I love Lonely Planet: Istanbul. When I was in Istanbul, Turkey this May, with Turkish Airlines and our White House Travel Bloggers group, it provided great inspiration, airplane reading, and help navigating the big city. It truly made a difference to my journey!

As usual, this Lonely Planet guide provides a great deal of information. There are four sections - planning your trip, exploring (a complete city guide), understanding Istanbul, and its history and architecture, and a survival guide (including transportation and language!).

Planning your trip includes Istanbul's top 10, what's new, need to know, getting around, itineraries, month by month, with kids, like a local, for free, eating, drinking and nightlife, shopping, and hammams and spas. 

Exploring Istanbul includes neighborhoods, districts, day trips, and sleeping.

There are also MANY maps, beautifully colored photos to inspire, and enough information to help even the most detail-oriented traveler. The writing is interesting and makes you want to stay in Istanbul months (years?!) longer, so that you can explore it all. it's in depth and actually teaches you about place and culture - something many guidebooks skip in favor of more top ten lists.  Author Virginia Maxwell has done an extraordinary job sharing this amazing city. Highly recommended!

Note: We received a review copy of this book from Lonely Planet - thank you so much! It made my journey so much better.