We’ve all seen them, and many of us have bought them – those chubby volumes designed to cram lots and lots of information in small print (with tiny maps) that tell us all we’ll need to know about wherever we’re going. Some are aimed at a high-end traveller, with lots of swish hotels and five star restaurants. Some are more budget conscious.
In the 1950s, Arthur Frommer began publishing guidebooks for American GIs returning to Europe to visit the battlefields where they fought during WWII. He became the go-to travel authority for his generation and for the baby boomers that followed in his footsteps. Frommer’s remains a leading name among travel guides. Let’s go for some great car journeys in France, shall we? The other biggie in this group of guides are Fodor’s.
Travelers who want the best can look at HIP Hotels or Nota Bene, of which it has been written:
“If your choice of hotel depends on which one offers the highest thread-count in its Egyptian-cotton sheets, Nota Bene is for you.”
For those who won’t be tipping any valets of maitre ‘ds, you can go to Rough Guide or Let’s Go. The Lonely Planet series covers the world. For a taster, look at Europe on a Shoestring, which covers 45 countries alphabetically from Albania to Ukraine. Although, of course, you are going to Amsterdam, like everyone else who bought the book.
