Fodor's 2019 travel guide to Melbourne puts Gold Coast on the cover

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This was published 4 years ago

Fodor's 2019 travel guide to Melbourne puts Gold Coast on the cover

By Kylie McLaughlin
Updated
Fodor's '25 Best Melbourne' guide book for 2019, featuring the Gold Coast's skyline.

Fodor's '25 Best Melbourne' guide book for 2019, featuring the Gold Coast's skyline.

Maybe it's a cheap dig at our wintry weather, but the cover to travel publisher Fodor's yet-to-be-released guide to 25 Best Melbourne features an image of ... the Gold Coast.

"Don't just see the sights. See the best" urges the book's tagline, which runs underneath the Queensland cover image on Amazon's pre-order page for the book.

Admittedly, it has captured the Gold Coast on an unusually gloomy day, giving it a Gotham City appeal, but the thin strip of high rises and the side stretch of beach undoubtedly belong the region in southern Queensland.

Lonely Planet's now-collectible 'Westen Europe' guidebook

Lonely Planet's now-collectible 'Westen Europe' guidebook

The book description on Amazon states it includes a "sturdy, detailed street map you can bring along with you to help you navigate when cell service is not available". However, I'm not sure that's going to come in handy when you find yourself looking for the non-existent surf coast.

The New York Times notes that Fodor's guides are "aimed at a fairly discerning traveller with an appetite for background and the occasional surprise." Hopefully the surprise is not being in the wrong city.

The company is one of the oldest travel publishers in the world, with a history that goes back to the 1930s.

"For 80 years, Fodor's Travel has been a trusted resource offering expert travel advice for every stage of a traveler's trip," its website notes.

Fodor's aren't alone in massive cover gaffes - Lonely Planet's massive guide to Western Europe erroneously named "Westen Europe' along the spine. A wise business decision saw them inserting a bookmark alerting readers to the error instead of pulping the print run on one of its most popular guidebooks - and it has since become a collectible.

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Fodor's travel guide to Melbourne is due out on November 19, 2019. Which hopefully gives its editors plenty of time to realise their mistake.

Sydneysiders can take heart that the upcoming 25 Best Sydney book accurately features an image of Luna Park and the Harbour Bridge.

See also: Canada's Sydney, America's Melbourne: 10 foreign cities with Australian names

See also: Don't feel bad: The 14 travel mistakes even experienced travellers make

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