Tours and Travel Books

This book represents a rare combination of keen insight, brilliantly clever writing, and effective layout. As you can tell, I really liked it. We had a much better NYC vacation with our children because of this book!

I (like many) have been to NYC many, many times. But, going with children is a whole new experience. This book is helpful because it mentions things many visitors wouldn't know (Did you know there was a monorail in the Bronx zoo?). Great book!

This book is pretty helpful for those weekend 'what do you feel like doing' moments. I have lived in NY my whole life, (30 years) and had never been to the (mini) zoo in Queens. It lists some pretty cool places to go and see, with accurate and updated descriptions. If you have kids, and live in NY, you need this book.

You will no longer have any excuse for being bored on a rainy day (or a sunny day either!) I recently took my 5 year old to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island without first checking to see what information this book offered. BAD MOVE! My son was tired of waiting on the long lines, bored with static exhibits, hungry, hot, etc. If I had checked with New York's 50 Best Places to Take Children I would have found out that there is a 90 minute tour boat that goes past the Statue of Liberty. My son would have seen the statue without the long, tiring lines to wait on just to go to the top of the pedestal (we weren't early enough to go to the crown). Mr. Ishac has captured the best attractions the big apple has to offer a child from the kid's point of view. The book is small enough to carry in a pocket while acting like a tourist; even if you have lived in NY all of your life like I have. Included in the featured attractions are the usual favorites such as the American Museum of Natural History and the Empire State building plus some unusual and obscure spots such as the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. Now I just have to try and find the time to visit all of these great places.

...and I've got shelves of 'em. This is an exhaustively researched, splendidly written guide for visitors and native New Orleanians alike. Fantastically detailed walking tours cover New Orleans' celebrated five-star attractions...then take you off the beaten trail to explore parts of the city not covered in other guidebooks.

This is the book to pack on your first, third, or even sixth visit to one of our most exotic and fascinating cities. I can't recommend it highly enough.

this book allowed for one of the nicest vacations i have ever taken. more than bourbon street indeed; if you're into historical along with fun, good food, and the infamous celebratory attitude then this is the book you're looking for! it covers everything you can imagine plus the historical information with the descriptions that follow the maps for the various tours is priceless. we didn't take one tour save the plantation *oak alley* tour; didn't need to! the maps along with the additional information is all you need to create your own walking tours, driving excursions and much much more. i would also allow that personally i did read another book: Fabulous New Orleans by Lyle Saxon. the combination of the two really compliment one another. just my opinion. again, great book; i sincerely can't say enough.

Having visited NO before and having read three other "Guides" I was suprised by how different this book was from the others and how everything I personally wanted to know about was adressed in detail. Walking the Faubourgs is the best way to appreciate the very unique city behind the tourist hype and Mr. Delahanty tells you how. Other guide books are collections of data gathered from many sources, but this is a story told by someone who knows and loves his subject. Our morning walks through the Bayou St. John neighborhood for coffee on Esplanade Ave. were greatly enhanced by the information in the "Esplanade Ridge" section. The history is so much more amazing than the garishness of Bourbon St. My daughter, a six year resident of NO, is planning her wedding there and has found this an invaluable resource. There is an address and telephone number for everything. I am recommending this book to all of her wedding guests and buying a second copy for myself, having given mine to her. If you plan a trip to New Orleans, read this book before you go and carry it with you while you are there.

New Orleans' unique food, music, architecture, and people have been justly celebrated and explained to out of towners and locals alike in many, many books. Why one more?

Randolph Delehanty's answer to that question would be, I suppose (I have never spoken with him), that most guidebooks miss the essence of our city: the varied streets - from the carriage-wide alleyways of the Vieux Carre to the grand boulevards of St. Charles and Esplanade Avenues - which tie together our rich architectural heritage and cultural history.

At once public and private, street walking is an old tradion in New Orleans and this book introduces novice and old pro alike to the tricks of the trade.

