It’s one thing to buy a new travel guide when you head to a far off destination like, say, Vanuatu. You NEED that guide to help you find your way around. The guide book is generally an indispensable component of your travel experience. I mean, how would you know where to eat, where to stay, what to see without a decent guidebook? Not to mention, of course, how the guidebook has become something of a beacon for travelers to identify each other, strike up conversations and find partners on the road. Happens all the time. Has happened to me.
But then, what about the question of having a guidebook for your own city? Does it do any good to heft one of those weighty tomes around in the place you call home? Well, I suppose it depends on where you live, but for me, having lived in an intense, bustling, complex city now for over seven years, the answer is, absolutely.
And I can’t tell you how pleased I was to get my hands on the newest edition of the Lonely Planet New York City guide. Released just a few months ago, the book is a major upgrade to the previous edition, with gobs of new information on sites and restaurants and hotels. The new edition was much needed and much anticipated by New York transplants and born-n-breds alike who enjoy having the LP guides (among numerous others) on the shelf when a quiet Sunday rolls around and you’re in need of some direction on what to do. I was very pleased to see the new guide nails all my favorite spots, like the Spotted Pig and Sapphire and the Abingdon Guest House (yes, I’m partial to the Village), but also takes on the thriving out door scene in the city with hefty mentions of biking (i.e. along the River and to the Hudson Bridge) as well as kayaking (I always recommend you come and paddle in Manhattan and check out the Manhattan Kayak Company. You will never regret this…unless you are crushed by a cruise ship, of course, then you might regret it…but htat almost never happens ;-)).
Another great feature of the new guide is the lovely and detailed pull-out map. If I have one gripe with travel guides it’s that the maps inside are usually lousy, and LP too a much-needed step by including great maps. If you’ve never been to Manhattan or don’t come often, you NEED a good map.
I could go on, but suffice to say that the new edition of Lonely Planet’s New York City guide is a must have for both visitors and locals.