Travel guide advice?

[alison]

Do you have favorite travel guides for Europe? I like Time Out, but don't like the fact that things are listed in pounds and it's BEnglish and not AE. I know it's silly, but when I'm traveling, I don't want to have to decipher words. The hotels and restaurants are accurate, and they're easy to use. They only have them for individual cities though.

Eyewitness guides are great, but why do they have to weigh so much? I hate carrying those things, although the pictures and maps are great.

Lonely Planet guides are awful!

So, I'm looking for a good Berlin guide and a good guide for a smaller town in Germany (where I've got to do archival work). I don't want to have to carry much, so I'm thinking about one, big comprehensive Germany guide. Any ideas?

[Tenacious_D]

I second the Rick Steve's books. We used Rick Steve's, Lonely Planet and Let's Go for our last trip and they offered some great tips. Have fun planning!

[alison]

I don't know what all cities they have, but I swear by the Not For Tourists (NFT) series for American cities. Will check to see if there is one for Paris (note to self...).

I really like the Rick Steves guides for Europe. I skip his hotel and restaurant recs but love his "If you have half a day in Florence, do these things" suggestions. He does a decent amount of off-the-path stuff that I like.

Ack! Rick Steves is such a dork! Pack all your stuff for 1 month in a tiny backpack and wash your 3 pairs of underwear in the hotel sink. Have you ever seen his shows?

I just bought his Great Britain guide and am reading through it. The timelines are incredibly helpful, I agree.

Thanks for the NFT suggestion. I will be LIVING and probably renting an apartment for 1 month in Berlin and in my other town.

Rick Steves is a dork. But I like his books. Lonely Planet books are good but I haven't used those for Europe.

[DCJenn]

I LOVE the DK travel guides. They're practical (they have maps, etc.) and easy to read AND don't weigh as much as the Frommer's, etc. books.

Jenn

[Vishenka69]

TimeOut is best for food, going out and shopping. This has been tested on several cities. For hotels and transport I do research on TripAdvisor.com. I also like that TimeOut is usually the smallest and easiest to carry.

[alison]

I bought a DK, Time Out and map. Couldn't decide. They're each good in their own ways.

I agree, Time Out is good - they rarely are wrong in their assessment of things.

Our Smokey guidebook (Lonely Planet) was way off the mark. A hike designated easy-moderate was HARD!!! Grr.

[Stella]

We used the Let's Go guide for Western Europe in '05 and loved it. There were some EXCELLENT restaurant recommendations!!!