My personal recommendation for guide books is Let's Go, but definitely moreso for those of us that are travelling on a budget and younger because that is who it's geared to. It's easy to read, has good maps and is short and to the point(except for the history section.)

We've found that a combination of Rick Steves and The Lonely Planet books give a good balance between the practical, adult information (Steves) and the irreverent and adventurous (Lonely Planet).

If you have one of the all-encompassing books that covers an entire country but you are only going to visit one city or region... tear that section of of the book and bring just that bit with you. I know, it is blasphemy to tear up a book, but hey... it's in the name of travel!

Most hotels have pretty good guides and sightseeing information.

Most hotels have pretty good guides and sightseeing information.

Dean, I'll pretend you didn't say that. hehe.

Since we're all sharing our favourite guide books, I'm a HUGE fan of the michelin guide books. I think they're excellent for giving good details about the places you see, not to mention that they have GREAT maps ;)

You have a really good point, Bob, I find that some of the guides you get in hotels are really excellent, especially in country France, because they talk about regional specialties, events and things to see that a bigger guide book may not be able to cover.