Prague (Lonely Planet City Guides)

The cultural side of the guide goes together with some hard-nosed advice on how to avoid scams in Prague's restaurants and foreign exchange bureaux. Only occasionally does the imperative of cost become a handicap, as when the authors make the inaccurate assertion that, when visiting Prague's "old-new synagogue", there is no need to rent the cheap yamulkahs as a bandanna will do. Still, this will be a very useful practical guide for anyone visiting Prague, with thorough accommodation and eating tips, colour photographs and some detailed and very well-researched maps. --Toby Green

Reader Reviews:

Decent guide but could be better (3/3 people found this helpful)

I have mixed feelings about this guide.

In terms of practicality, it's small and not too heavy for carrying around - but is still bigger than many other city guides available. The maps are quite useful although their scale can make a short walk look like a ten mile hike! The maps are also all located at the back and there are no maps integrated into the text, apart from one of the castle. This made it awkward as you needed to flick back and forth. Close ups of the most famous and crowded areas, like the Old Town Square, would have been useful.

Despite being published in 2007, there are some inaccuracies and the selection of shops, hotels etc. mentioned seems to miss out many of the more recent developments. It also often lacked detail on the sights, which was frustrating in a book of this size.

The structure is quite good, with sections for history, arts, architecture, food and drink, shopping, eating, sleeping, sights, drinking, entertainment, excursions, directory (facts of the visitor) and language. There is also a comprehensive notes page and an index. Sections are subdivided by area, making it quite easy to find exactly what you want quickly.

The sections on eating, drinking and sleeping had quite lengthy descriptions, which I felt could have been pared down a lot for a guide like this, leaving more room for better descriptions of the sights. After all, you're only going to stay in one hotel! The information in the directory is very useful.

There are some colour photgraphs but, as often with Lonely Planet, many of these are of things that aren't really very helpful. I'd rather have pictures of the main sights so I can choose which to see (and identify them when I get there) than have two pages of pictures of people sitting in restaurants. There are also some small black and white pictures with the text.

On the whole, this was a useful guide and served me well in the city. However, there is certainly room for improvement and it's not as good as other Lonely Planet books.

Great (12/12 people found this helpful)

Ive just come back from my 2nd trip to Prague, and this time i never left the room without it. Actually, i did just once, and we got a little lost. The maps at the back are acurate, and indispensible. The guides to places to eat, stay and see make it really easy to get around. We also found that if we stuck to places to eat that the book suggested, we would get good food/service. but when we went to resturants by chance we got ripped off big style.

Ive also got the Rough Guide to Prague, and this one beats it hands down. The information for out of town trips was also very good, and correct on train times/fares etc

Very Basic Guide (3/5 people found this helpful)

This was my first trip to Prague and the Lonely Planet guide was extremely useful in it's provision of maps. However, I felt that it was lacking in other areas and the author's opinions of certain aspects of the city were, perhaps, outdated. We wanted to seek out Cafe Imperial and no mention of this was in the guide; however if a tourist wished to spend their time in Tesco this, somewhat strangely, was mentioned! If you are spending a couple of days in the city then this guide is adequate. However I would suggest Fodor's for longer stays or a more indepth view of Prague.

Don't go without it! (13/15 people found this helpful)

We only spent a weekend in Prague and found this guide a big big help in getting around and the essential things to see and do in a short visit. Clear and easy maps to follow. All the basic information you need to make the most out of your visit. we would not of seen so much in a short period had we not bought the guide.

Handy (11/11 people found this helpful)

Lonely Planet Guides are always good - mainly because the authors actually seem to have been to the place they're writing about! This ones no exception - the book is clear and informative, divided into easy to read sections, and the maps are very handy. The little section of phrases at the back are handy and we especially liked the guided walks. In summary this is a very handy guide which I'd highly recommended to anyone going on a break to prague - After our week in the city, our copy looked extremely dog-earred and well-thumbed, which has to be a good sign!

Prague (Lonely Planet City Guides)

Neil Wilson

Editorial Review: