Best books and documentaries about London

Books about London for the visitor - reviewed

Get in the mood for your trip to London and England with my book and video recommendations and reviews - these are aimed at people who haven't been to London a lot before. If you already know the best of the capital, read on for my suggestions for people who've been to London before.

MUST-HAVE LONDON MAPS

A-Z map

A must for anyone planning to walk round London's confusing maze of streets. ‘What, this city's been here over two thousand years and they still haven't got round to putting a grid system in?!' Nope, afraid not. A-Z is the Londoner's London map, showing every street in all its intricacy. You can wander around, get lost, and use the A-Z and street signs to find yourself. It's my favourite ever way to explore cities. Bargain too. Highly recommended.

Buy it Now at Amazon.com

The London Mapguide

Some people reckon the A-Z is too comprehensive for the casual visitor (though personally, I like as comprehensive maps as they come) so if you just want a basic map with some of the tourists sites marked - and yes, this does have a scale - then this is the next best option.

The London Mapguide, 5th Edition - Buy it at Amazon.com now!

BEST LONDON GUIDEBOOKS

I wish I could say there was one perfect guidebook but for my money you really need two if you're to get the most out of planning for your trip. My favourites are:

DK Eyewitness Guide to London

Hot off the press in Spring 2009 the DK Eyewitness Guide to London is incredibly helpful in planning your trip. Although there's better information around in other guides, the lavish pictures and maps mean that you can plan your trip by seeing where you're going to end up. What's it really like to be in the British Museum? What does Oxford Street feel like? With the illustrations in this book you really can imagine yourself there. As I say though it works best when combined with another guidebook with more actual information in it - see what special offers the bookstore has if you buy more than one guide.

Rick Steves London guide 2009

Rick Steves is an institution in European travel, it seems you can barely walk five yards without seeing him - or one of his books - in the hand of some traveller in almost any one of Europe's major sites. The books are good though, well thought-through and nicely written, Rick's London guide covers the history of the city well, making it a handy companion to the Eyewitness guide. Aimed firmly at the North American visitor, the Rough Guide is also one to consider if you're Antipodean or European.

Buy it from Amazon.com now!

COMING TO LONDON WITH CHILDREN?

Try Frommer's London with Kids.

This is a book which makes travelling with little people much less of a chore - and more fun for parents and children. It offers full day thought-through itineraries for one, two, or three days, and also tells you good places to eat with kids and stuff to do. The ‘for the Active Family' section details places to go to play sport or swim - which gets you off the tourist track and is a helpful counterpoint to ‘culture overload' for young minds. While it's not stuffed full of useful and exciting trivia and historical information about London aimed at adults it will hopefully keep young minds amused.

Buy it Now from Amazon.com

BEEN TO LONDON BEFORE?

I Never Knew That About London

This is one for the serious London fan, who revels in the variety and sheer depth of history that this wonderful city has to offer. Even Londoners are astounded by the level of knowledge and interest within this book, crammed full of illustrations and fascinating trivia about the hidden side of London. It's a book that will make you go ‘oh!' and ‘wow, that's cool' in equal measure; like a chat with an elderly historian in the snug of a London pub.

Buy it from Amazon.com marketplace now

INTERESTED IN LONDON'S ARCHITECTURE?

Spectacular Vernacular: London's 100 Most Extraordinary Buildings

London grew up over centuries and millennia, an unplanned jumble of streets thrown down, ripped up and rebuilt again. Its buildings are a function of this chaotic history and thank goodness they are: the diversity of London architecture is one of its true joys, from the strappingly banal Buckingham Palace to the Gothic Masterpiece of the Palace of Westminister, from the tiniest shops to the grandest arcade, London truly has it all. You'll notice some of it as you wander round this great city.. but to truly see below the surface you need a knowing guide, ready to point out the quirky and the curious; to explain the history of buildings you'd otherwise just pass on by. This book is that guide and it's a pretty spectacular one too.

Buy this great book from Amazon.com now

A SHOPPING FAN?

The Time Out London shopping guide

The latest available guide is from late 2008, which is pretty up to date: even as it ages most of the information is still valid. If you want to get the very best out of shopping in London then it's the guide for you - more than three hundred pages of shops covering everything from Street Fashion to Second-hand furniture, from Antiques to Jewellery and everything in-between. It contains great reviews of individual shops selling unique or unusual items - the sort of off-the-beaten-track places that even locals don't necessarily know about. Brilliant for the serious shopper though probably a bit detailed if you just want to browse and shopping's not one of your main focuses though.

Buy it from Amazon.com now!

BEST RECENT DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT BRITAIN

Britain from Above [2008] ****

DVD. Up to date and fascinating picture of what Britain is all about and how it's developed. Not aimed at tourists, so don't expect sequences of marching Beefeaters and cheery cockney chimneysweeps. This is Britain today, in all its intricacy - explained thrillingly by a major UK journalist, Andrew Marr - one of the most accessible and quirky broadcasters out there. This is ‘incredibly watchable Telly', as the Brits would say, and genuinely enthralling to boot. 6 episodes deal with all aspects of UK life, filmed from above by helicopter. You'll be left reeling how this tiny, beautiful island can work at all given its sheer complexity. There's also a great book to go with the series. Recommended. Only available through Amazon.co.uk.

A Picture Of Britain - Complete BBC TV Series [2005] ***1/2

DVD. The perfect antidote to frantic, urgent London, the British countryside is one of the most beautiful and varied anywhere on earth. From the Cotswolds, Warackshire, Derbyshire, Worcester to Scotland and Wales, this series shows the extent of that varied countryside - and explains the role its played in how Britain has developed.
I'm not a big fan of the presenter - David Dimbleby - and in places he borders on the pompous. Having said that the pictures and the rest of it outweigh that annoyance.
It's a good BBC series, especially good if you don't know where to go in the British countryside or what to see; or even just to watch and see how pretty it is. Only avaliable through Amazon.co.uk.

This page is renewed every year and was last refreshed in Autumn/Fall 2009.