Eyewitness Travel Guides: The Eyewitness Travel Guides are published by Dorling Kindersley, which has found great success with its unique illustrated reference books. DK's generously-illustrated travel guides fit the ingenious corporate mold, overflowing with photos, maps, and drawings, and offer loads of practical info. They're both useful and fun, the kind of books you'll enjoy before, during, and long after your trip. In addition to the Travel Guides, DK produces spectacular "coffee table" books for many destinations.

From a review in the New York Times: "Each [Eyewitness] book is a visual as well as an informational feast about a particular place. There are hundreds of 3-D aerial maps of districts, streets and buildings. The unique graphics show cutaways and floor plans of museums and landmark buildings. Each guide features a Travelers' Needs section, covering accommodations, restaurants, shops, markets, entertainment and activities for children. A Survival Guide describes airport transfers, local transportation, public toilets, crime trends and even how to use a pay phone."  

»»Find Eyewitness Travel Guides for your destination

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Fodor's Guides: The Fodor's books date back to 1936, when Hungarian Eugene Fodor published an entertaining guidebook to prewar Europe that became an instant best-seller. By the time he died at the age of 85 in 1991—by then a long-time US resident—Fodor's publishing list tackled more than 140 destinations worldwide (and in many languages). Today the company is a division of Random House; Fodor's books cover more than 300 destinations and are updated annually.

A bit mainstream, these books are nonetheless perennial bestsellers. That's doubtless because they're well written and provide an all-in-one solution for many travelers. You'll find practical picks for hotels and restaurants (divided into pricing categories), good overviews of activities and nightlife, and solidly-researched looks at history and culture.

»» Find the perfect Fodor's Guide for your honeymoon

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Frommer's Travel Guides: Producing some of the best-selling travel guidebooks in the US, the Frommer's empire began back in the mid-1950s when young Arthur Frommer, a graduate of Yale Law School, was a G. I. stationed in Europe. At every opportunity he took off traveling, and had soon penned The GI's Guide to Traveling in Europe. It sold well enough for him to publish a non-military version, Europe on 5 Dollars a Day. And with that he was off to the races! Today there are more than 350 Frommer's titles (the books are now published by Wiley & Sons).

True to their origins, Frommer's books are budget-oriented—although, needless to say, we'll never see $5-a-day travel again. These books are comprehensive, all-around guides covering countries, cities, and many special topics. 

»» Check out the complete range of Frommer's Travel Guides

»» Frommer's Kindle Edition books (e-books)

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Insight Guides: Based in London, these terrific books got their start in 1970 with Insight Guide: Bali. Today the company publishes more than 400 travel guidebooks. Most popular (and well known) are the Insight City Guides, written by local experts and chock-full of practical info, history, culture, art, and more. Top-quality photos and maps abound. Insight Guides are great to travel with, because they always seem to provide what you'll want to know at an historical site, a museum, a lonely village in the middle of nowhere. The books are aptly  named, since they really do manage to impart insight into the people and culture of a given destination.

Other books published by Insight include Compact Guides and Pocket Guides, which cover cities and regions in a more portable fashion. The latter comes equipped with handy detachable street maps.

If the Insight Guides have a drawback, it's that they're not at their best in recommending lodging and eateries. But that's a small price to pay for an otherwise comprehensive approach. 

»»Find the Insight Guides you need

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Karen Brown's Guides: If your idea of accommodation heaven calls up visions of lovely B&Bs, gracious country inns, cozy cottages, and fabulous old castles, you'll love these books. They're beautifully done, with pen-and-ink sketches, colored maps, and well-written detailed descriptions of places to stay. The watercolor cover art on the various books is so pretty that it's available as limited-edition prints.

Each book comes with comprehensive driving and walking itineraries designed to help you explore your surroundings in the most enjoyable way, whether they be historic cities, ancient villages, or lonely moors. The lineup of more than twenty destinations—limited to Europe, the United States, and Mexico—include Austria, France, Great Britain, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, New England, California, and the Pacific Northwest. 

»»See all of Karen Brown's Guides

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Let's Go Travel Guides: Let's Go books are researched by Harvard/Radcliffe students traveling during the summer on their own (they receive a tiny daily stipend, but that's all). Their material is transformed by student editors and map-makers back in the USA, and the books see the light of day as early as October. That's a very quick turnaround!

As you'd expect, this series is geared to young people on a budget—in fact, Let's Go: Europe is the world's #1 budget travel title. Of the nearly 60 titles, many are updated yearly. You'll find great practical info, cost-cutting accommodations and restaurants, and all the latest places to see and be seen...especially if you're young.

