Fodor's Exploring London, 5th Edition (Exploring Guides)

By Fodor's Travel Publications Inc. and Fodor's

Book Overview

New Zealand's sweeping vistas have captured the imagination of travelers around the world. Visitors flock here to sample world-class wines, snap up young designers' wares, and tour "Middle-earth." Fodor's Essential New Zealand, in full color, helps visitors make the most of their time, whether they choose to stay on the North or South Island or island-hop through the country. -EXPANDED COVERAGE: A new Need to Know spread gives readers the lowdown on New Zealand at a glance. There's also coverage of the resurgent restaurant, hotel, and nightlife scene in Christchurch, and that scene is spreading to surrounding areas. Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy continues to bring legions of fans to the country, and Fodor's helps visitors pick the best tours as well as places to eat and stay around New Zealand's top Tolkien sites. -ILLUSTRATED FEATURES: Special color features throughout the guide illuminate the most distinctive aspects of New Zealand. Features on tramping in New Zealand's many national parks, sailing, birding, wine tours, and Maori art give travelers an unparalleled sense of the country. -INDISPENSABLE TRIP PLANNING TOOLS: Top Experiences and Great Itineraries help travelers make the most of their time and navigate one or both of New Zealand's islands. Charts on tour operators and national parks activities give visitors information on how to plan their outdoor adventures and go on guided excursions. -DISCERNING RECOMMENDATIONS: Fodor's Essential New Zealand offers savvy advice and recommendations from local writers to help travelers make the most of their visit. Fodor's Choice designates our best picks, from hotels to nightlife. -PULLOUT MAP: A handy take-along map of New Zealand provides added value, giving travelers essential information so they can travel with confidence. -INCLUDES: Auckland, Wellington, Bay of Islands, Queenstown, Abel Tasman National Park, Christchurch, Hawke's Bay, Milford Sound, and more. -ABOUT FODOR'S AUTHORS: Each Fodor's Travel Guide is researched and written by local experts.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0676901794
• ISBN13: 9780676901795
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Fodor's
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.6" x 0.7" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Start packing your bags . . .

I won't be going back to Britain this year (or probably anytime soon, unfortunately), but I've been a London junkie for a couple of decades and I'm always interested in what travel books and touring guides have to say about the city. Of course, everyone wants something different from a travel book. I'm mostly interested in historic locations and rubbernecking generally, not in where to eat and sleep and shop for souvenirs, so the balance among types of information in the Fodor's "Exploring" series suits me just fine. First, there's a good general introduction on politics, recent immigration, styles & trends, and London's apparent rush to knock down its history in favor of turn-of-the-21st-century garish architecture, followed by a short but equally good survey of the city's cultural and social history. At the back is a very brief guide to accommodations, dining, shopping, and "travel facts," but you're usually better off with an annually updated quick guide for assistance in those areas. (Take a look at schedules and reviews in the Saturday Times and the Sunday Evening Standard, too.) It also would have been helpful to include addresses of a few of the many official and commercial trip-planning web sites for London that are now available. (Try London.Net.) The bulk of the book is organized by neighborhood -- thirteen of them, so there's quite a bit of detail wherever you might be spending your day. Sidebars throughout provide information on such things as the role of gentlemen's clubs, regularly scheduled arts festivals, and the history of "Bedlam," which is exactly the kind of thing my sort of visitor finds fascinating. There are also plenty of detailed street maps, though you will definitely want to acquire a proper fold-out map, plus a London Transport map (because even native Londoners can get lost in the twistier areas). To pick nits: I wish they had included more about the Underground system and its history instead of just giving describing the fare zone system and advising you to use a Travelcard and to avoid the rush hour. And how could such a history-heavy guide omit London Stone and the Roman wall? Nevertheless, this is an excellent and well-written guide. Also, Fodor's used to skimp on photos, and what they did include were generally in black-and-white, but this volume is packed with artfully cropped and arranged pictures on heavy, slick paper. Very nice indeed.