Delehanty, director of the University of New Orleans' Ogden Museum of Southern Art and author of nine books, including the definitive coffee table book of New Orleans'interiors and patios, New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence, takes readers inside New Orleans buildings and gardens on over a dozen walking, transit, and (when necessary) car tours of the city and its River Road environs. Neighborhood by fauborg, he explains the special points of history that make this a city of towns, unlike most Southern cities. While your eyes are drawn to the architecture, he points out the lives of the inhabitants of these old homes, shops, and mansions - often writers and musicians. A few pages on "New Orleans House Design and Sociability: Stoops, Balconies, Galleries, and Porches" explain how climate, architecture, and sociability were intimately intertwined before the age of air-conditioning, cars, and television reduced urban life to a fraction of its potential for gracious living.

This walker's "ultimate guide" to New Orlean's architecture and culture is a must for locals who hope to become "New Orleans know it alls" and an inspired choice for those out of towners who hope to live like a native, if only for a few days.

Excellent and detailed maps, extensive cross-references, and select listings of all the basic tourist needs (restaurants, music clubs, bars, etc.) round out an excellent guide: the best of its kind (in the opinion of this City of New Orleans' licensed walking tour guide and life long resident of the Big Easy).

Essential book if you want to visit sacred sites in Wisconsin. It's organized by region and religion or type of site. They give brief accurate description of the location and why it is important, along with contact info. I'd especially recommend it to anyone living in Wisconsin or neighboring states. It's great for weekend road trips.

Sacred Sites of Wisconsin will remind people of childhood trips to Holy Hill or the Dickeyville Grotto. What a great opportunity to think back on churches and other places that mean so much to us. And what a great opportunity to visit them again!

In Sacred Sites Of Wisconsin, John-Brian and Teresa Paprock effectively collaborate to profile over 400 places around the state of Wisconsin that are known for worship and pilgrimage, ranging from churches, temples, and synagogues to cemeteries, effigy mounds, and retreat centers. Each location has its history described, along with what makes it sacred and all the information a traveler will need to find and enjoy it, such as contact hours, location, and phone number. Sacred Sites Of Wisconsin contains nearly 80 photographs of its many destinations, and maps of each reason. A superb reference for anyone seeking to take a spiritual journey within Wisconsin, no Wisconsin community library state reference collection would be complete with the inclusion of John-Brian and Teresa Paprock's Sacred Sites Of Wisconsin.

Sacred Sites of Wisconsin is a complete guide to buildings, places and natural areas that are or have been considered sacred in Wisconsin. Inclusive in its approach, it showcases the diversity of beliefs that are a part of Wisconsin heritage.

This guide will be of interest to spiritual seekers, historians, and those who might want to expand their knowledge of their own faith and its heritage in the state.

Best of all, Sacred Sites is a guidebook, meant to be kept in the car for quick reference. It includes contact information, hours and directions for the sites.

Sacred Sites would also make a great holiday gift for those with an interest in the sacred.

I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.
Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.

The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.

The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.

The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.

Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.

As the founder of a company devoted to business and cultural travel to Russia, it pains me that so many tourists come to St. Petersburg for a day or two and only visit the Hermitage, Peterhof, and a ballet. Russia is like a Fabergé egg-a beautiful exterior with a hard-to-open but spectacular hidden interior. Among the little known gems in St. Petersburg are the Museum of Theatrical and Musical Arts, the Nabokov Museum (former residence of Vladimir Nabokov), the Russian Ethnographic Museum, the Rimskii-Korsakov Memorial Apartment-Museum, the History of Religion Museum (formerly the "Anti-Religion Museum), the recently-opened Museum of Toys, and the Museum of Russian Vodka. All these treasures and more are fondly catalogued in Cathy Giangrande's Saint Petersburg: Museums Palaces and Historic Collections (Museums).

