Time Out Barcelona

I went to Barcelona recently, and in the planning of the trip I consulted four guide books: Lonely Planet's Barcelona City Guide Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Barcelona and Catalonia Cadogan Guides Barcelona (Dana Facaros and Michael Pauls) Time Out Barcelona All of them were good. I took two with me: Lonely Planet and Eyewitness. The reasons I chose those two: Eyewitness unfailingly has a good quality map, which in my view is LP's downfall. Eyewitness always includes a Street Finder Index which LP does not, and LP often misses out on streets other than the major ones, which can be very frustrating, especially in a city like Barca where there are many alleyways. I never use Eyewitness for hotels - the information is scant and usually more expensive than my (more Lonely Planet) budget, but it has fantastic colour photos and cutaways of buildings, and illustrations which place buildings within their streetscapes. It's a nice book to read on the bus or train going somewhere. LP specialises in listings, which seemed to be more up-to-date and comprehensive than either Time Out or Cadogan, It also had a good Excursions section which helped a couple of times when I travelled beyond the city. I also liked a couple of the walking routes they recommended. Information on matters such as public transport is comprehensive and detailed. I like the chapters on history, architecture and food as well. Time Out's great strength for me was in helping to plan. It had a huge array of hotels, and if you were especially interested in nightlife, I would take Time Out. I was there primarily for a conference, and many of my evenings were organised. And I'm also night a great nightclubber, perhaps contrary to Barca lifestyle!! If you are - consider Time Out. Its maps were pretty good, but not comprehensive for the area I was staying in, beachside Barceloneta. That is where the Cadogan guide excelled. Its maps were so good that I pulled them out of the book and took them with me. I would have taken the whole book, but for the weight in my suitcase! Its info about places and sights seemed accurate and comprehensive.

The British Time Out guides are always a trip essential: Their expertise is how to spend your time when you are not in the museum or staring at the major landmark; the eating/drinking/shopping/arts/entertainment portion of your trip. Especially music and nightlife, dance clubs or bars, restaurants and shopping, or where to meet/watch people, what to enjoy, their information in invaluable. This 7th edition is updated from last year's and they really have taken the time to update it, adding or dropping places reviewed, updating the reviews on the places carried over. They didn't just copy and paste a bunch of last year's material, they really work hard to make it good. Plus, this edition is currently $4.00 less than last years! The descriptions of the main attractions and the side/day trips are very good. Although not as pretty and picture heavy as other guide books, if you could only take one guide book for a stay of more than 3 or 4 days, this would be the best choice. Maps in the back are very useable, altogether a really great book.

it's a bit out of date now (some of the places have closed or changed hands) but still a great read - often with hilarious observations sneaked into the reviews. Plenty of good advice on bargain set lunches, wines, local specilaities and unusual restaurants. I live in Barcelona and still use it weekly for my restaurant picks as, unlke local restauarnt guides, each review comes with closing times, credit card policies, metro stops and illustrated map refereneces. Very handy - when's the next edition coming out?

The Barcelona city information is thoroughly updated every year; the restaurant picks are naughty, opinionated and don't sound like a PR pitch; the writers are not afraid to point out any pitfalls or negative aspects of any particular experience; the various maps are clear; the guided city walks take all the effort out of exploring the city and the style in general is witty, erudite and a pleasure to read. What more can I say? Time Out Barcelona has no equal.

With only one weekend to spend in Barcelona, the Time Out Barcelona: Eating & Drinking book guided us to a couple of great resteraunts. Like other Time Out publications the writers tell it like it is, plus it made for enjoyable reading on the plane.