Washington DC is more than a pretty face; it is a Southern city on the edge of the industrial North; it is a company town, where politics, as combat or spectator sport, is always the subject; it is a city of transplants and transients drawn from around the world, yet remains unexpectedly provincial. The major tourist attractions are well-known; you will need little help in that department. But a cup of coffee, a bit of shopping, a cocktail and a good feed will pep you up in between museums and monuments. Here are 33 choice suggestions to help get the most from your visit to the District of Columbia.

Our popular Writing London guide, updated and redesigned. If you have spent any time in a London cafe, you will know this to be a city of writers all of them aspiring, some accomplished and a scant few successful. This guide documents the work and the working habits of the latter group sites of triumph, shame and tragedy and significant locations in their writing. Casting our net over the metropolis and across the centuries, we have George Orwell and H.G. Wells falling out over curry and plum cake in NW8, Julian Barnes at the National Gallery, J.G. Ballard in Docklands, Alan Bennett s harsh but accurate summary of Camden Town s distinctive aroma, and James Boswell s enthusiastic womanising. London is a city full of stories and the people who make them; we hope this guide brings a few to life."

The desire to see and be seen is not shared by all. For those who prefer to conduct business away from prying eyes, this map is for you. We list 31 places with hidden alcoves and easy exits, neglected restaurants, unreconstructed wine bars, ancient pubs and even natural isolation. In these locations discretion is assured, it's entirely up to you to decide how you make use of that.

No visitor to this Basque city is likely to miss the stunning Guggenheim museum and nor should they, but our guide digs deeper: uncovering wonderful food, traditional shops and diverse cultural attractions. Alongside stunning modern architecture Gehry s Guggenheim, a metro system with stations designed by Norman Foster, Phillipe Starck s reinvention of a wine warehouse into cultural space there are dozens of tiny bars vying to serve the most elegant and delicious pintxos, extraordinary views and lively markets."

Few writers are as inextricably linked with a city as Raymond Chandler and Los Angeles. The neon-lit streets, mobbed-up joints and seedy rooming houses portrayed in his fiction were real places, familiar to Angelenos of the time, and in some cases recognisable today. This is a guide to the world of Raymond Chandler and his noble alter-ego, the private detective Philip Marlowe. It mixes locations from the books, the films and Chandler's personal life. There's the crummy dive where Moose Malloy went looking for Velma; the actual lounge where Marlowe and Terry Lennox ordered gimlets; the top-floor suite where oil executive Chandler got his priceless education in how a dirty, sun-drenched city really operated. This is the Los Angeles that Raymond Chandler carried in his heart. And now, you can too.

New Orleans has an atmosphere quite different to any other American city: louche, laidback, wild, wanton, eccentric, eerie. It was the birthplace of jazz and home to many of the originators of rhythm & blues; its food, a mix of Cajun, Creole and European influences, is acclaimed and copied worldwide. Even residents recognise the standard of cooking here is extraordinary and the number of establishments to enjoy it overwhelming. It s just not like other places: fierce debates rage over who serves better red beans and rice or gumbo and the decision of where to eat can be seen as a mark of character. But the visitor has only to enjoy themselves, and we re confident that with its focus on eating and carousing (with just a few other diversions), this guide will lead the user to good times, memorable times, maybe even wild times. We suggest you use it with caution, but have fun."

Our European travels bring us to the Spanish capital, a huge and daunting metropolis, replete with interesting shops, galleries and wonderful food and drink. The map contains 36 selections which run the gamut of the city's attractions and its idiosyncracies. From the relative safety of cable car we gaze down at the vast expanse of the Casa de Campo, explore shops selling gloves, camping gear, old postcards and espadrilles, visit an abandoned station and one with its own forest. Refreshment is on hand throughout: cerveza, jamon, bacalao and innumerable other delights essential to keep the visitor well-nourished in this great city."

Out There: A Map of the Solar System for Tourists. If you have a spaceship capable of taking one of our three Grand Tours of the solar system, and a suit to protect you from its every lethal inch, within are some of the sights you should put on your itinerary. We have also included speculative observations from the great science-fiction writers that you may wish to verify or disprove on your journey. Bon voyage!

You will not go hungry in Melbourne, of that we are certain. This energetic city at the southeastern edge of the Australian continent offers food and drink of unmatchable quality and variety. The casual approach of its restaurants, bars and cafes and its spirit of invention ripple across oceans, into kitchens and onto counters around the world. Our guide comprises 40 points of interest, including galleries, markets, shops and parks, among them: Tailored cocktails at The Everleigh The open-air bar and cinema atop 1920s Curtin House Polish sausage and German bratwurst at Queen Victoria Market The unspoiled 1950s charm of Pellegrini's Espresso Bar The Royal Botanic Gardens' sylvan pleasures

This compact guide comprises 40 places that bear the city's distinctive mark. There are survivors of beatnik-era North Beach, a vintage magazine shop catering to a very diverse clientele, taquerias and a Chinatown bar. There are clifftop eateries and cable cars, unconventional horticulturalists, entirely au courant exhibits and bison in Golden Gate Park.

London is packed with pubs, but finding a really good one is not always easy. Whether you want to relax in a garden or shelter from rain, marvel at architecture or enjoy a live act, find a convenient meeting point or a place to hide, bring your dog to the pub or stroke the resident cat, it is Herb Lester's role to anticipate your desires and act as your guide. With 161 tried-and-tested pubs, plus a handy fold-out map of London.

Here is the essential companion for those in search of la dolce vita. The itinerary includes good food, strong coffee, interesting shops and plenty of strolling the city's beautiful streets. There are clothes shops, restaurants, a cemetery and galleries and special sections on ice cream and fountains.