City Walks: Los Angeles: 50 Adventures ($13)
by Eric Hiss (author) and Bart Wright (illustrator)
50 cards, 4 x 5.8 x 1.2
If you enjoy travel and you enjoy books, chances are you enjoy travel books. Most of the time, however, there’s nothing more onerous to pack or carry in your day bag (or hip pocket) than a hefty travel guide. Take, for example, the Blue Guide New York, a favorite, which weighs 1.6 pounds. Chronicle Books has solved that heavyweight packing problem with its City Walks card series – now including options for travelers with children and dogs.
Each of the 26 editions – ranging from Amsterdam to Washington, D.C. – includes 50 pocket-sized cards featuring a bite-sized chunk of a city or village. Perfect for a day trip or an adventurous afternoon, each card features a walking tour that includes stops such as notable architecture, historical locations, interesting boutiques, recommended restaurants, and other highlights of the area. And, with each card weighing a mere one-eighth of an ounce, they won’t slow – or weigh – you down.
At the end of last year, my wife and I pocketed the East Los Angeles card – pick a card, any card, flaneurs! – and set forth to explore that neighborhood. We found absolutely everything we needed for the day: creative local cuisine, curious shops, a historic arts and community center that now houses a dancehall, and a public park in which we could sit and read once we finished walking. All on one four-by-six card that helped us largely dispense with the map and focus on the landscape instead.
– Heath Row
