The Mini Rough Guide to London

I pre-ordered this book as I am gearing up for a return trip to London. This is a fantastic book. Very helpful and the maps are clear and concise. I would highly recommend this book to anyone planning a trip to London.

Rough guides, in general, are the BEST. However, I feel that although this book would be extremely useful for someone moving to London or currently living in London who wants to get to know it in EXTREME depth, it is WAY WAY WAY too long (672 pages) for the casual visitor who may be spending just a few days there. It would take you more time to go through the book (even just skimming) than doing the actual sightseeing itself. You are better off getting the RG to England or Britain, both of which have very extensive information on London but information which can be digested on a short visit. The London guide is simply too long for a book on just ONE city - even if that city is London......

I visited London for the first time in March 2000. I selected this guidebook based on favorable experiences with other books from this series. London is a huge, complex city that can overwhelm a first time traveller. This book made it very easy to to find my way around. I don't expect any travel book to be completely accurate in describing accomodations, restaurants and other commercial venues in a fast-changing urban environment. However, I found this one to be right about 98% percent of the time.Some nice features of this book were detailed sections on activities for children, and better than average information for gay/lesbian and disabled travellers. Another real bonus is the suggested reading section at the back of the book. I found some very worthwhile books there that I have been reading as background for my next London trip.

I am an airline employee, and I travel a lot. Recently, I had the opportunity to spend Easter Weekend in London, England, and a co-worker gave me her copy of the Pocket Rough Guide. It was the best travel guide I have ever used. Small enough to carry in my back pocket, it had detailed street and subway maps, opening hours for shops, entrance fees and hours for sights and attractions, recomendations on where to eat and sleep, history and current affairs. I had it with me constantly, and referred to it on a minute by minute basis as I did my best to see as much of London as I could in two and a half days. Concise and VERY practicle, I would recommend this book to anyone planning a visit here.

There isn't much about greater London that isn't covered in this guidebook. The author's tone is often pretty cynical, but if you want to avoid--or at least be warned about--the very touristy and/or the very cheesy, this is probably the book for you.