"Fodor's Essential Prague": Book Review

Fodor's guides tend to be more traditional than their Rough Guide or Lonely Planet competitors. More like Frommer's, Fodor's offers a long-established line of guidebooks. This one for Prague and mainly Southern Bohemia does not provide the colorful diagrams and cross-section illustrations of landmarks as DK books do. You get fewer photos. The text is satisfactory in covering the must-sees.

That being said, the maps of, say, the Jewish Quarter of Prague are a bit perfunctory, if serviceable. Sites are promoted over pp. 25-80 in the capital. The rest of the guide, besides the appendices, leans south to Bohemian sites. The map of day trips from the capital city is a quick encouragement to venture forth from the usual warren of haunting or lovely streets, pubs, restaurants, shops galore, and the wonderful bridges over the Vltava.

It's compact enough to slip into a purse or backpack. It's also useful to jot down ideas in the notes space at the end, a helpful touch. There are no fold-out maps, but there's a highway one for the Czech Republic with main roads, and another in the back with the Prague Metro. All in all, a respectable purchase to consult to plan the visit you may make or to accompany the one you're on. Either way, get to Prague and out of it too. (Amazon US 3-24-17)