Washington DC (City Guide)
Product Type: Book
Product Price: $18.99
Manufacturer: Lonely Planet
Purchase
Description
Discover Washington DC
Toss a Frisbee in the shadows of the founding fathers on America's front lawn
View cutting-edge art in a former munitions factory
Drink beers while practicing your putt in a bar that doubles as a mini-golf course
Chow down on curry served from a van full of would-be circus ringleaders
In This Guide:
Two authors, 50 days of in-city research, 15 detailed maps, innumberable half-smokes eaten
Dedicated Politics chapter reveals what makes the capital city tick
Expanded Eating chapter lets you taste everything from Chesapeake Bay crabs to Salvadoran pupusas
Reviews
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-08-17
Summary: "Great guide for a first-time visitor"
I bought Lonely Planet's Washington DC's City Guide for my first visit to DC two weeks ago. It was an excellent guide. The little map enclosed is also very useful to make your way through the Metro system. All the recommended places to eat are really what they advertise and I especially appreciated the variety of recommendations they give for places to eat within different price ranges. The book is written in a fun language anyone can understand. I also think that they give great suggestions for tours you can do on your own, etc.
Great for both people traveling to DC and someone moving to DC.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-09-27
Summary: "Lonely Planet books"
I love the Lonely Planet Books. I buy them whenever I am traveling to a place I have never been before. They are very comprehensive and include so many catagories that the normal travel book would not. Get them for every place you are traveling!
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2009-06-15
Summary: "Pretty decent guide despite in-your-face left-wing slant"
This LP guide to Washington DC is a comprehensive guide to the awesomely bustling metropolis of America's capital. It starts with an introduction to the history, the culture and the people of DC that is very readable and a good length to read on your plane/train/bus ride there. However, I can't help but notice the left-slanted politics of the author that is quite unnecessary.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed using the book during my trip to DC. The guide to the sights/monuments in the different neighbourhoods is very useful. The restaurant section of the book is not comprehensive but feature some great highlights of the DC foodie scene. Most of the good restaurants I ate at were featured in this compact book.
The recommended walking trails were awesome and featured different distances and sights. Although the monument tours section is quite sparse, it's a good place to start to pick a bike/Segway monument tour that you might want to go for. It's cool that there is also a small section on visiting the outskirts of DC, e.g. Bethesda, but since I didn't go there, I can't comment of how good the guide is for the area.
Overall, a good, compact, useful guide to Washington DC. The maps in the book were very well-organized and easy to read. I would definitely recommend this guide for anyone visiting America's capital!
Rating: 1 / 5
Date: 2008-11-10
Summary: "Trying too hard"
The author tries way too hard to make this into a romance novel. The various descriptions of DC being a woman in high heels and yet in a business suit, and riding in limos and also sleeping on the streets, etc. were hyper annoying. I enjoy good prose, this was not it. And it's a travel book, not a harlequin novel. Aside from the tone, I found the information offered was often lacking. There was nothing about the numerous options for paid tours of the city's historic sites. There was very little useful in the dining section if you wanted something more than cafe fare.
I usually love books in the Lonely Planet series, but this one didn't measure up.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-02-22
Summary: "A great travel companion"
Being a travel junky I found this guidebook very valuable. Some points:
1. It has color maps all located in the same place (back of the book). On the backside of each map is an index with a page reference! So you see the map, you flip and find the attraction/restaurant/whatever, and you go to the referenced page for more info. This is invaluable since the last thing I like doing is flipping through maps embedded throughout a book only to not get any information on what's around me.
2. Did I mention the maps? There is also a subway map overlay on each map so you can plan getting there and getting back. There's also a complete map at the very back.
3. It's a compact book. This is a BIG deal. Lug around a monstrous book for a day and you'll be ripping out unneeded pages later that night (which is a good idea anyway, really). This guide was slim and fit nicely in an outside pocket. Just enough history to occupy the time on the subway, not so much as to displace Washington's biography.
4. It's a well built book. Bend it, fold it, get it wet. It's going to stay together and readable. While weathered guide books held together with rubber bands show some flair, it's no good when you're standing there on a corner with pages falling all over.
Overall a highly recommended guide book. I try and find the best overall guide book for whatever my destination and keep coming back to the Lonely Planet.