To appreciate this book a traveler needs to understand the unintentional irony of the chapter titled "Also well worth a visit are ..." listing the Hermitage Museum, one of the world's premier cultural treasures (and the most popular tourist site in Russia). It makes a great companion to such guides as DK Eyewitness's St. Petersburg guidebook (far more sights and coverage of the Hermitage, but without lengthy descriptions of lesser-known museums).

Its small size makes this a "laptray book", but for the visitor in body or spirit to St. Petersburg is just as enthralling as a five pound coffee table book. One-to-four pages are devoted to each of the over 40 lesser known attractions in St. Petersburg. Each listing had a clear address, directions, phone and web site (if available).

Books like this will help St. Petersburg, and Russia, become one of the world's premier tourist destinations in the next 10 years. There are literally thousands of such treasures throughout Russia as these listed here, but few people know about them. Truly, this book will help anyone interested in truly discovering Russia.

I happened on this wonderful book by reading all the reviews written by one of its reviewers. It is small, light weight and so very easy to use. The pictures are beautiful. We went to St. Petersburg last December with the book in hand. Each night we decided where to go the next day. Planning is important because each museum is usually closed at least one day a week. Unfortunately the museums were so interesting, that we often stayed way longer than we planned to. We never would have gone to some of the museums had we not had this little book. We especially liked the maps showing the ocation of each museum in relation to the others. Because of this book, we will return to St. Petersburg in the off season and enjoy many more of its amazing little museums -- after all what better way is there to spend a cold December day?

I began reading Cathy Giandrande's little guide to St. Petersburg with a great deal of skepticism. As I kept exploring the book, all my doubts quickly disappeared. That alone came to me as a surprise. Unlike most Russians who still suffer from a mild identity disorder, Petersburgers have a strong sense of local patriotism and know what they are and what their city is about. From time to time, their patriotism mutates into a peculiar kind of city chauvinism. It is taken for granted that no temporary visitor, be he or she from Moscow or Paris, can know the city or truly appreciate it. I am no different. As a Petersburger, I would never think that an outsider, least a foreigner, least someone from a culture many Russians perceive as hostile and extremely russophobic, would be able to put together a concise guide to the lesser known museums and landmarks of the city and do it in such a low key, friendly and unbiased manner, that the final work is a joy to read and is more useful from any practical standpoint of city exploration than many far weightier and thicker "serious" guides.

Cathy Giangrande's St. Petersburg is a guide to the city museums and lesser-known landmarks. If the author "missed" any museums, then I have a feeling, that she excluded them deliberately because they are so obscure (like the Museum of Armed Forces Medical Academy) that almost no locals are aware of their existence. On the other hand, the guidebook contains information on some really obscure museums, such as the new private museum of toys.

The book is a journey of exploration and is a pleasure to read "as is" from cover to cover. Alternately, it can be used as a helpful reference manual.

The guidebook has its own share of minor irritants, such as the occasional misspelling of French and English words transliterated backwards, but they are not very significant.

The book is beautifully printed on high quality paper and is richly illustrated with color photographs. It contains a helpful map or rather an outline plan of the central part of the city, a schematic plan of St. Petersburg region, and a well-designed plan of St.Petersburg "Metro" (or the city's subway system). All museum and landmark entries include detailed address and contact information, and indicate the nearest subway or suburban train station.

Among all foreign languages guides and books on St. Petersburg, that I ever came across, this one is the only work that is worth translating into Russian. Even locals would find this book a great aid in exploring their own city.

Stunning photography captures this beautiful city perfectly. I live just north in Orange County and still flip through this book hoping to visit soon!

I found this book for sale through (...) It was a very valuable book to have while touring San Diego. Our visitors didn't miss a thing.

The most amazing thing about this beautiful book is its cost. It's a magnificent coffee-table size photo album of San Diego and environs and it sells for less than $$. Yes, it's a paperback but the price is still a bargain! The size and the quality of the color photographs bring San Diego to life, as does the charming text by Charlene Baldridge. This is a love letter to a city that is famous for its weather and zoo and underappreciated for its cultural attractions. Ms. Baldridge states in her introduction, "As those who live here [in San Diego] discovered long ago, one visit is not enough, and the second could last a lifetime." What follows is her guided tour of the city: it's Cultural History, Entertainment, Arts and Culture, Nearby Attractions and list of Resources that includes the attraction's name, address, phone number and website. This book is the perfect souvenir for anyone who lives in San Diego, visits San Diego, or dreams about a trip to San Diego.

