Not For Tourists
Encyclopedia
Not For Tourists is a series of guides to major cities. Unlike traditional tourist guide book
s, NFT guides are designed for people who live in or commute to their subject cities. As such, they differ in several ways from the typical guide book. In addition to highlighting landmarks, restaurants, bars, stores, and so on, NFT guides point out "essentials" like supermarkets, parking lots, pharmacies, and banks.
In addition to having little introductory/orientation material (every NFT simply begins with an introductory letter, a table of contents, and then a map of each neighborhood for that city), NFT differs from other guides in that its trim size is variable—the New York City guide is pocket-sized, while the Los Angeles guide is quite larger as it is meant to be used as a driving/navigational tool in addition to a basic reference. Cities such as Chicago and Washington, DC have a trim size that is in between that of the pocket guides and the larger Los Angeles guide. NFT states that each of its guides' sizes is based solely on the "coverage area" for each city—San Francisco being close to 50 square miles (129.5 km²), for instance, and Los Angeles covering close to 500 square miles (1,295 km²). Los Angeles has five times the population of San Francisco.
Recommendations are based on information from residents and details fact-checked. The founders encourage readers to inform them of errors through their website, and this is used to improve future editions.
NFT has released guides to:
Guide book
A guide book is a book for tourists or travelers that provides details about a geographic location, tourist destination, or itinerary. It is the written equivalent of a tour guide...
s, NFT guides are designed for people who live in or commute to their subject cities. As such, they differ in several ways from the typical guide book. In addition to highlighting landmarks, restaurants, bars, stores, and so on, NFT guides point out "essentials" like supermarkets, parking lots, pharmacies, and banks.
History
NFT originated in Jane Pirone's early-morning search for an open gas station in 1990. She and Rob Tallia published the Not For Tourists Guide to Manhattan 2000 ten years later. The name was changed to the "Guide to New York City" in 2002, which also saw the release of NFT's second city, Los Angeles. In late 2003, the guides were opened up to advertisements for financial reasons.Format
NFT guides have simple black and silver covers. The pocket-sized guides have very small typefaces and no photography.In addition to having little introductory/orientation material (every NFT simply begins with an introductory letter, a table of contents, and then a map of each neighborhood for that city), NFT differs from other guides in that its trim size is variable—the New York City guide is pocket-sized, while the Los Angeles guide is quite larger as it is meant to be used as a driving/navigational tool in addition to a basic reference. Cities such as Chicago and Washington, DC have a trim size that is in between that of the pocket guides and the larger Los Angeles guide. NFT states that each of its guides' sizes is based solely on the "coverage area" for each city—San Francisco being close to 50 square miles (129.5 km²), for instance, and Los Angeles covering close to 500 square miles (1,295 km²). Los Angeles has five times the population of San Francisco.
Content
NFT guides are organised by location, breaking cities down into neighbourhoods. The books are divided into maps which are cross-referenced with an appendix listing and briefly reviewing everyday destinations such as supermarkets, gas stations, hardware stores, and mass transit, as well as landmarks, restaurants and hotels.Recommendations are based on information from residents and details fact-checked. The founders encourage readers to inform them of errors through their website, and this is used to improve future editions.
Current NFT guides
Currently there are 12 titles, including the first ever international title The Not For Tourists Guide to London which was released in October 2008. The company is currently working on a guide to Paris to be released in 2010.NFT has released guides to:
- Atlanta
- BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
- ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
- LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
- Philadelphia
- New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
- The New York City borough of BrooklynBrooklynBrooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
- The borough of ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
- The borough of QueensQueensQueens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
- The New York City borough of Brooklyn
- San Francisco
- Seattle
- Washington, DC