»»Get going with Let's Go

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Lonely Planet: The first Lonely Planet guidebook, Across Asia on the Cheap, appeared in 1973, written by a young married couple who had made their way in slow, inexpensive style across the continent from Turkey to Nepal. That book was soon followed by Southeast Asia: On a Shoestring, which became wildly popular (regularly updated, it remains a best-seller). Today Lonely Planet publishes about 500 titles in 8 languages, selling an amazing six million guidebooks every year. Since 2007 Lonely Planet Publications has been owned by BBC Worldwide, with the original founders retaining 25% ownership.

Originally geared to cost-conscious backpackers, LP guides now appeal to a much broader range (however, LP's Shoestring Guides are considered backpackers' bibles). Lonely Planet's guides give good historical background and cultural overview about a destination. They're filled with maps, photos, and directions, and offer plenty of recommendations about places to stay and eat, and things to do. Most books are slender enough avoid being a traveler's burden.

 »»Peruse the full range of Lonely Planet Guides

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Michelin Red and Green Guides: Most people know about Michelin Red Guides, which have rated restaurants and hotels according to strict standards since early in the 20th century. The guides award one ("a very good restaurant in its category"), two ("excellent cooking, worth a detour"), and three stars ("exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey") to restaurants at destinations covered. Knives and forks are also listed for restaurants that offer good food at moderate prices. Once available only for France and Paris, today the Red Guides also cover other countries.

The company also produces Michelin Green Guides for Paris and all regions in France, as well as for many other countries (or regions, such as its Michelin Green Guide To USA West). Slim, concise, and jam-packed with timeless information, they're among the best guides available. You won't find hotel or restaurant picks in these books (for that, travel with a Red Guide). Instead, every attraction and point of interest is listed in alphabetical order, making it easy to find; it's also described in detail; and rated with one (interesting), two (worth a detour), or three (worth the trip) stars. These books are great to use on road trips, because no matter what out-of-the-way spot you find yourself, you'll doubtless be able to learn what's interesting about it from your Green Guide. (This reviewer admits to being shamelessly biased toward these books, having traveled to every nook and cranny of France with their able assistance.)

If you've visited a destination before, they're the only guides you'll need. But if you are new to an area and want the comfort of a tell-all guide, consider taking the Michelin along for your daily sightseeing and leaving your favorite big guide in your hotel room.

»»Browse Michelin's Red and Green Guides

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Moon Handbooks: Like many other guidebooks, Moon got its start decades ago when traveling young American Bill Dalton, washed up after years of traveling in Australia, sold mimeographed copies of his travel notes on a New Zealand street for 50 cents—he made $150 the first day, and had sold all 800 copies by the end of the third. With that, Moon Publications was born. Today Moon is published by Berkeley, California-based Avalon Travel (which also publishes Rick Steves' books).

Moon Handbooks cover more than 100 worldwide destinations, and they do the job quite well. Says the Chicago Tribune: "One of the finest travel series around. What sets Moon apart is the attention to detail, and more importantly, a respect for the topic." The New York Times Book Review adds: "The writers have the most impeccably eccentric and well-traveled backgrounds."

An offshoot, Moon Metro, tackles cities one by one. Each generously-mapped book divides a city into distinct neighborhoods and gives you the latest info on where to go, what to see, where to sleep and eat, and how to get there. Among the cities: Amsterdam, New York City, Paris, and Vancouver.

»»Browse Moon Handbooks destinations

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Rick Steves Guides: Many people dismiss Rick Steves as mainstream or bland, but he's anything but! His books and public television show are imbued with strong opinions based on an insightful world view ("Travel, like the world," he has said, "is a series of hills and valleys. If something's not to your liking, change your liking").

Steves' travel career started in the 1970s, when he taught travel classes in Seattle during the school year and worked as a tour guide during the summer. Using his classes and travels as a source, he wrote his first book, Europe Through the Back Door, in 1979. It's still in print, updated yearly, and it certainly opened the front door for the host of other Rick Steves books that we see today.

Steves is almost entirely about Europe, and usually the most well-traveled parts of Europe: Italy, Paris, London, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and Scandinavia. His Mona Winks guidebooks are terrific companions at famous museums such as the Vatican, the Louvre, and so on.

 »»Find a Rick Steves Guidebook for your honeymoon destination

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Rough Guides: Begun back in the early 1980s as economical guides for backpackers, these days Rough Guides appeal to a much wider range of traveler. From the beginning the model was for travel guides written in a professional, journalistic style; took a practical approach to the needs of travelers; incorporated culture, history, and modern-day insights; offered a sardonic edge; and placed importance on value. A solid model like that works as well today as it did in the beginning. Published in London, Rough Guides have a decidedly British point of view.

The books, updated every two years, cover hundreds of destinations around the world: all of Europe and the Americas, more than half of Africa, and most of Asia and Australasia. In addition to the company's guidebooks are phrasebooks for 22 major languages, "First-Time" destination guides, and maps printed on waterproof paper.

»»See all of Rough Guide's offerings 

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 CREDITS: All written material ©WGH