Frommer's Memorable Walks in New York

We recently returned from a trip to Manhattan and used this book (among others) to take a few self-guided walking tours. This book was easy to carry and filled with useful and fun information. The walks cover the following areas of Manhattan (but not the other burroughs): Lower Manhattan/Financial District, Chinatown, Jewish Lower East Side, SoHo, Greenwich Village Literary Tour, East Village, Midtown, Central Park, Upper West Side, Upper East Side -- nothing above the park. With those deficiencies in mind, we still found this guide useful and informative. It's well organized and includes info on nearby restaurants and transportation. Emphasis on the cultural, literary and political history of each area.

My wife and I just returned from a great ten days in New York City where we made great use of this book. We both enjoy walking through cities, and this is a nice guide for suggested routes through the different neighborhoods and things to see along the way. It's a good jumping off point for exploring on your own as well. For example, on the Harlem walk the guide brushes past Marcus Garvey park, but with further exploration, you can climb to the top of the hill and get a good overview of the whole city as well as see where real people come to relax and play. Central Park is the same thing. The walking tour there walks you past the highlights, then you can explore from there. For fans of this type of travel, I'd suggest a full day in Central Park. On the downside, I would point out that only Manhattan is covered in the book with the other boroughs getting no coverage. As an introduction to the other boroughs, I would recommend a walk to and/or from Brooklyn over the Brooklyn Bridge. You can take the subway one of the ways if you like. The pedestrian walkway above the car deck is a boardwalk and you get views of Lower Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, etc. We walked back at sunset which was very nice. While in Brooklyn, be sure to stop in someplace for some beer and a slice or two of pizza either at the famous Grimaldi's or another pizza place you find.

This is a super book packed with great information! Reid Bramblett, while working within the generally great guidelines of the Frommer's travel series, also brings out his quirky and appealing sense of humor and warmth. (I actually sought out this book because I had bought another guide he had written.) He tells these great stories about SoHo, for example, that make it more than just a listing of information.Like all the Frommer's guides, this provides great details on what to see, but encourages you to explore on your own as well. I have practically planned my trip around Reid's advice on the neighborhood walks, and this little book is a much more convenient and authentic way to experience New York than on a bus or something. Like I said, any Frommer's book is great. The extra bonus on this book is the author's humor and warmth.