Not for Tourists 2007 Guide to Boston (Not for Tourists)

I just moved to Boston, and this book has been incredibly helpful in my (carless) explorations of the city. I bought my own after having monopolized my friend's copy for two weeks. It has detailed maps of many different areas of Boston including one-way streets, parks, and the locations of T stops. It's one of the few maps I've seen that actually does a good job integrating the street map with the T maps. It is sturdy for carrying around with you, and has this handy band that keeps it from flying open in your bag. And there's a fold-out map of the whole city in the back! The entire first half of the book is devoted to maps by neighborhood: a short description, and listing and locations of the following: restaurants, stores, grocery, museums, libraries, cafes, DONUT places (wow!), community gardens, gas stations, post offices, car rental... almost anything you can think of. No Goodwill listings, though. That's ok. In the second part of the book you get elaborations on many of the above. Restaurant and bar prices, hours, addresses and very brief reviews, what to expect at different museums, bus etiquette, historic sites, a yearly calendar of events, and so on. I've shown it to quite a few people and they've all been very impressed at the thoroughness of the maps. My only complaint would be that although they have the bus routes, they do not show you where the individual stops are-- you have to check MBTA for that. Other than that, I don't know what I'd do without this book!!

The wallet-sized "Not For Tourists 2007 Guide to Boston" may have been written specifically for the city native, but it's also very informative for the occasional visitor. Approximately 40% of the book contains maps of each city neighborhood and of Boston's surrounding locations. Each map is marked with icons for transportation, essential needs, and tourist musts. To help with finding specific addresses, cross-streets are even used in the address locater. The "Not For Tourists 2007 Guide to Boston" assumes that you know what you're looking for, but you just don't know how to find it. No city-related fact is left out and all of the information is extremely current. The print is tiny, but nothing a good pair of reading glasses can't handle. Enjoy.