It has been too long since Apartment Therapy's last travel guide post, so here is an updated version that doesn't just stick to the traditional paperback travel book. Whether you're planning your far away vacation or your summer stay-cation, these guides will help you get from point A to point B and find some unique haunts along the way.
Practical Guides
1. Lonely Planet Encounter: Comprehensive guides packed with where to sightsee, eat, and shop. For shorter trips 1, 2, and 3-day itineraries are also laid out in this guide.
2. City Walks: If you love searching neighborhoods, these walks will guide you through the streets from a local's point of view.
3. Not For Tourists: NFT guides are for locals and tourists alike.
Maps (for those who don't have a smart phone with GPS to rely on while traveling)
1. Streetwise: Laminated and accordion folded maps that help you navigate like a native.
2. Crumpled City Map: For the non-OCD traveler who hates folding maps.
Luxury Travel Guides
1. Taschen City Guides: Hip and stylish and sadly only available for the following cities: New York, London, Paris, and Berlin.
2. Luxe City Guides: Cities across the globe summarized and pocket sized for the jet-setter.
3. Rather Guides (formerly Eat, Shop guides): I have long been a fan of the Eat, Shop book series for local, independent finds. The Eat, Shop series recently underwent a brand change, and you can now find these books under the name Rather. Same great recommendations, just a new name.
Digital Guides
1. Wallpaper Guides: Now available for download to your ipad and iphone, although this takes the fun out of collecting the books for their colored covers.
2. Pocket Guides: These audio guides make you feel like you have a personal tour guide in your iphone.
(Images: Claire Bock)
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Time Out is a GREAT resource for travelers both on line and in their physical magazines: http://www.timeout.com/
Time Out London is a must have: http://www.timeout.com/london/
Why doesn't AT ever seem to like the DK guides (Eyewitness Travel)? Those are, hands down, our favourites. We've used them all over the world. We supplement them with internet searches, local forums, etc.
A picture is worth a thousand words, and they are the only ones with good pictures...
@MSCHATELAINE, DK travel books are amazing with great photos, diagrams, and tours. It truly is an architect's travel book.
The fact that the book is full of pictures makes finding information much easier and quicker than most of the tour books above that are text heavy yet contain the same level of information.
A great example of the content within a DK travel book:
http://lifestyler.espin.com.my/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120204-141726.jpg
I have always had really good experiences with the Streetwise maps (I relied on them heavily in the pre-smartphone era and would probably use them next time I travel, like if I go abroad and don't bother with an international data plan or something).
Duane Hill, thanks for the tip on the DK travel guides w/architecture emphasis.
I love the DK guides for traveling from my living room sofa, but the best guide I've used while actually traveling was one by Rick Steves.
AAA's Tour Books are free to AAA members, and decent enough for the price.
The DK guides are wonderful, and are works of art. The down side - they are hands down the heaviest travel books ever published (in terms of pounds/kilos). A real pain to lug around on trip.
My one disappointment with the Kindle (or probably any e-reader for that matter) is that it's just not a good platform for travel guides. There's a reason all my (heavy) DK guides have tabs, notes, and bookmarks sticking out at every angle. Try thumbing through an e-book to find a nearby restaurant...
I love my Lonely Planets, I have amassed a collection of places I've been & places I'd love to go!
Thanks for the info.