What is the best guidebook for New York City?
 

Besides Fodors, of course! :-)

Hmm...tough call. There are so many, and they vary considerably.

It depends on your interestes, age range, etc. I have friends who only have one guidebook for the city, Shecky's (which only features nightlife). Others prefer the Time Out New York guide, Big Onion Guide, etc etc. My suggestion is to look through several at a good bookstore and see which one addresses your specific tastes and interests.

Other than Fodors - I like "The New York Times Guide to New York City". It's very comprehensive and well layed out.

I like the Lonely Planet guidebook.

Wanderer, is the guide you mentioned an on-line guide? I couldn't find an exact match on Google. What I am looking for is a concise, colorful, to-the-point book for my pastor's weekend in Manhattan with his wife. We are giving them a weekend and want to put the envelope in the book as a gift. I don't think they will have the time to do a lot of reading and sifting through and I think they will contain their visit to Manhattan, so the book doesn't need info on the other boroughs.

No, it is a regular softcover book put out in 2003 by the New York Times. I think I found it at Borders - maybe Barnes and Noble.

It has pictures, but they are not color, and it does contain info on Brooklyn, etc. so it is quite lengthy. I only liked it because it is broken into neighborhoods, walking tours, museums, shopping, best restaurants etc.

However, I think for what you are looking for, the perfect guide would be the DK Eyewitness Guide called "Top 10 NYC". It is about 4 x 6, beautiful pictures each page, has the top 10 sights, along with others, itineraries, walking tours, resturants, shopping, general info, and the back and front covers of the book (it's softcover) fold out into a map. I have several of these guides, and it's always the one I take on the trip because it's concise, clear, and fits in my purse. Hope this helps.

Correction to the above - it is names "Top 10 New York". Lists:
Unmissable museums and galleries
Best restaurants in each area
Liveliest bars and lounges
Best skyscrapers
Great walks and itineraries
Best hotels for every budget
Most fun places for children
Best shopping districts
Best shows and live music venues
Insider tips for every visitor
plus.. the Top 10

Given the new information, I'd strongly suggest NEW YORK by the Eyewitness Travel Guides. Great book, very high quality, with incredible photos/color illustrations/etc. It's not dense and very easy to flip through for ideas and information.

Agree with Gekko. Also like to add Access New York and Time Out New York. A copy of TONY Eating and Drinking Guide is always a good gift.

Sounds perfect! Exactly what I am looking for. Thanks so much to all for contributing your advice.

Maggi -
Look at both the Eyewitness NY Guide and the Eyewitness Top 10 NY Guide. They're both good, just different.

The regular NY guide is large, and has the other boroughs included. The Top 10 guide is small, but packed with info., but more concise.

We always consult the Frommer's guides. Whether they are the best, I don't know, but I don't go anywhere without checking several books!

For a couple of other cities, I've used the Fodor's or Frommer's (sorry I can't remember which) City Packs. They come with a short, colorful guidebook along with a separate city map all in one plastic folder.

I like Access New York. It's very user-friendly.

Thanks everybody for the responses!I ended up going with the Eyewitness Top Ten Guide which contains plenty of information on things to do for a long weekend.

>>>
http://www.nyc.com

Good site, JB!

I know Maggi has made her purchase but I wanted to tag along for future readers. I just bought a guide book published by Knopf. I think it was just titled New York. It contains flip up maps of different neighborhoods of Manhatten plus the sights to see in that neighborhood including restaurants and shopping. Also had the subway and bus route maps. It was only $8.95 and small enough to fit into a pocketbook. I found it very helpful and easy to use on a recent weekend in Manhatten.

Amazon.com now lets you read up to 20% of many books online for free. Why not go by their site and look at the relevant sections in different guides?

Keith

From what I've experience, Frommers has the best travel guides, both hard copy and online (Fodors has by far the best message boards, however.) When I took a trip to New York, I read over the most recent New Yorker magazine, as this will give you the current attractions of all the museums, exhibits, nightclubs, theatres,etc, plus the addresses of all of them. I discovered the Museum of Television this way, which I highly recommend. Also, if the Time Out New York Magazine is anything like the Time Out London, buy one as soon as you arrive. Again, all the information of everything that is current.