By: Anthony Ham Publisher: Lonely Planet Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Lonely Planet Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 292 Publication Date: October 01, 2008
Product Description: The fifth edition covers everything a visitor to this city wants to see, from the iconic Prado to the local barrios with their bars and restaurants. In addition, "Madrid" includes several excursion options that cater to all types of travelers.
Cliché-ridden, outdated information, better off with Time Out Madrid This guidebook starts off with a tired old travel book cliché about Madrid and goes downhill from there. So Madrid isn't Paris or London: well, London isn't Paris, and Paris isn't Rome, and Rome isn't Istanbul. So what? Tell us what it is, not what it isn't (a wonderful city, with a style all its own). It's not true that Madrid was as unimportant as Bonn in post-war Germany: it was a major strategic town in medieval Castille, became an important royal retreat in the 15th century, and had its Alcázar rebuilt by Charles V long before Phillip II fixed his court there. It's no accident that Madrid was chosen to be capital, or that it subsequently flourished. Petersburg was a swamp in 1700 and Washington DC another swamp in 1800. They're both fascinating cities, and so is Madrid--which has a much longer history. The capital of a world-spanning empire for 4 centuries, a magnet for major artists (Cervantes, Golden Age playwrights such as Lope de Vega and Calderón, Velázquez, Goya, Lorca, Almodóvar), a dynamic economic powerhouse (according to Fortune Magazine, Madrid is the headquarters for more Fortune 500 companies than Milan), and an international crossroads once again. If you want a guide that does not substitute snide (and, frankly, ignorant) condescension for reliable, fair-minded evaluations and detailed information, go with the latest Time Out Madrid guide: it's written by residents and it shows (trust me: I lived in Madrid for 6 years and its recommendations for restaurants, hotels, and sights are invariably spot-on--there are wonderful pointers in that guide that even life-long residents don't know about). Leave Aussie provincialism to, well, the Aussies.
Pleased so far I bought this book recently (the new edition). I have read through it in planning my upcoming trip. Although I have yet to test the accuracy of the information in person, the book strikes me as practical. First, the book is paperback and fairly slender-- so not too bulky or heavy to actually carry around while you're traveling. The second thing that struck me is that it provides maps, including a metro line map. Although the maps may not be the most user friendly with their small print, they'll do fine for the trip planning stage of the trip (I usually get a good city map for navigation once I arrive to my destination city). The sections seem thorough, with an entire chapter on the history of the city. I was pleased with the day trip chapter as well, which lists many options for day trips, how you can get there, what you can do there, and how long it takes to travel there. As far as the accuracy issue, I have yet to find a guidebook that is completely accurate. That being the case, I view them as one source of information among many and do not rely exclusively on a single guidebook.
Many inaccurate info I have been reading the last 3 editions of Lonely Planet Madrid and it contains tons of innaccurate information over and over. As in Spain one can not fine a lot of Australian wines, they draw the conclusion that "Spaniards do not take leaps into the unknown" It is like everytime they make a new edition the stay 2 days in Madrid and take everything of the last edition, fading Madrid's feeling, culture, way of life and thinking.
Photography is also awful but this is just my opinion.
new guide is better Looking at the dates, it seems like the reader reviews for this book are all for the old guide. The new version just came out, and I think it looks and reads a lot better, so maybe it's time to put up some new reader reviews.
um, i thought the guide was pretty good. I spent 5 days in Madrid last August and found this book to be a useful guide. it will lead you to a good time in madrid, which consists of going to the museums, a bull fight and eating a lot. also, i recommend going to one of the sherry bars mentioned in the book.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