Northland Publishing offers another visual gem of one of America's great locations...San Diego. A softbound, coffee table size book that is a feast for the eyes and soft on the pocketbook. Jammed packed with amazing photography, you often feel like you have stepped into the locations yourself. Auther, Charlene Baldridge has a genuine love for this city and willing shares all of the wonders this town has to offer. If you are looking to visit or have spent time in San Diego or are one of its citizens, this visual tribute is a must have.

As a resident of Montana I have used this guide to plan a number of weekend and more extended getaways. The little tips and suggestions by the author are marvelous extras for greater enjoyment of your trip. We sometimes take for granted this incredibly beautiful state we live in but having this guide in the house...on the end table...in the living room is a great reminder to every once in awhile forget those weekend chores and just get out there! For the out-of-state visitor this is a wonderful travel planner as well. Easy to follow directions will lead you to incredible spots that are left off the travel agent's "touristy" well-trodden "vacation destinations" that everyone goes to.

I have driven to Montana before, but this book gives me more good ideas for my next trip.

We are both Montana natives, but the book SCENIC DRIVING MONTANA has given us driving ideas that we didn't consider before. We travel around the state frequently and enjoy the varied and beautiful drives described in this book.

This guide was the most helpful one we took on our recent trip to Montana (south central and southeastern parts of the state). The suggested drives took us along roads we might not have found on our own (including some dirt roads that we managed just fine in our Subaru rental) and the landscape we passed through was stunningly beautiful. Although the focus of the book is definitely driving, it also had good suggestions for day hikes along the way and for places to stay. (We especially loved the Grand Hotel in Big Timber!) It made me want to try other guides in this series. Highly recommended.

I used this book frequently during our RV travels. This is a great book to use as a base to explore America. The book is very informative and interesting. We were not disappointed in the descriptions of the places we visited. This book is my most valuable book among my RV books for travel. A must have in any RV.

I am a tourist in your nice country and I was never disapointed by this book- the best evidence about that in USA the wild west lives for ever.

It is an indispensible book for the road traveler. Provides loop tours, so you can see new sites both outward and home bound. Has easy directions, good descriptions, and appropriate photographs.

Author of DISCOVER AMERICA DIARIES: 50 STATES, 50 STATES OF MIND

An excellent, well-designed map and tour guide to seeing every state in America. Each region of each state is broken down into loop tours, accented with color photos, maps and sites to see along the way. The books is sprinkled throughout with insider tips, such as when to make reservations, how to save money, special tours and other hints to make the trip more pleasant and trouble-free.

This was an anniversary gift from my mother. We tried one state tour and were hooked. It's what made us decided to quit our jobs and see all 50 states once and for all. This book should be in the library of every individual who wants to tour even just one state -- even their own home state.

Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, an essay in architecture, takes readers on a historical tour of the third U.S. president's cherished home near Charlottesville, Virginia, through well-written text and gorgeous, full-color photography. The book includes floor plans and photographs of Jefferson's original architectual elevations, as well as drawings of the finished building that we are most familiar with today. It describes Jefferson as art collector and plantation life on Monticello's farms, and it explores the four seasons in Monticello's gardens. Published in 2002 by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc.

One of the clichés about Monticello is that few houses do so good a job revealing the personality of its builder. But clichés get to be such generally because there's truth to them, and that's definitely the case here. If Thomas Jefferson was one of the most interesting figures in American history (and I think that's unquestionably true), then Monticello may well be one of America's most interesting houses. And for this colorful book produced by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, we are guided through the house and grounds by people who know their stuff.

