I found that the book's sections were just the right size - you've got a small section on the 'history of NY' which is very well written, a small section on 'accommodation', a reasonably sized section on 'sightseeing' - half of which is about Manhattan, a quarter is the outer boroughs and the other quarter is on museums, a large section on 'eat, drink, shop and party', a large section on 'arts and entertainment' and, of course, the necessary directory and maps at the back!

I can't comment on the hotel section that another reviewer has mentioned as I picked my hotel after much research on the internet however I think the rest of the book which I did use is well laid out and very informative. I particularly bought it to check out the nightlife of NYC which I found very useful.

If you are familiar with the other Time Out books then you will know that this book is written from a point of view as if the writer has been there and needs to tell you the essential information about the place you are visiting and any hints about what to do or expect when you get there.

All in all, I liked this book. True, I wouldn't use it as my only guide book. I found the other three that I bought equally as useful; The Brit's Guide is a great guide, very informative with very handy hints from a Brit's point of view, The Mini Rough Guide tells you about the more dodgy/less dodgy areas of the place and is very good for your handbag and the AA Spiral guide gives you great information about sightseeing and gives you ideas about how to fill the days that you are there. If you are only after information about sightseeing then I probably wouldn't buy the Time Out guide (hence only 4 stars!) but if you want honest information about where to eat, drink, shop, party and generally be entertained then this is definitely the guide for you!


A cobbled together 'also-ran'   October 4, 2004
 21 out of 26 found this review helpful

I made the mistake of buying this guide having been very impressed with the TimeOut guide to Naples and the Amalfi Coast. Unfortunately this guide seems more like TimeOut trying to squeeze as much mileage as possible out of their brand-name with little thought as to the finished product.

The guide gives one no real flavour of New York and includes some very dubious recommendations. For instance, it recommends several hotels which are little more than flop houses.

I would recommend buying the 'BlackBook List' as a much better alternative.


As Expected from the Time Out team   March 2, 2004
 4 out of 6 found this review helpful

As a big fan of Timeout city guides and the listings magazines, this was an obvious choice for my week long trip to New York.

It is always good for expectations to be met, I found the information useful for shopping, eating & drinking, sightseeing, walking around and using the subway using the easy to find and simple maps...

All in all I was glad that this was one of my companions on the trip.

The only down side being that one of the bars we tried had closed since this edition was published, but there is a new guide annually to ensure that this is as little a problem as possible. (We updated ourselves by getting the Timeout New York listings mag to findout where gigs were, and thus what bars were still open)!