From Big Ben to the Tower of London, Carnaby Street to Harrod’s, Buckingham Palace to Leicester Square, London offers an endless supply of must-see sites and fun destinations. This comprehensive, user-friendly guide shows novice travelers how to get the most out of — and get around in — one of the world’s great cities Like every For Dummies travel guide, London For Dummies
Though dated (2010 copyright) and in need of updating, after reading this and it’s tips, I feel like I could visit London solo. Time to start planning.
Some of the info in this book seems redundant - the same info housed in two or three different sections - but it's also quite useful. Entries on the Tate Modern Museum (aka the best place ever for art) and Piccadilly Circus, among others, were notable. The Tube map on the inside cover made for a great aid. Unfortunately some of the info already seemed dated, or was surely dated, gauging by the experience, and this was particularly troubling in light of it being the latest edition of the book (and one I edited, at that).
I definitely prefer Frommer's travel books - and Day by Day guides, specifically - to Dummies Travel titles. I should've packed London Day by Day instead, but I wanted to use a book I'd worked on. Dummies seems better suited to consumer titles (gardening, pets, divorce, knitting, whatever). Plus, who wants to lug around a big yellow book on vacation?
I loved this book when I sat down to plan my trip to London. It divides the city into areas and has descriptions of sites, hotels and restaurants in each area. It gives you tips for getting around inexpensively and my favorite part were the 3 and 5 day sight seeing plans. I felt like a native before I arrived and felt comfortable roam the city alone.
Because it is a printed edition and things change between annual printings, they are smart enough to give you web addresses to look up current information. They also provide yellow sticky tabs for you to mark important spots in the book.
This book got me from Heathrow to my hotel using the tube and helped me plan my sightseeing all before I left. If you are traveling by yourself, I recommend it.
Yeah, I was seriously embarrassed to be carting around the paperback with the famous yellow-and-black cover and the title "For Dummies", but... the Dummies books were the best travel books I found. Incredibly informative, about everything. Even aspects of travel and culture that you probably wouldn't think to read up on until it's too late. It was very up-to-date with details about transportation and attractions.
I gave it 3 stars because I am no longer going to London and technically didn't finish the book. But what I read was quite informative and interesting. So if you know for sure you're going over the pond, then I definitely recommend it.