Specifically, the chapters of this title are written by Monticello's director of restoration, the curator, the director of gardens and grounds, and other experts associated with the Foundation. Large, colorful photos are accompanied by informed commentary and all the requisite history, as well as documentation of the decades of restoration work it has taken to get the house and grounds to its current condition. A book doesn't make up for a visit in person -- if anything, I wished for more photos of the interior, especially of the book room and "cabinet." But for a general overview of the house, grounds, and collection, and an insight into the man himself, this book is hard to beat. I recommend it as a souvenir, as well as a nice companion to a Jefferson biography.

This work successfully links the many unique qualities of Thomas Jefferson's personality to the unique qualities of the home that he designed and spent most of his life building and rebuilding. All of the intriguing features of this home are covered.
Anyone interested in this remarkable man and his home who is unable to visit Monticello in person should strongly consider this work.

This is a highly informative, well documented book covering all aspects of the design and building of Thomas Jefferson's home, plus insights into why things were done the way they were done, through Jefferson's own notes, sketches and correspondence. Plus,the photographs are exquisite.

This will lead you to interesting places that are mostly not well known. The views are stunning. A hiker on the Appalachian Trail said the view from Wayah Bald is the best on the trail. The only problem we had is that road numbers have been changed to names, but most of the numbers were still in fine print on the signs.

I was introduced to this book by a friend and ended up buying the whole series! If you want to know more about western NC and spend your days enjoying a well written dialog that accurately directs you to place the other guides don't even mention, Buy this book. If you want a restaurant guide look elsewhere. I can wholeheartedly recommend the entire series from this publisher. Similar to the "off the beaten path" series only better, written by life long residents that obviously love their home state!

This guidebook, unlike most, is so encyclopedic in scope that I give it as a gift to newcomers to the area. It is also an invaluable reference for the visitor who wants to see more than the fabulous Biltmore Estate. Even though I am a native of the area, I learned nearly everything I know about Western North Carolina from this book alone and it is my primary reference. I am still amazed at how much fact, history and folklore [just enough to bring alive the curve of the road, the odd landmark, the abandoned building] is packed in its 300 pages. The author, who must have collapsed from exhaustion when she finished it, takes you on a detailed tour, laid out by the tenth of the mile, of carefully drawn sections of backroads that you can follow leisurely without getting lost. The author is completely absent from the text. The lucid style will please readers who want the facts, not editorial comment. This book, as well as the others in this publisher's backroads series, makes an excellent gift for anyone, especially the many seniors who have relocated, or are considering relocating to this fascinating region. It is also a valuable reference for natives, like me, who didn't know how much they didn't know.

Since I recently moved to North Carolina, spending my free time towards the mountains became a must. Carolyn has saved me countless hours of researching where to go and what to do. I am glad to find such an informative book.

A trip to the Grand Tetons this year was greatly enhanced by this book, which I came upon with a search on Amazon.com. We used it to plan a car trip from Portland and we followed the Oregon Trail home from southern Wyoming. The maps were wonderful and the information accurate. We even golfed 9 holes at the Soda Springs municipal golf course to see the swales on the 8th hole, in addition to many other stops of intetest!

My husband and I recently made a trip out west and used this book as our guide to follow the Oregon Trail. It was excellent! Her directions were right on the money and the book was easy to read and follow. She breaks the trip down to a day by day driving guide which was great so we knew how much time to plan. I would encourage visiting the 'out of way' options she offers. She also offers several driving options depending on your time allowance. A must have for an Oregon Trail trip!

Julie's book is very useful in traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail. Highly informative and illustrated, it includes specific as well as local information about the various sites included in the book. Well worth having and using.

This was an absolutely wonderful book which helped my family to see every interesting bit on the Oregon Trail. Many sites were really off the beaten path and I'm sure rarely visited. It was clearly written, fairly assessing the different sites and had very clear directions. We are a family of 6 so the time allotted for travelling place to place was a little short, but all in all this book is a "Bible" for those who want to embark on this great trip.