Books

Cheeky Guide to Brighton
(www.cheekyguides.co.uk, £7.95).
A thorough, entertaining guide that gives the lowdown on the Sussex city with tongue firmly in cheek. Chapters such as “Things to do in Hove when you’re (not) dead” set the tone, and there’s a celeb-spotters’ guide: a sighting of Julie Burchill gets 4 points while Nick Cave racks up 50, with an extra 10 if you see him in Mothercare.

The Cheap Bastard’s Guide to New York City
(Globe Pequot, available in the US, www.globepequot.com, $14.95).
Tips on free and inexpensive things to do in the Big Apple, ranging from discounted bagels to Broadway performances. Pick it up at Strand Books (828 Broadway, at 12th Street, www.strandbooks.com), an 80-year-old independent store.

Le Cool Changed my Life: A Weird and Wonderful Guide to Barcelona
(www.thefridayproject.co.uk, £9.99).
Hidden bars, sex motels, drag queens, hip shops and tapas. And its cool red cover means you won’t stand out when you’re consulting its pages over a late-night drink.

In Your Pocket
(www.inyourpocket.com).
The best guides to Eastern Europe. These cover some obscure cities – Zadar, Shkodra, Kashubia, Druskininkai, anyone? – and are updated regularly. Although available locally for a couple of pounds as a booklet, many can be downloaded free. Somewhat oddly, Belfast and the Isle of Man are also covered.

Itchy City
(www.itchycity.co.uk , £3.50).
The irreverent, pocket-sized Itchy guides cover plenty of British cities that rarely get a look in (Sheffield, Birmingham, Cardiff, for example) plus the usual tourist-pleasers such as Edinburgh, York and Cambridge. Excellent ideas on shopping, partying and where to sleep.

Websites

Fridaycities
(http://london.fridaycities.com).
What better way to find out about London than by asking its inhabitants? Once you’ve registered, you can pose questions on various topics – best chippies, musicals and so on. For a Big Apple version see www.askanewyorker.com.

Globorati
(www.globorati.com).
What’s hip around the world from a stable of writers on the lookout for hot hotel openings, new restaurants, spas, ski resorts and the like. Gridskipper (www.gridskipper.com) is similar, while Daily Candy (www.dailycandy.com) will e-mail you with news geared to specific cities.

Chow Hound
(www.chowhound.com).
Skewed towards the US, with contributors swapping foodie tips. If you want to know the best place to get a pizza in Chicago or a steak in Miami, ask here.

Craigslist
(www.craigslist.org).
This community website was launched in San Francisco, but is now popular worldwide. It has discussion forums on topics including travel. Lonely road-warriors might want to search the personals section.

LX
(www.lx.com).
The future of travel guides? Concentrating on New York and LA, this slick site has videos of the cities’ latest bar, restaurant, club and shop happenings. You may be left feeling rather empty because your life is so unglam compared with this lot.

Tours

Sydney By Diva
(www.sydneybydivatours.com, £40). Sit back, strap yourself in and enjoy the ride as Shirley Shagwell or Dame Edna Average show you what’s big Down Under. During the three-hour tours around Sydney you’ll be served canapés and champagne along with biting wit.

Dearly Departed Tours, Los Angeles
(www.viator.com, £18).
Hollywood is a city of dreams – and nightmares. If the macabre’s your thing, see where it’s all gone horribly wrong for celebs on this tour from George Michael’s arresting toilet to the spot where Hugh Grant pulled over for some Divine intervention.

Jewish New York
(www.jewishtours.com, £18).
Tour the Big Bagel on this walk around Chassidic Brooklyn, a side of life most tourists never get to see. It includes a visit to a traditional kosher deli, so get noshing.

Trabant safari, Berlin
(www.trabi-safari.de, from £17).
Self-drive Trabi tours are 90 minutes and upwards with an English-speaking guide via the radio. For more Ostalgie, stay at the Ostel hostel (www.ostel.eu, singles from £26), near Paris Commune Street, with pictures of ex-GDR leaders on the wall, flock wallpaper, clocks showing Moscow time and radios tuned to Havana.

Times recommends

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