A different sort of travel guide, good for travellers and locals looking to more deeply explore their hometown.

This was such a great travel guide! My wife and I will be going to London this summer and this book added some places to our itinerary of must-see sights.

Nice gift book, but not really handy on a trip. Nice for London lovers though, which I am one of. The drawings are very beautiful!

'London Letters: From Angel to ZSL London Zoo, Discover Where to Eat, Drink and Explore' by LucyLovesThis is an unconvetional guidebook.

It's part insider guide and part art project. All the areas around London are assigned a letter, then the book proceeds from A to Z. For each area, there is a bucket list of things to do and see. The letter is drawn out with highlights of the area. A loose map of the area is then shown with highlights and transit stops, then a recap of stations, food and drink, landmarks, and things to look for in the area.

I don't know how well this would work as a guide for a first time visitor since it's presented in an A to Z fashion, but I loved how it was done. It also feels like the recommendations are a bit like you'd get from a local and not from a guidebook. I really had fun paging through this book, and I really liked the illustrations.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Grou-Rock Point, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is a fun guide book to London for armchair travels or real travels. Each letter of the alphabet corresponds to a Neighborhood in London. Included are directions to the neighborhood, what to see, do, shop and eat and where to go next. This is an original concept and includes a lot of places not included in your typical guide books. This will make a great gift for the traveler on your list. Have fun

Really pretty with great tips.
Used this for my most recent trip. Lots of great tips for Islington and everywhere.
Would like to buy prints of the art.

This is one of the most creative travel books I've ever had. I think this is the PERFECT gift for someone planning a trip to London, especially if they're fun and a little funky. It's also the perfect gift for yourself, if you're planning a trip. This book is unlike any other travel book I've personally read--it's colorful and very visual. Each neighborhood map is a pull-out card. The author has followed the familiar A to Z format....each letter is a neighborhood, accompanied by a brief bucket list for that neighborhood and the "map" with illustrations of the highlights of that neighborhood. Note: these are not "to scale" maps that you would use for navigation...these are more..."flavor" illustrations of a neighborhood. The major streets are there, and the various "highlights" are illustrated approximately where they are...but this book is for the adventurer...the explorer. You want to wander a bit, find these things, but notice other things along the way. This book will not teach you about London history, or the London art scene or the Royals...but it will help you explore London in a sort of "choose your own adventure" sort of way that I think is really lovely and creative and pretty brilliant. It's been many years since I've been to London and paging through this book has me itching to go back, pull some of these cards and just...wander.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Some lovely short recommendations for a selection of interesting London boroughs, but for the most part no surprises or new locations for residents of London who've lived here for maybe more than a few months. For a tourist the points of interest might not be extensive enough in description, so the intended audience is a little unclear. The main draw of the book are certainly the illustrations which are really beautiful and some of them just beg to be bought in poster size for proud locals or intrigued visitors. Overall a nice little coffee table book and a quick read.

Thank you, NetGalley for the preview of this digital ARC.

London Letters is a fun and colourful guide to London. I have always been a fan of illustrative Maps and this book was such a delight. It includes all the must-see places and the must-eat restaurants around each London neighbourhood.

Selten habe ich ein solches Kleinod als Buch entdeckt: liebevoll und wunderschön gestaltet, die Zeichnungen sind "der Hammer" - der ultimative Begleiter bei meinem nächsten Trip in die englische Hauptstadt. Ist auch eine großartige Geschenkidee - muss man einfach gesehen haben.

This is a neat and fun take on a travel guide. Since I read the electronic version, I didn't really get the benefit of the pull out maps, but I enjoyed looking through it.

All things British

I am an Anglophile. I love all things British. Give me all the Union Jacks, Agatha Christie (I adore Miss Marple!), the Crown, James Bond, Emma Bridgewater, Cath Kidston, scones with jam, fish and chips etc., and I am one happy girl! So when I saw this new guidebook of London, I was thrilled!

A unique concept

This is a guidebook for London. So, what's new? Well, the format!

This guidebook is a set of 26 folded cards / 26 pull-out maps, neatly packaged in a slipcase, featuring illustrated letters of the alphabet which refer to landmarks of London. If you reverse each card, you will find at the back a checklist of suggestions what to do/see/eat/drink in that particular area.

The perfect gift for:

yourself or your friend who is travelling to London.
your child who is leaving in September to attend a British University and is moving to London.
your Londoner friend who wants to explore his/her city.
your friend who collects travel guides.
your Londoner friend who is enjoying this summer a staycation.
anyone who wants to see London off the beaten track.

