I hadn't planned on visiting London during my European adventure last year, but a French railway strike changed my itinerary. The Eurostar was still running, so I booked passage from Paris to London instead of heading to Barcelona as originally intended. I urgently needed a good London guidebook, so I rushed to a Gard du Nord newsstand and quickly scanned the shelves. "Time Out London" was the only choice they had, so I forked over some Euros and hoped it would suffice.
As I read while the Eurostar sped towards England, I found "Time Out London" to be informative and well laid-out. I struck up a conversation with the couple across from me (he was Irish, she was English), and had a great time talking about their deep involvement in the European art community. When we neared our final stop, they asked to see my guidebook, and after looking through it remarked it was a good choice. The used the excellent train map to point out some prime sightseeing stops, the station closest to my Ibis hotel in East Barking, and even where I needed to catch the express train to Gatwick for my departure flight. It certainly pays to step out and meet people while traveling.
Their suggestions increased my respect for this guidebook, and helped me maximize my limited time in London. The railway map made it easy to get around, and the city map highlighted must-see sights so I had no problems finding Buckingham Palace, Piccadilly Circus, and a host of other attractions. As is my custom when leaving for a new destination, I left the "Time Out London" guide behind for someone else to enjoy.
If you are heading to London, I highly recommend taking this "Time Out" guide along. One important detail stood out: At a London bookstore I compared this book's rail map to a couple of pocket guides, and found that the "Time Out" map was larger. In fact, it was the only one long enough to include the East Barking train stop, where my hotel was located. I'm glad I had that map - anything that expedites the process of finding one's hotel in a strange city after a long day of travel is a godsend.