Vienna (Eyewitness Travel Guides) by DK Publishing
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Book Reviews of Vienna (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
Book Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
The eyewitness guides are a pleasure to read .Many great pictures and plenty of detail .I am as pleased with this one as the others I already own .These guides are books you actually pick up and read again after you have completed your trip.Book Review: Unreasonably slow delivery
Summary: 3 Stars
The product delivered was OK. However the delivery took almost a full month, being delivered on the very last day that reading the fine print said the product might be delivered. Products which I had ordered on the same date from two other merchants thru Amazon, all with regular non-expedited shipping, delivered product two to three weeks sooner. One of those much-quicker merchants was located in England!Book Review: Use for sightseeing, not restaurants or hotels information
Summary: 5 Stars
Restaurants and hotels pricing was off, but, as usual, DK Publishing Eyewitness guides are like having a personal historical/architectural
guide by your side - 24/7/365. It's simply.. perfect.
Make sure to visit Budapest while in Vienna - only 3 hours away by train. Also consider Bratislava for a one-day trip - the historical center is pretty.
Book Review: Great City, Great Guide
Summary: 5 Stars
Vienna is a fascinating place to visit and this is a great book to use. For once I did not find the subdivisions as useful in this book. Vienna can be a very confusing city to get around until you get the hang of it and sometimes the street maps in the book cut off in odd places. Despite that the recommendations of things to see and do and the smaller maps were top notch. I saw almost everything this book recommends within one jam packed three day weekend. Highly recommend. Book Review: Eyewitness Travel Guide Vienna (2003)
Summary: 5 Stars
Rugged bound handbook for touring Vienna. Outside cover is plastic coated card stock, doesn't soak up water when lying on the lunch table, easily cleaned. Glossy paper throughout its 288 information packed pages: a district map on inside front cover and public transport map on the inside back cover.
"Introducing Vienna" is the first chapter devoting 60 pages to an overview Vienna from a geographical, historical and cultural perspective. Then brief descriptions of major attractions, even the brief descriptions take 20 pages because Vienna offers so much to the visitor.
Next comes "Vienna by Area" with more detailed information on attractions with highlights of St Stephans Cathedral, the Hofburg area which was the Habsburg center of power now converted to civic and cultural uses, museums, palaces etc, too much to describe here as the book devotes 120 pages to guide the reader to sites, dining and maps.
Next comes "Further Afield" with adjacent areas like the Prater recreation area with it famous Ferris Wheel "der reisenrad" and more museums. Schoenbrunn palace also in this chapter as are recommended day trips outside the city and along the Danube river. Concluding the chapter are detailed walking guides for self directed excursions.
The section "Travelers Needs" has restaurants, hotels etc plus photos of local cuisine along with the German language name including the famous Sachertorte, it makes me hungry just looking at it.
Closing the book are suggested entertainment venues, casinos, music theaters followed with practical information on exchanging money, public transportation, how to use public telephones, posting letters and cards, street maps and index.
I selected this guide because it has plenty of information on sites and cultural attractions, its sturdy binding which will outlast me on the trip and its convenient size. I have travelled may places and a good practical guide is great for me, the explorer. I like to explore and discover on my own rather than join guided tours and be shown what others believe should interest me. This book givens me so much information I should not overlook anything major unless I choose to, and that's the point, I will choose for myself what to see and do. Vienna has so much to offer, the guide helps me sort it out.
I intend to spend a full day at the KHM Art History Museum, watch an Opera at the world famous State Opera House, listen to a Mozart concert by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the Music Hall, attend Sunday mass with Vienna Boys Choir, see Schoenbrunn, Belvedere etc. Still time in my schedule for day trips up the Danube to Durnstein to see the Castle where Richard the Lionheart was imprisoned and if my wife is up to it, a day trip to Budapest. Of course each day in Vienna we plan to visit pastry shops and coffee houses to get the full "flavor" of Vienna. A ride on the ferris wheel is almost mandatory.
If there is anything more in the guide I could ask for, it would be more web site listings for music attractions as many of the venue tickets can be purchased in advance to be sure of getting seats. The guide has some web sites addresses, but a self planner like me could use more.