1: An up-to-date and informative city guide
As can be expected from a Lonely Planet publication, Vancouver City Guide authored by John Lee is a resourceful, informative, and highly entertaining book. Written in lively, attractive English, this guide has everything one expects from it: background information on the place, clear division into thematic chapters, cross-references between individual sections, reference guide at the end , and - what is of utmost importance - up-to-date information on what Vancouver has to offer - from arts festivals to skiing clinics. If you are not completely satisfied with the extensive list of affordable and not-so-affordable hotels and restaurants (like I and my wife sometimes were), there are always useful internet links to various web pages provided for your convenience.
We have not gone to Vancouver yet to check how reliable the guide really is. Nonetheless, Vancouver City Guide has already made us feel a bit like locals - this is no doubt owing to the fact that its author has for some time been a genuine Vancouverite, and does not hesitate to venture into some off-the-beaten-track places as well as provide information on the negative side of a Vancouverite's daily life. The only drawback of the guide is the size and coverage of the attached pull-out map. It would be much better if it covered more than just the downtown and some of the other central districts of Vancouver. After all, from what John Lee writes, it looks like Metro Vancouver has a lot to offer, too, and the region certainly deserves a better, more detailed map, not to mention a comprehensive transit system one. Also, more space could have been devoted to the description of the Greater Vancouver area itself (Richmond, North Vancouver etc. are discussed only fleetingly, whereas Burnaby is left out of the picture), but - given the range of attractions available everywhere around Vancouver - that would call for a second volume of the guide...
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