Time Out

Best for: People who like Time Out guides, I’m guessing.

In a nutshell: Mostly your standard travel guide, but with really tiny print.

Worth quoting: Not so much a quote, but apparently the women didn’t get the vote in Belgium didn’t get it until 1949?

Why I chose it: We’re going to Brussels this weekend, and this looked to be one of the better options for guidebooks at the shop I went to.

Review:
I don’t think I’ve ever purchased a Time Out guide, and now I know why. I’m not a show more fan. This one isn’t bad, it’s just not good. The 2-star rating probably suggests its worse than it is, but for me, 3-star reviews are for books I’d still recommend generally, and I can’t recommend this one.

I generally don’t have an issue with small fonts, but this book seems to be pushing it, especially in the large blocks of text that start each new neighborhood / section. I get the need for an overview, but I didn’t like how these ones were done. They were hard to get through, and I don’t generally feel like I retained any good information from them.

The sections on different attractions / shops / restaurants are useful, and I especially appreciate the mentions of places that don’t accept cards. There seem to be a LOT of cash-only establishments. My partner really doesn’t like using cash, and sort of side-eyes me when I insist of getting some from the ATM so we have some, but at least now when we get there I have proof that to do the things we want to do, we’ll need some Euros.

I appreciate there is a history section, but I tend to like that up front, not shoved in the back. I also liked that it included some detailed information on the main architecture and art movements in the area. The maps aren’t great and are oriented in the book oddly, which makes them hard to read and hard to use.

I’m usually not this critical of travel books, but this one just really didn’t work for me, and I’m assuming it’s an issue with the layout and style choices of the Time Out brand, not this one author. show less

On my trip to Barcelona, I took 3 guidebooks: Fodor's, Frommer's and Time Out. This one (Time Out) wound up being the only one I really used, every day.
The maps are far more detailed and easy-to-read, the information much more comprehensive, accurate, and easy-to-find, and the bar and restaurant recommendations were spot-on.
Plus it has interesting historical information, and more details about more neighborhoods than I found in any of the other books.
I'd highly recommend this guide to anyone show more heading to Barcelona! show less

Ah, Time Out guides - there for us as a young couple travelling around the countryside and the continent; still here and producing appropriate guides now we have returned to the UK with child in tow. This is a well written guide that covers the essentials for various areas - places to stay that are child friendly, places to eat that the kids will probably like, and attractions that children might actually be interested in.
However, could the writers of these types of guides please note - you show more do not need a visit to a beach for a family holiday to be successful! Especially not in the UK! Many of these sections seemed to focus on the coastline, ommitting some of the better inland areas that would be just as interesting for a family break. Believe me, a holiday without a beach is still a holiday for the children! show less

Obsessively planning a four and a half day vacation means reading a lot of travel guides. This is one of the better ones around.