Planning a vacation? You need Lonely Planet’s guide to world’s ‘best’ cities

The updated hardback provides essential information, background and planning advice like the best times to go, strengths and weaknesses, movies the cities have been featured in, shopping, and nightlife destinations.

Lonely Planet has released a new encyclopedic travel guide that provides a snapshot of 200 cities around the world. The latest edition of “The Cities Book” presents 200 of what editors call the best, “most intriguing, exciting and famous” cities in the world for urban holidaymakers.

The updated hardback provides essential information, background and planning advice like the best times to go, strengths and weaknesses, movies the cities have been featured in, shopping, and nightlife destinations. Strengths listed for the book’s starting chapter, Abu Dhabi, for instance, include its beachfront promenade, glamorous hotels and resorts and diverse cuisines.

The city’s searing heat and expensive accommodations, and downtown traffic are listed as some of its weaknesses. The book also includes categories like the top five cities for bookworms, LGBT travelers, skylines, art galleries, coffee, museums, accessibility, cycling, architecture, wine and music.

The title also features 750 photos. “The Cities Book: A Journey Through the Best Cities in the World” hits US book shelves October 17 and retails for U$50.