Moscow (Lonely Planet City Guides)

Good book to give you the general idea of what to expect in Moscow. The book did some what explain that the Russians have figured out how to milk you of your money part of capitalism The subay section is right on the money as well as the Arabat section. I stayed in the Arabat section of Moscow so I can not comment on the other location descriptions. However one would thing that the other sections were just as good. Pick up a week or two before you leave and spend an hour or so each day and read it and plot your days. Lots to see and not enough day or night in your time to see it all.

I traveled to Moscow in 2003 and 2004 and took this book both times. I honestly don't think I could have survived without it. Since I spent numerous weeks in Moscow I covered a lot of territory and especially took advantage of a lot of the information provided in LP, including the info on sites in outer Moscow. Moscow is a wonderful city, but can be confusing and sometimes a little dangerous. However, I found the maps very helpful for making my way around, and especially the map of the metro. The restaurant listings are helpful as well (the descriptions of Georgian food are dead on, it's really that good), though because I lived in dorms I didn't have much experience with the hotels. Prices for museums or other attractions are iffy since they do change a lot but this book was a must for both of my trips.

The Lonely Planet Moscow guide was extremely enjoyable to read and provided excellent maps, though a magnifying glass was necessary to read the details. My only qualm with the book was that despite having a recent publication date of March 2003, some of the details were out-of-date. Specifically, the Metropol Hotel was listed as part of the Intercontinental chain with an intercontinental e-mail but when I called Intercontinental I was informed that they sold ownership of the hotel several years ago (current e-mail is metropol@metmos.ru). Thus, I recommend the book as good reading but for detailed planning caution is necessary.

PS: This problem was not unique to this volume. We experienced a similar problem with other books in the series.

This has been replaced by an updated edition. Search for 1864503599, or look under "Our Customers' Advice" above. It is still a great guide for your journey of Discovering Russia.

We always tell clients and other visitors to Russia that you should get the most current guidebook, as attractions, hotels, restaurants and transportation options do often change--AND THEN VERIFY THE INFORMATION!

Marc David Miller, Discovering Russia, New York

I took this book with me to Moscow this summer. Except for prices and museum hours (which change rapidly), the guide was very accurate. It offers lots of great budget restaurants and shopping places. It has very clear and easy to follow maps of the center of Moscow. However, it has very poor, tiny, black and white maps (if any), of the outer sections of the city (Such as Sparrow Hills). If you plan to spend any time in the outer fringes of the city, you may want to consider purchasing an additional map. Overall, the guide was excellent and rarely left me stranded.