Knopf Mapguide Stockholm

I'm not sure that I would describe it as the only travel guide you'll need to get around Stockholm seamlessly, but it comes pretty close. The design is brilliant, simple, and user-friendly. The book is lightweight, compact, and pretty resilient. While it does demarcate tourist destinations, restaurants, within each neighborhood...it is only a small glimpse of what is available. That said, if you know what you want to see, you can coordinate with your list or other book, and then just bring this handy mapguide along. I'll definitely be purchasing the Knopf Mapguide for other trips.

While on a four day stopover in Stockholm we carried this guide at all times and were never disappointed. The maps, opening & closing times, and prices were always accurate, and the suggestions were sound. It's light and thin so you can slip it in a pocket instead of carrying it in your hand. Just be aware of what it is and isn't: it's a small book of fold-out maps with brief descriptions of hotels, sites, and restaurants. It does not have any of the lengthy paragraphs on history or culture that you would expect to find in a larger (bookish) guide. I'd certainly buy a Knopf Mapguide for any city I visit.

Travel books are verbose compared to these mapguides, and once you have used one you won't go back to the larger, laminated things with huge foldout maps. This is organized into 6 sections with small, bright, readable maps that fold out and are very discreet. I have lived in stockholm for three summers, and every time my Swedish friends suggest somewhere to eat (a native 'secret') I look in the book, and there it is! I.e., the book has reliable suggestions for places to visit and eat. The only place I think they left out was Herman's, a great and inexpensive vegetarian buffet in Södermalm. OTherwise they have all the major places and eateries you'll want to visit. Although these books seem targeted to the student/young adult (someone with limited pocket money and a desire to get to know the city herself), there are also entries for more expensive hotels and restaurants for people who want to spend money. I think that amassing a collection of these MapGuides would be a good idea for someone 'backpacking through europe,' as they are easy to carry. These books are small enough to fit in your pocket but large enough to be able to read the text and navigate easily. They are lightweight, unlike most tourist books, and in full color. Oh-- don't miss the 'walk around Skeppsholmen,' described in the B (purple) section. After buying this book, I have also used the Berlin, New York, and Vienna ones, and I think they are all fantastic.