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'Authoritative, insightful and helpful for travellers to the country.' Hidden Europe
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Mysterious and misunderstood, Belarus remains an enigma at the heart of Europe. Bradt's Belarus gives you all the information needed to get the best from this lost world. Explore Minsk, Belarus's modern city, built as a memorial to the glory of Soviet communism or step beyond the capital and find a wealth of riches that remain largely unknown to the outside world: the natural splendour of primeval forests, rivers and lakes; flora and fauna in abundance; stunning museums empty of visitors; rich culture and tradition; historical sites dating back to the Middle Ages; beautiful churches; Russian Orthodoxy and the genuine warmth of a people who believe that the rest of the world has either forgotten them or has no interest in their wellbeing.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Excellent guide to the whole of Belarus. Detailed in every way from the best sights to see to which bar to drink in. Many personal stories are included in the book as the author has clearly visited more than once. Good history snippets too such as World war two and Chernobyl. So why not 5/5? Unfortunately all street names and even Metro stations are translated into English. Sadly a bit of schoolboy error and anyone whose been to Belarus will know you have to have maps & street names in Cyrillic. Still the best guide to Belarus though... reprint two will need Cyrillic names though!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I always buy a Bradt guide when I travel, if there is one available for the country. This is because they are much more insightful than the likes of Lonely Planet and will often be scribed from 1st hand local knowledge. Unfortunately, Dr Roberts has really let Bradt's image down on this one.
I've lived in Belarus for the past 2 years and used the 1st edition guide to travel around as well as a source for what to see and do whilst in Minsk. I have now given up on this guide and have oft indulged in a long conversation with other ex-pats here about how Belarus is really lacking an informative guidebook (LP's Russia & Belarus is even worse than this offering).
To start with Minsk, Dr Roberts recommends the bars and restaurants that any visitor would see walking down Nezavistimosti Avenue or in any of the squares. The real gems that are well known amongst anybody that has spent more than a few days in Minsk are notable by their absence. This is a real disappointment and the sad fact is that anybody with this guide is more likely to end up in TGI Friday's for dinner (perhaps the worst TGI Franchise you'll ever come across) rather than in one of Minsk's many excellent and individual bars, cafes or restaurants. Whilst he may have gotten the main tourists sites right, he has missed the multitude of quirky and zany aspects of this city that makes it wholly unique in Europe.
Unfortunately it doesn't get much better as you leave Minsk. Dr Robert's almost totally ignores the impressive city of Mozyr, he glosses over the veritable treat that is the Braslau Lakes and barely gives Grodna, Mogilev and Vitebsk their due. A restaurant that he recommends in Grodna was a standard, awful and unfriendly offering that exists everywhere in the country and locals avoid like the plague. In Vitebsk he avoids points of interest such as Belarus' largest Disco and points the reader towards chain pizza joints. Most shocking perhaps (in the first edition, I've not yet seen the 2nd) was the fact that Dr Roberts failed to note anywhere that the City of Polotsk is claimed to be the geographical centre of europe by the Belarusian government. Whilst more learned geographers would tell you this is just outside of Vilnius in Lithuania, the fact that Polotsk has a memorial to "The Centre of Europe" is a salient fact of the town and I am stunned that Dr Roberts missed. It is a joke amongst anybody who has read this book that Dr Roberts urges people to spent "at least a full day each" at Mir and Njasvizh, both of which anybody would struggle to amuse themselves for more than 3 hours in.
Taken as a whole, I can only assume that Dr Robert's time in Belarus has been spent in a small area and that his tour of the country was whistlestop at best. A very disappointing and underwhelming travel guide is the result. However, still the best on the market. Maybe a real gap exists for the likes of Rough Guide or DK if the market exists. Who knows...
I've lived in Belarus for the past 2 years and used the 1st edition guide to travel around as well as a source for what to see and do whilst in Minsk. I have now given up on this guide and have oft indulged in a long conversation with other ex-pats here about how Belarus is really lacking an informative guidebook (LP's Russia & Belarus is even worse than this offering).
To start with Minsk, Dr Roberts recommends the bars and restaurants that any visitor would see walking down Nezavistimosti Avenue or in any of the squares. The real gems that are well known amongst anybody that has spent more than a few days in Minsk are notable by their absence. This is a real disappointment and the sad fact is that anybody with this guide is more likely to end up in TGI Friday's for dinner (perhaps the worst TGI Franchise you'll ever come across) rather than in one of Minsk's many excellent and individual bars, cafes or restaurants. Whilst he may have gotten the main tourists sites right, he has missed the multitude of quirky and zany aspects of this city that makes it wholly unique in Europe.
Unfortunately it doesn't get much better as you leave Minsk. Dr Robert's almost totally ignores the impressive city of Mozyr, he glosses over the veritable treat that is the Braslau Lakes and barely gives Grodna, Mogilev and Vitebsk their due. A restaurant that he recommends in Grodna was a standard, awful and unfriendly offering that exists everywhere in the country and locals avoid like the plague. In Vitebsk he avoids points of interest such as Belarus' largest Disco and points the reader towards chain pizza joints. Most shocking perhaps (in the first edition, I've not yet seen the 2nd) was the fact that Dr Roberts failed to note anywhere that the City of Polotsk is claimed to be the geographical centre of europe by the Belarusian government. Whilst more learned geographers would tell you this is just outside of Vilnius in Lithuania, the fact that Polotsk has a memorial to "The Centre of Europe" is a salient fact of the town and I am stunned that Dr Roberts missed. It is a joke amongst anybody who has read this book that Dr Roberts urges people to spent "at least a full day each" at Mir and Njasvizh, both of which anybody would struggle to amuse themselves for more than 3 hours in.
Taken as a whole, I can only assume that Dr Robert's time in Belarus has been spent in a small area and that his tour of the country was whistlestop at best. A very disappointing and underwhelming travel guide is the result. However, still the best on the market. Maybe a real gap exists for the likes of Rough Guide or DK if the market exists. Who knows...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Coming to this book with very little knowledge of the country, I went away with not only a factual understanding but also a real sense of the feeling of the country and its people. The author writes from the heart and the sincere admiration and empathy which he feels for the Belarusians and their way of life is evident in every page. Unusually for a guide book, this work reads like a romance, the very personal anecodotes at times funny and at others full of pathos. Producing this guide must have been bittersweet for the author; walking, as he seems to do, a thin line between promoting tourism and wishing to protect a country retaining some innocence against difficult odds, from all the worst aspects of commercialism.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great guide
This is a great guide to Belarus. Written with a great fondness for the country, with useful and essential information interspersed with interesting anicdotes and insider... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Brookelum
A rare find
I was very surprised at how few guides are available on Belarus and most lump it in with guides on Russia which means that Belarus only merits a chapter at the most. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mrs. A. Wells
Missed opportunity
Bradt guides are invaluable in highlighting areas of the world ignored by other publishers but their quality is inconsistent because of their dependence on single authors. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Stephen Levy
Useful guide
I was in Belarus for 10 days, although only in and around Minsk. The book has a useful introduction to the (really interesting) history of the country and culture. Read more
Published 22 months ago by jw520
A proper travel guide
This informative guide to Belarus is an absolute delight - because the author's love for, and interest in the country (and its people) comes through on every page. Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2009 by Janet Gunner
There is nothing better to recommend to prospective travellers to...
This is the most comprehensive travel guide to Belarus available in English. It is certainly worth considering if you are about to visit the country or are just interested to know... Read more
Published on 3 Mar 2009 by Jakub Kolas
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