The New York Times-20080127-Armchair Traveler

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Armchair Traveler

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Taschen Guides to London, Berlin and Paris Hotels ($29.99 each, paperback); Restaurants ($14.99 each, paperback); and Shopping ($12.95 each, paperback)

By Angelika Taschen

The Taschen guide series, introduced in 2006, is among the handsomest on the market. The youthful design of the nine books published so far -- loads of full-page photographs and hand-drawn maps, wrapped inside a whimsical, waterproof cover -- cleverly disguises their function for tourists worried about their self-image. These are guides meant for those who need to pretend they don't use them.

Anyone who picks up a copy in search of discerning judgments or local insight, however, will be out of luck. Even though the credited author, Angelika Taschen, requires no fewer than three separate guides -- for hotels, restaurants and shopping -- to lead us around London, Berlin and Paris, she wastes many of her extra pages on luscious photographs when additional entries, and a couple of indexes, would have been far more helpful.

Minimal is a kind word to describe the notations in the restaurant and shopping guides. Divided by neighborhoods, they list only a few of the highlights and polish them off in one or two double-page photo spreads. At the end of each section, a text block in faint type gives the hours and address of the place, along with a one-sentence summary. For example, the colorless verbal snapshot of Hakkasan in London (the atmosphere is sophisticated Asian, the prize-winning cuisine innovative) is typical.

Several of the finds are inspired -- the pest-control specialist Aurouze in Paris, with its stuffed rats in the window, and 1. Absinth Depot Berlin, a historic dispensary of the legendary drink -- and the photographs add to the enticement. Even while favoring high-end hotels, Ms. Taschen often generously chooses to show us an array of spaces, not just the rooms.

But as with many travel magazines, the effort is directed more to seduce than to tell the truth, so that every shoe-box-size cafe and crowded hangout for vampiric trend-mongers ends up here bathed in a sumptuous light. Oddly, the hotel guides contain more information on restaurants and shopping than can be found in the restaurant and shopping guides.

Travel books must adapt to survive in the Internet era; the hefty Baedeker is no longer suitable for everyone's needs. The Wallpaper City Guides, which will number 60 by the end of this year, have proved that small can be smart. The Taschen Guides, so far anyway, are neither.

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