by Automobile Association (The AA) 2nd Revised edition (31 July 2009), 352 page paperback

This is a very handy book for touring Portugal. It takes the form of a typical guide book, giving ideas of Where to Eat, Stay and Visit, but it does it with flare. The level of detail is outstanding, with opening hours, prices and contact numbers for most places mentioned. It also has some useful Tips for some of the bigger venues.

This is a book I will definitely use and refer to when planning days out in Portugal.

The book starts with a section titled Understanding Portugal, which contain some information about the culture and a brief history of Portugal through the ages which is well written. It has a section titled Living in Portugal which although nice to read, does not actually tell you anything about Living in Portugal!

The Lisbon transport system is well depicted in a map, which is re-created 3 times throughout the book, including the back page; unfortunately on the back page it does not tell the reader that it is a map of Lisbon. Also like many guide books they do not include a map of the Porto metro system, which is unfortunately a regular omission.

The Regions sections also include a number of Walking or Driving routes. The book ends with a section called Practicalities, which includes all sorts of very useful information such as a Menu Reader/translator, and finally maps of the whole country with an index. The maps are good for reference and show all the motorways and national roads, so would be useful for general route planning.

Overall a very good book, it is compact and small enough to carry around with you for reference but detailed enough to have everything you need in one book. This book is equally as useful for a short visit or for someone living in Portugal.

If I was to buy one Guide book of Portugal this would probably be it.

You can buy it from Hey Portugal Bookstore.