LONELY PLANET CITY GUIDES – Rome/London/Shanghai/Hong Kong & Macau
Anyone who has travelled knows the feeling of suddenly disembarking in an unfamiliar city without anyone to ask for help. Often, even if there is a friendly stranger at hand, quite possibly you do not share a common language.
Of course those omniscient publishers at Lonely Planet knew this and for some time now have been commissioning books about single cities. Their country guides of course are tucked into bags that crisscross the globe daily, but not everyone is a tourist. Sometimes you only need information about a single city, but you need plenty of it.
This is where these books are ideal. Each now come with a pullout map, plenty of full colour pictures and expanded maps and, as always – the LP signature – quirky little pieces of information and helpful hints.
So, for instance, the LONDON City Guide tells readers that there are a number of farmers’ markets (yes, farmers’ markets!) in London, and where to find the best burlesque shows, music stores and vintage shops. It even gives a quick lesson on Cockney rhyming slang.
The HONG KONG & MACAU City Guide is equally helpful, directing you to everything from the cheapest (and they mean cheap-est) places to bed down in HK, to ‘micromalls’, menu essentials and monasteries.
ROME tells you where to buy socks for a cardinal or, more usefully, find the creamiest gelati or the five top picks for pizzas in town. It even has the details on where (and when and why) you can go dancing in the streets.
The SHANGHAI City Guide has that massive city covered too. Locate the best food streets, instantly know what clothing size is the equivalent of your own back home, learn about the powerful Soong family, and where to find a peaceful garden in this high rise city.
Small enough to fit into a handbag, ideal to read on the plane, these City Guides smooth the way in a strange place. Now there is no need to search the crowd for a friendly face – just turn to the index.
Lonely Planet, City Guides, Paperback, 2008, available from most good bookstores. More details: www.lonelyplanet.com
