Where Paris once led the way as the centre of Europe's bohemian lifestyle, Prague now comes out on top. The fourth edition of Lonely Planet: Prague manages to be both compact and comprehensive and is generally a good introduction to this city where European and North American wannabe poets now hang out.

Although the guide's structure follows the layout used by most books in the Lonely Planet series, there is more of a concentration on cultural issues than is often the case. As well as an illustrated colour guide to the city's memorable architecture, there are detailed sections on themes such as the history of the 1969 student rebellion against the Communists, the famous Karlos Most bridge, Franz Kafka and the vicissitudes of Prague's Jewish community. The sections on history and modern politics are perhaps a little weaker though, with no acknowledgement of the sizeable minority in the Czech Republic who have become disillusioned with Vaclav Havel.

The cultural side of the guide goes together with some hard-nosed advice on how to avoid scams in Prague's restaurants and foreign exchange bureaux. Only occasionally does the imperative of cost become a handicap, as when the authors make the inaccurate assertion that, when visiting Prague's "old-new synagogue", there is no need to rent the cheap yamulkahs as a bandanna will do. Still, this will be a very useful practical guide for anyone visiting Prague, with thorough accommodation and eating tips, colour photographs and some detailed and very well-researched maps. --Toby Green

A guide to the most visited city in Eastern Europe, Prague. It features a food and drink chapter with detailed coverage of Czech beer and micro-breweries, and a chapter that lists the best places to stay.

2007-07-24 Decent guide but could be better

I have mixed feelings about this guide.

In terms of practicality, it's small and not too heavy for carrying around - but is still bigger than many other city guides available. The maps are quite useful although their scale can make a short walk look like a ten mile hike! The maps are also all located at the back and there are no maps integrated into the text, apart from one of the castle. This made it awkward as you needed to flick back and forth. Close ups of the most famous and crowded areas, like the Old Town Square, would have been useful.

Despite being published in 2007, there are some inaccuracies and the selection of shops, hotels etc. mentioned seems to miss out many of the more recent developments. It also often lacked detail on the sights, which was frustrating in a book of this size.

The structure is quite good, with sections for history, arts, architecture, food and drink, shopping, eating, sleeping, sights, drinking, entertainment, excursions, directory (facts of the visitor) and language. There is also a comprehensive notes page and an index. Sections are subdivided by area, making it quite easy to find exactly what you want quickly.

The sections on eating, drinking and sleeping had quite lengthy descriptions, which I felt could have been pared down a lot for a guide like this, leaving more room for better descriptions of the sights. After all, you're only going to stay in one hotel! The information in the directory is very useful.

There are some colour photgraphs but, as often with Lonely Planet, many of these are of things that aren't really very helpful. I'd rather have pictures of the main sights so I can choose which to see (and identify them when I get there) than have two pages of pictures of people sitting in restaurants. There are also some small black and white pictures with the text.

On the whole, this was a useful guide and served me well in the city. However, there is certainly room for improvement and it's not as good as other Lonely Planet books.