4mb Palm you can pick up for $30, as expensive as a $600 HTC Wing, or myriad makes and models in between. When you pay for an ebook (and thousands are free at gutenberg.org, by the way), you get an electronic copy of the bits making up the text image, which you can load into any number of devices you own - and archive the original. Kindle has no backup that I know of - if you lose your machine or it stops working, you lose your library investment. Pricing: typically less than $10 (<u>London: The Rough Guide</u> (for example) can be had from fictionwise.com for as little as $5.41 if you belong to their club.) |
I'd just take the books with me - or at least the relevant sections.
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Poppycock. I am a fair minded guy, but I recommend your friend not only carry on her guidebooks but spend the flight reading them. It's good to have a guide in hand in a strange city (or even a familiar one) but even better to know what's in it when you get there.
And from my experience, you will pay a LOT more for US books abroad. On the other hand, there are always racks of indigenous guides for tourists - but it seems you'd need one for every site. Take 'em along. |
Haha. I already told her to rip out the relevant pages (because that's what I always do).
I guess she feels tight on space and I suppose she just pictured wandering into an airport shop and picking up a guide book. I actually thought it sounded like a decent idea - if it were possible. |
I never travel with guidebooks (way too heavy and bulky!)
Read them at home ahead of time, copy pages if you feel the need. Upon arrival pick up maps & tourist pamphlets at train stations, your hotel lobby, tourist info kiosks, etc. |
... and weekly publications in each city - it's way more current than a guidebook.
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It depends what you want to have at hand.
Books produced for your home market are going to be much more expensive if you buy them in the country you're going to, rather than at home. Locally-produced guidebooks in English are likely to be either specific to individual sights and museums (and buying them separately for each will be much more expensive, though probably more informative and detailed, than your original guidebook), or biased towards local commercial interests. Major sights and museums may have a free general overview and layout leaflet. On the other hand, some locally-produced information is likely to be indispensable (public transport, "What's on this week" publications) - but will probably be free or very cheap. Maps are probably better acquired locally too. It's horses for courses, but I'd read as much as possible before leaving to help decide what you want to see and do. Personally I often take a complete guidebook, but don't lug it around all day, just checking/updating before I set out with my local maps and guides for the day's activities. Or you can tear out or photocopy pages. |
To answer the original question - it depends on the size of the airport, but generally no (English-speaking countries aside, of course). As blackduff refers, though, major cities usually have an English language bookshop or a least a bookshop which sells English language books. To pick up on StCirq's comment re Rick Steves - LOL, I agree, as I'd never heard of him before reading this forum ! (The local bookshop where I buy guidebooks generally has at least 10 different ones for each major destinations & none of them are Rick Steves.)
But I don't see the point either. At StCirq also points out, she'll be carrying them everywhere except on the way to the departure airport, anyway. And how will she know what she wants to do & see if she doesn't read a guidebook in advance ? I'm not into planning every minute of every day, like some, but I like at least to have a list of things I particularly want to do or see. What I like to do, and she may find useful, is to go to a good bookshop & spend time browsing all the guidebooks for my destination(s). I then choose which to buy - and the balance between useful content v. size does come into it, as I don't want to carry round a hefty tome if I can help it. I also sometimes make notes of interesting things in the ones I don't buy. |
<I also sometimes make notes of interesting things in the ones I don't buy.>
good idea but i would suggest making the notes not in the books you don't buy but in the ones you are buying |
As a few have mentioned above, "current" guides can be great. In Paris (and possibly Madrid, not sure) there's TIME OUT magazine in English (available at many news kiosks), which is good for up to date information, restaurant reviews, entertainment etc. And plenty of other info sources for these hugely popular cities will be found at newsstands.
As Patrick said, I don't take my book with me every time I leave the hotel, but do like to have at least one good English language resource along on the trip for reference. Most of us have favorite guidebooks - though you MIGHT find comprehensive English books at your destination, the chance you'd find your favored ones is iffy. |
Very witty PalQ :-)
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To the original question, I would not count on it (being able to find English guidebooks in a foreign airport).
Once when already in Switzerland then deciding to go to Venice at the last minute, for example, I was unable to find any info in English for Venice even at a travel bookstore. |
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