Long overdue: Revised, updated, freshly-illustrated Edinburgh joins the Companion Guide series, informative on Edinburgh's - and Scotland's - past and present. Edinburgh is one of Europe's most elegant and cosmopolitan cities, the Old Town rebuilt on the medieval street plan after being burned down by the English in 1544, and the eighteenth-century classical New Town more extensive thananything else of its kind in Europe. Edinburgh was the capital of an independent kingdom for more than two hundred and fifty years, and it has the air of a capital, with buildings where kings were born or where some of their moreprominent subjects were assassinated, streets once trodden by Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and a rich artistic life that comes into exhilarating full flower in August with the Edinburgh Festival. Edinburgh is also the gateway to some of the most spectacularly beautiful country in Britain: lying southward is the romantic landscape of the Borders, where Alexander Youngson is an admirable guide to the ruined abbeys, the castles thathave withstood countless sieges, and the great houses still owned by families 'that the Flood could not wash away'. A.J. YOUNGSON is former chairman of the Fine Art Commission for Scotland.

EDINBURGH is one of Europe's most elegant and cosmopolitan cities, the Old Town rebuilt on the medieval street plan after being burned down by the English in 1544, and the eighteenth-century classical New Town more extensive than anything else of its kind in Europe. Edinburgh was the capital of an independent kingdom for more than two hundred and fifty years, and it has the air of a capital, with buildings where kings were born or where some of their more prominent subjects were assassinated, streets once trodden by Mary Queen of Scots and Bonnie Prince Charlie, and a rich artistic life that comes into exhilarating full flower in August with the Edinburgh Festival. Edinburgh is also the gateway to some of the most spectacularly beautiful country in Britain: lying southward is the romantic landscape of the Borders, a country of ruined abbeys, castles that have withstood countless sieges, and great houses still owned by families 'that the Flood could not wash away'.

For anyone planning a visit to Burgundy this Guide is indispensable. TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT As elegant as it is exhaustive. The whole book has body and bouquet, [its author] is well-read, witty, relaxed and impeccably observant. GUARDIAN Burgundy is one of the richest areas in France - rich in its art and architecture, its history, its food and wines, and its glorious countryside. Nowhere in Europe are there greater examples of the Romanesque: the basilica of the Madeleine at Vézelay, the sculptures of Gislebertus of Autun, the cathedral of St Philibert at Tournus. The very names of its vineyards - Corton, Chambertin, Montrachet - conjure up the robust and mature bouquet of the province. Once the abbeys at Cluny, Pontigny and Fontenay were the wellspring of medieval Christianity in Europe; now the spiritual community at Taizé speaks to the whole world. Nowhere in France is the sense of the past more immediate, nowhere does it so palpably inform the present. On its first publication, the Companion Guide to Burgundy established itself as the indispensable guide to the region. In this extensively revised new edition, FRANCIS PAGAN has updated and expanded the text to provide the reader with the most knowledgeable, reliable and attentive guide now available to this most fascinating and hospitable region of France.

This is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of KEITH SPENCE's essential guide to two of the most beautiful - and often still unspoiled - counties in England, which on its first publication quickly established itself as the best available guide to the area. Mr Spence shows how much as yet survives and how rich, varied and fascinating this part of England still is. He writes sensitively and knowledgeably about buildings and architecture, and has a keen sense of the detail that gives identity to a place. There is much to be learned from this book, which maintains the high standard of the Companion Guide series. OBSERVER

The guide for the traveller as opposed to the tourist: the person for whom the history of the region and its reflection in landscape, buildings and culture are the essence of travel.

Wales is a country where small in beautiful, a cultural tradition rooted in the austerity and erudition of the Celtic saints, a tradition more confirmed than repudiated by the Reformation and is best appreciated by lovers of small things. The delights of Wales are understated and cumulative: small country churches rather than great city cathedrals, a labyrinth of byeays away form the few highways, details of vernacular achitecture rather than grand edifices - Edward I's thirteenth-century castles being the exception that proves the rule.

I value the traditional virtues of the Companion Guides... actually written by an individual rather than packaged by production teams... straightforward intelligent guides to cultural sites. BOOKSELLER Andalucia in its heyday, after the invasion of the Moors in 711, was famous for its wealth and fertility, and the province's Moorish character remains distinct; even before the Moors, the Phoenicians, the Romans and the Vandals had all been drawn to this beautiful land. The Moors cultivated science and the arts, and their influence was felt throughout western Europe - in the songs of the troubadours, the poems of Dante and the discoveries of Copernicus; their merchants enriched the province; their courtiers and architects set new standards of luxurious living. This glory finally ended in 1492, when the Christian armies of the Reconquista entered Granada, but much remains in the three Moorish towns of Cordoba, Seville and Granada, and the country round about, to recall the great times. Alfonso Lowe is an admirable guide, from the intricacies of the distinction between Mozarabic and Mudejar Moorish styles to the characteristic dishes to be found in restaurants and bars - and to the adjacent territories of Murcia and the greater part of Alicante.

Few cities can boast such a distinguished literary history as Edinburgh. The new and expanded edition of this remarkable anthology traces the city's history and charts its literary past and present-a fascinating portrait of a vibrant capital as seen by writers through the centuries.

Comprehensive guide to the Lake District, fully revised and updated. Unimprovably good JOHN LANCHESTER, LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS There is hardly a stone in the Lake District that Frank Welsh leaves unturned. From the particular delights of the places with which the Lake Poets are associated - Dove Cottage, Grasmere, Buttermere, Cockermouth - to the remoter parts of the Eden Valley and Furness, over the fells, beside the lakes, through history, topography, archaeology, literature, geology and even bakery, Frank Welsh is the consummate guide and companion, writing with wit, intelligence and true skill. He covers both the less visited, and, in the author's view, unappreciated, parts of the Lake District, as well as those which no visitor will want to miss.

When Brian de Jongh's two classic Companion Guides, Southern Greece and Mainland Greece, were first published they were greeted with acclaim and immediately established themselves as essential guides. They have now been combined into this single volume, covering the whole of the Greek mainland. This new edition has been thoroughly revised by John Gandon (Brian de Jongh's nephew) and Geoffrey Graham-Bell, taking into account both new archaeological discoveries and recent development. Brian de Jongh combined an expert knowledge of history, archaeology and mythology with a profound understanding of the Greek people and a feeling for the landscape which inspired their myths and monuments: he describes a country that he loved and much of which Pausanias, writing almost two thousand years ago, would still recognise. This book is, more than ever, the most indispensable of all modern guides to Greece.