Travel books
 

Can anyone recommend any good travel books for London?

Go to your local library. Check out the books you need right before your trip and take them with you to London. Check em in on your return. That way you save the expense of buying one and not liking it. Otherwise, Fodors is good and the series that has all the great photos---Eyewitness--is also good.

Judy, <BR>I partially, only partially, agree with Bob. Visit your library or large chain book store and browse for guidebooks that appeal to you. For heaven's sakes, don't rent or buy them and carry them with you - you don't want to be hauling a heavyweight library all over London. Make notes or photocopy pages of interest; take them with you and throw them away when they've served their purpose. If you're interested in London's history and the history of its buildings, Look for the "Blue Guide to London". For reasonable accommodations and dining look for Gustafson' "Cheap Sleeps in London" and "Cheap Sleeps in London". For a good overview of London, check out the "Insight Guide to London". For a really helpful book with excellent maps and illustrations of everything from pub foods to telephones to currency and coins )all in color, look for the "Eyewitness Guide to London". Contact the British Tourist Authority at its website and ask for brochures on London. Don't depend on just one book or one source to give you information, browse through many till you find the things that interest you.

Judy, check out the Eyewitness series. They are great!!

Judy, the best London guide I've found is by Time Out. It is their hometown afterall. I also enjoy the Access guide for its ease of locating pubs/restaurants/sites. <BR> <BR>For a street map, be sure to get a London bus route map when you get your tube/bus pass. It's great for finding your way around town.

I agree with Brian about the Access guides--I really like them; they're very detailed about just what you'll find in each neighborhood. Since I love to look for neat little shops, the fact that they're very thorough about shopping is also a big plus for me! <BR> <BR>Gina (who's just decided to take advantage of United's big sale and go to London in February)

I used Rick Steves London Guide last May and found it excellent, up to date and just the right size for a back pocket or backpack.

Travel books can be worth a fortune if they suit your interests and style of travel. We have not been to London in several years but have been to the mainland twice in the last 2 1/2 years and use Rick Steves. I visited book stores and libraries before the first trip to find a philosophy of travel that was consistent with our views of great spots and reasonably priced restaurants and accomodations. His books worked very well for us from walking tours, picnics, sightseeing itineraries, locations for accomodations, etc. Check out the books and find which ones work for your style of travel.

I have always been in agreement that travel books should not come with you when you travel. But, this summer in London, my boyfriend brought along a Frommer's pocket guide. I am now a convert and think it was the best thing we did! It was really light and small, fit easily in my little backpack/purse and did not weigh us down. It was great to have with us because we often made spur-of-the-moment plan changes. Like, if an event or sight took less time than we thought, we could look for something else in the same part of town we would have otherwise not visited - we saw a lot of unexpected sights that way. Also, the book contained info. and history of the different sights, which we often read while waiting in lines. Having the information so fresh in our minds really helped us get more out of the sights. Definitely recommend Frommer's pocket guide to London.

Whatever travel book(s) you decide on just xerox the pages of things/places that interest you and take them only. Books get very heavy when you start traveling around!