Favourite guide books? - Kris

Question of the week: Do you have a favourite type or line of guidebooks?

"My favourite series of guide books is the ‘Secret’ series. James and I have a number of titles: Secret Paris, Secret London, and our newest find, Secret Venice.

While they’re not best as a primary guide book – they won’t tell you where to stay or how to get to the train station – they’re wonderful as a supplement to see little things that you wouldn’t have noticed, and make your understanding of a place richer and more complete. Each book is divided into area-based sections, and all of the sites discussed are placed on a map in the beginning of the section. So, if you’ve stopped for a coffee or a bathroom break, you can easily flip to the section covering where you are, find something interesting, and impress your friends once you pass some small, but fascinating, piece of history. (I was able to point out the house of a 17th century Venetian executioner as we passed, which made me feel pretty good.)

There are other titles in the series, and more coming all the time. So, the next time you’re looking for something to keep in your pocket while you walk around a new place, try one of these guides. You won’t be sorry."- Kris