DK Eyewitness Budapest

I have been using Eyewitness Travel Guides for 8 years now, and find them to be one of the best organized and most helpful travel guides available. Information is organized into logical categories, making any essential information one wants easy to find. Numerous color photographs are especially welcome. I find the walking routes that combine visual and verbal cues extremely helpful, easy to follow, and very much appreciated. Good preparation for a visit enhances one's enjoyment; this guide helps one prepare thoroughly.

All of the major travel guide series are good, but Eyewitness books are something else. They are so full of maps and wonderful pictures that after you read them, you really feel as though you have already been to the place in question. All of the books have a similar structure: the inside front cover has a map containing the various color-coded neighborhoods, the back inside cover has a map of the metro system, Introducing Budapest, Budapest Area by Area (with more color-coded maps and detailed info on the attraction in each area), Traveler's Needs (including Getting Around Budapest), and Survival Guide. Trust me, this is money well-spent!

This is a surprisingly effective and well-organized guide, with some interesting photos. If you're planning on spending just a few days in Budapest, then this compact little book will be indispensible in locating the famous streets and tourist sights. The maps are more than adequate and the walking descriptions to each locale are precise and accurate. There is also corresponding material on how to use the public transportation in the city and which station to take for each particular site. There is a separate chapter on the churches of the city with a brief ranking system for the nosiest places, the friendliest, the cheapest food, etc.If you're planning a lengthy sojourn in Budapest or if you already know the city well, then this book would not be as helpful. It is solely intended for the casual tourist and there is little, if any, information on the intriguing environs of the city. Many of the best sites are neglected because most tourists don't want to bother or simply don't have the time to stick around. Still, this is a thrifty guide you can stick in your pocket and consult when you need to find a restaurant, beer haunt or hotel. In short, if you're a first timer to Budapest, enjoy one of the greatest cities in Europe and be sure to tuck away Olszanski's guide.

.Summary:Every Dorling Kindersley Guide has been a great and interesting book... and delightful to have and use, even if you are not traveling to that location, but are only interested in learning more!The Guides are well organized in a logical and easy to follow manner. They are beautifully illustrated, well developed with accurate information (it is unusual for hotel and restaurant information to be that accurate), have enough history to help the reader understand the people and cultural background, and have a lot of useful travel information and useable maps in the appendixes.The really great attraction to this book is several fold; it is:............Very complete............Easy to read............Beautifully and artistically completed............Good shopping, safety and other tips............Gorgeous photographs too numerous to list.Specifics:The guides are organized as follows:How to use this guideIntroduction to Historical and Geographical information............Introducing Budapest........................Budapest on the Map........................History of Budapest........................Budapest at a Glance........................Through the Year (events, holidays)........................A River View of Budapest............Budapest Area by Area, each section includes:........................Introduction to street by street area........................Detailed pictorials of area buildings........................Architectural drawings, pictures, cut-aways of buildings........................Specific stops, historical monuments, churches, buildings, etc.........................Further Afield (trips just outside Budapest)........................Two Guided Walks (highly recommended)Travelers Needs - includes full list with rankings and notes............Hotels............Restaurants, bars, cafes............Shops / Markets............EntertainmentSurvival Information............Practical........................Tourist info., Etiquete, Personal Security and Health........................Currencies, Telephones, misc info.............Getting to Budapest............Getting Around Budapest........................Planes, trains and automobiles, signs............Street Maps............General Index............Phrase Book (forget it.... Hungarian is very, very difficult to learn and pronounce!) (My grandparents were from Hungary)Discussion:The book begins with "Introducing Budapest", including a complete map, a review, the city's history, and Budapest through the Year - including events, etc.For the specific areas it provides an "At a glance" overview, then has subsections of specific blocks, or sections, then specific locations, churches, historical monuments, bridges, galleries, etc. Architectural reviews include various views, and cutaways; given greater understanding and better perspective. They are all attractive, if not works of art - honestly. And, Budapest has a great architectural history.The travelers' Info. offers good and valid info

After visiting Budapest with this guide, I can assure you- it's the best guide out there on this city. In response to the previous reviewer who said "Vaci Street" was listed incorrectly. Actually, you are incorrect. There are "TWO" Vaci Streets in Budapest- an upper (open to traffic) and a lower (pedestrians only)- which is the famous shopping strip. This guide has them on the correct pages- you just missed the correct street because it is much smaller than the huge traffic ridden street to the north. This all was mentioned in the guide. It is wise to understand something before attacking it.Furthermore- it is really highly unwise to rely soley on a travel guide when traveling...you completely lose the adventure.. For that reason- using a guide for resturants is perhaps foolish. I didn't even look at that section and I found several little "non tourist" resturants to eat. Budapest is packed to the hilt with eateries...they are not hard to find. Finding ones that aren't listed in travel guides- then you are getting real Hungarian food.Part of traveling is discovering and relying entirely on a travel guide takes that away.I recommend these guides for sites (because they have more than any other guides listed) and lodging (unless you want to stay in hostels).This is a great guide- the best out there for Budapest- when used properly.