I'm planning several trips for next year and I want to choose the best guide to take along. This is detailed and interesting and thorough but larger and heavier than I would want to carry. It is perfect for planning a trip and I will buy one. I am checking several more out from the library's I'll be reporting on those, too.

It was my first London's guidebook, even though I was there before. It's Lonely Planet, so it can't be bad. It's written lightly, in a concise and informative way. I liked it and learned some new things from it. It's a good book for someone who knows something about London already and for someone, who is new to that wonderful city.

This was the longest guide book yet and the most complicated itinerary I’ve made so far since London has so much to do and see. I highly suggest reading this book for exceptional references before exploring London. There’s also a section on the history of London that I found to be extremely useful. This guide book is for everyone - it covers art, museums, sports, drinking, royalty, music, and much, much more. Thanks Lonely Planet!

London, I’m ready to go!

Dit boek stond nog in mijn kast en om weer nieuwe ideeën voor Londen op te doen ben ik het gaan lezen. Het is wel een versie van 2008, maar het meeste wat er in staat is nog steeds te bezichtigen in en om Londen. Hooguit zijn prijzen die worden genoemd in het boek nu anders.

In het verleden heb ik dit boek al eens eerder gelezen en er aantekeningen in gemaakt. Een aantal van die aantekeningen heb ik nu weer overgenomen als sightseeing tips. Maar mijn smaak is over de jaren anders geworden. Hierdoor andere plekken als idee toegevoegd aan de wensenlijst om te bezoeken in Londen.

Niet alles in dit boek is bruikbaar vind ik. De eerste helft van het boek met beschrijvingen van de verschillende Londense wijken is zeer bruikbaar en leverde me inspiratie op. Maar de tweede helft met onderwerpen als winkelen, eten en nachtleven sprak me minder aan.

Maar al met al genoeg nieuwe inspiratie opgedaan door dit boek te herlezen.

This is a good introductory guide to the biggest things to see and do in London. The maps were a little lacking, but suggested itineraries were good.

Bought this and taking with us to London. LP seems to be the most user-friendly of the travel guides I've tried. Their guide to Montreal helped make a great trip a few years ago, so I feel confident in taking this one to England.

Update and final word:
4.5 Stars

A very useful guide! The rip-out map was especially helpful in referencing places and directions for destinations on the outskirts of the city. The freebie pocket-sized maps we found at Heathrow airport and some of the train/tube stations really only highlighted the tourist-dense city centres and destinations. LP's fold out map was pretty detailed.

LP also aided us in finding some delicious food and helped us prepare for entry fees and other details like hours of operation. (We always verified- never know when changes might happen.) Restaurant entries also include symbols for price levels.

The one thing I would love for Lonely Planet to include in their very helpful "Practicalities" column is how much time they'd recommend you save for spending at a destination. I know the length of time spent at a museum, church or other historic location varies greatly. While some sites have free admission and suggested donations (the Tates, British Library and Museum, etc), others charge fees of £15 or higher. If you arrive somewhere at 2 hrs prior to close, is that enough time to do the place justice AND justify the admission price? Maybe LP could suggest both a "Basic/Quick Look Around" time and an "In-depth/Enthusiast" length of time.

In the end, I highly recommend the Lonely Planet for London.

I really love the Lonely Planet travel guides. I buy them every time I'm traveling to a new city.

Don't leave home without it!

I think the best way to travel is independently, walking all around a city. My husband and I were able to independently craft a dreamy vacation in London thanks to The Lonely Planet. In addition to fantastic annotated maps for walking tours, the publication offered a helpful array of lodgings, restaurants, and activities, ranging from the inexpensive to the decadent. Happily, even the budget-end suggestions we tried were big hits.

This is for the 12th edition. Much to my annoyance, Lonely Planet now tries to obfuscate what year its guides are published. So I don't know the year, but the information in it was reasonably accurate. Oddly enough, at 472 pages it still seemed a little thin for a city like London, which offers so much to do and see. I mostly used it as a source of suggestions for places to visit. I was surprised on this visit, my second - the first was over 15 years ago - at some of the changes I saw. For one, the downtown, touristy areas were absolutely packed with people; it seems that London is more than ever a popular place to visit. Not surprisingly, costs have gone up. Overall the quality of the writing and the suggestions for places to visit were good, if not spectacular.

An up to date travel guide on some of the hottest spots to visit in London - it's certainly made it easier for us to explore some places and create an itinerary.

Some good tips, some the same as every other book.