It will definitely make their day! It is definitely unique and fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a digital copy of the book for review.

Not your average guidebook, London Letters is a quirky, illustrated amalgamation of informative maps of 26 neighborhoods in London (one for each letter of the alphabet). For each location, there is a letter illustration, an illustrated map showing the more prominent destinations, a short card detailing Stations, Food & Drink and Landmarks (with names and contact information) to be found and, best of all, a bullet-pointed bucket list of activities to be performed!

Since London is on my bucket list, I know exactly which guide I'll be taking to explore a city rich in history and culture, a notion that this book definitely delivers.

This is a great card book for someone who lives in London and wants to try something new in a different neighborhood. It would make a fantastic gift for someone who think they know all the hidden gems in the Capital.

I particularly love that it gives a guide to the best coffee under the heading "Drinks" in each area - where to drink coffee in London is crucial! There are so many cafes and not all do a decent coffee, so it's worth bringing those places to a reader's attention.

Beautifully and thoughtfully decorated, Lucy Stephens has done a fantastic job enticing the reader to visit further afield than the average tourist.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing, Rock Point and LucyLovesThis for a copy of this ARC for an honest review.

Do you think that you know London? Would you like to visit all of the different neighborhoods, either in reality or your imagination? Do you like the idea of a quirky, absolutely beautifully illustrated book? I hope that you answer yes because this is a fantastic book. Each neighborhood has an illustration with the first letter of its name, followed by an illustration of places to see. After this, the reader can look at a page full of information; each neighborhood listing includes a place for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a place for coffee and drinks. Local landmarks and shopping venues are listed along with quirky spots to visit, shopping spots, gardens, lesser known museums, etc. I want to hop on a plane today! Very highly recommended.

Wow, what an original and amusing book. There are places here I didn't realise exist. Pretty quirky, and a must have for tourists and anyone visiting the city, wanting some inspiration. However, given the transient nature of the topic, this would only stay valid for a relatively limited time, so regular updates would be needed. It would also form quite a nice memento for a visit to London.

In an area of the bookshelf that is usually cookie-cutter travel guides, London Letters is a fun addition.
The book describes London Neighborhoods', from A to Z, Tube Stations, Food, Drink, Historical Landmarks, and bucket list items. It also gives interesting facts. "try to spots", and suggestions on where to go next.
This book will be a welcome addition to the future London tourists' preparation.

London is one of my favourite cities to visit, so I was interested in reviewing this unique little travel guide. It features wonderful illustrations to depict the major features of the areas covered and includes brief lists of what to see, where to grab a bite or drink, and other little spots to make a stop in each area. It also includes a longer "bucket list" for each location.

This little guide feels like an easy to tote guide that doesn't have a lot of information (i.e., it doesn't have a history of London or any of the spots covered), but instead focuses on exploring different areas in a simpler and less text-heavy way.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Quarto Publishing Group for the opportunity to review this fun guide to London.

I enjoyed the format of this guide to London. It is very nicely illustrated and every time I flicked through the cards I spotted new details. It's also a very useful guide, it presents information and options for the corresponding area such as things to do, restaurants and cafes, and historical information. I appreciated that the information was limited - which may seem like a strange thing to say, but there is so much choice in the world now it is helpful to be recommended a very short list to choose from.

My only reservation about the cards, as with any travel guide, is that they may date quickly. Businesses change so rapidly now that within a year or two some of the suggestions, particularly the cafes and restaurants, may have closed down, changed name etc.

Other than that, I think this would be a perfect gift for someone who is maybe visiting London for an extended period of time or moving there. I think students moving to London would be a perfect target audience.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group (Rock Point imprint) and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

LONDON LETTERS by Lucy Stephens was a disappointment. Yes, it includes 26 hand drawn maps of various environs around London (see small versions at link below), but it is truly a superficial introduction to any of those neighborhoods. Each section contains a "bucket list" with about a dozen venues and/or activities listed, with barely a phrase describing each. The local maps are monochromatic attractive art (might make fun posters or greeting cards?) more than useful directions. There are also lists with local train stations, landmarks and places to eat and drink, BUT there is only one suggestion each for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, pub or cocktails per area. It feels like simply walking the streets or consulting more comprehensive sources (whether printed like The Good Pub Guide or online like Yelp, etc.) would be more helpful. London has much to offer, but this publication adds little value.

Link to map images:
https://www.amazon.com/London-Letters-Featuring-Pull-Out-Neighbourhoods/dp/1631064606