<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: A Frenchman's New York
Review: I found this book to be an excellent guide for New York because it focuses on places to go, not so much the history of the place like other guidebooks. I don't know who comes to New York just for the history, anyway! (There's Paris for that.)But for restaurants, hotels, and even some clubs ACCESS was better than even my hotel concierge. Although there was no way to try everything mentioned in the book, every place I did go to, or restaurant I dined at, was current and good even though sometimes the chef was different. Maybe even more details on the downtown scene would be good, instead of pages on boring Upper West Side, etc., but overall this is a tres bon map to a good time to what is still the greatest city in the world. And that's coming from a Frenchman...vive le New York!
Rating:
Summary: Not just for tourists
Review: I lucked into buying this guide when I first moved to New York seven years ago, and it served as a perfect introduction to the city. Even in a city that changes as rapidly as New York, I continued to find this book useful for several years after I bought it, and I still frequent some of the off-the-beaten-path restaurants that the author recommends. (But I'm not telling you the names; you'll have to discover them for yourself!) As much as I liked this book, I can see how it might not be ideal for everyone. For one thing, unlike a lot of guidebooks, it doesn't go out of its way to prioritize the different sites and to dictate what you ought to see as a visitor. Unless the book has changed since the edition I bought, you won't find any walking tours or suggested itineraries. But if you have enough time and are willing to give serendipity a chance, the best way to experience in New York is on foot, exploring neighborhood by neighborhood, with this book in hand. Whether you're interested in architecture, shopping, arts, or history, you will find this book an excellent travel companion.
Rating:
Summary: Glad I bought it.
Review: In preparing for 3 day sightseeing trip to New York City with my wife, this was the first book I bought. It helped me determine where to stay, some sights not to miss, & a couple excellent restaurants to try. I was very satisfied with the information I learned from this book & I'm glad I bought it. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy other books on NYC because I bought 3 or 4 others and I learned some addition things from each of them. For me, I don't know if I'll ever get back to NYC and I wanted to make sure I would see all the spots I felt would be important to me. Other very good books are "Eyewitness Travel Guide New York,", "Lonely Planet New York City,", & the "Zagat Survey on NYC Restaurants."
Rating: 
Summary: This book is outdated!
Review: In preparing for 3 day sightseeing trip to New York City with my wife, this was the first book I bought. It helped me determine where to stay, some sights not to miss, & a couple excellent restaurants to try. I was very satisfied with the information I learned from this book & I'm glad I bought it. I'm not saying you shouldn't buy other books on NYC because I bought 3 or 4 others and I learned some addition things from each of them. For me, I don't know if I'll ever get back to NYC and I wanted to make sure I would see all the spots I felt would be important to me. Other very good books are "Eyewitness Travel Guide New York,", "Lonely Planet New York City,", & the "Zagat Survey on NYC Restaurants."
Rating:
Summary: A Frenchman's New York
Review: The Access guides for London and for Paris are some of my favorite guides for those cities: I think the problem here is that New York is just too big. The overall city map in the book is useless, but Access concentrates on giving alot of detail for the individual geographic locations within the city. At the begining of the chapter there is a detailed map with numbers showing the locations of the places described in that chapter, mostly done in geographical order so they are listed as you would come upon them if you were walking. There are more restaurant listings in this guide than any other I have seen, and you will find small out-of-the-way stores detailed, as well as information on parks or buildings or statues you would pass as you strolled along. There is always an address and phone number listed, but hardly ever hours of operation or websites.
Access is a walking guide. New York is such a big city that more than likely on your first trip or two in your going to hit Times Square, then subway to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, then subway down to the Staten Island Ferry, then subway to the Empire State Building, and so on. If you are going to be taking time to spend a whole day to walk in the Village, this would be a good book to carry along. But because the city covers so much space, the effecitveness of this book is lost. This would actually be a very good book for someone who lived in or near New York City. It is hard to imagine how big the city is until you get there.
Rating:
Summary: The perfect guide book for your first or 100th visit.
Review: The Access New York City Guide is divided into sections for each region in the city, with separate maps for each area and detailing, in color code, destinations and places of interest in each area, including hotels, restaurants,(both rated for quality and expense), and shopping. It is the easiest New York guide book I have used, because I am able to find where I want to go, see the easiest way to get there, and know what's there when I do. The guide contains maps for subway and bus travel and airport access. I prefer this area-by-area format because I can see easily all the attractions in each part of the city. This has a distinct advantage over guides which group by topic; for example, I might find a hotel that suits my needs, and by checking the area on the map, I can find a restaurant on the same page, in my price range, within walking distance, and know what's cooking for dinner. Other guides would have you searching another chapter. This is the latest of many editions of the Access New York City guide, and is just as enjoyable from your armchair at home as it is from your tourbus. Also included are such fun tidbits as a list of movies filmed in the city, books written about New York, and little-known facts about the histories of the most famous landmarks. Altogether this guide and its logical format would make your hundredth trip to the city as exciting as your first.
Rating:
Summary: This book is outdated!
Review: We just returned from a trip to New York City. I am a HUGE fan of Access books and have used them for cities around the world for the last 14 years. However, the current version of the New York City Access is woefully outdated and was a waste of money. We found several businesses had moved and one, the venerable Balducci's, had gone of out business. Needless to say, this de-railed us a few times and was inconvenient to say the least. Things change quickly in New York. If Access wants to be in the business of publishing guides of New York, they need to commit to annual updates.
<< 1 >>
|
