Fodor's Citypack Brussels & Bruges, 2nd edition

Rating:
Summary: A Great Day Trip
Review: I bought this guide for a day trip into Brussels, during a recent European vacation. I found the guide to be extremely helpful in planning my one day visit. It focuses on the "Top Sites" to be visited in each city, and has plenty of interesting historical information, as well as practical information on hours of operation, and local transport. The shopping recommendations offered by the guide are also excellent. The only disappointing item about this guide was the one map, which is on very thin paper, and which was quite unwieldy. A better choice would be smaller maps scattered throughout the book. While I recommend this book for a day trip, it would not be suitable for a longer stay. I look forward to using this guide again when I visit Bruges in the future.

Rating:
Summary: NOT SO IMPRESSED
Review: My husband and I recently took a trip to Brussels, for the first time. We "thought" this book would be a great guide for us in a foreign country... but instead found ourselves getting lost. The map is huge, you'll need to find a coffee shop to actually sit and open the darn thing, and the sites aren't addressed clearly. A bit of advice, there are huge maps on the corners of most major streets that tell where you are and how to get to a site; use the undergrounds, much cheaper and easier to get around; and ask your hotel conceirge for directions, they know everything...oh, and make sure you brush up on your French, some village sandwich shops aren't as nice as your regular star bucks :)