No comments about Lazy Days Out in Tuscany (Cadogan Guides Series).

No comments about Mozart in Italy.

5 comments about Blue Guide Venice (Seventh Edition).

1. If you are looking for a guide that will help you "narrow down" the choices of sights to see in Venice, this one is not for you. If you are looking for extensive lists and reviews of hotels, again this is not for you. Finally, if you're looking for detailed restauraunt information, you won't find it here. Basically, this guide is not a planning guide. I have used the Internet for most of my planning (e-mail me if you need some help finding some great sites MarySorens@hotmail.com).

   What this guide does have to offer is an amazing amount of cultural, historic, and artistic information in a very packable sized guide. This will be the guide to read when you are doing your own tours of Venice. It will tell you far more than any tour guide would.

   This guide also has map pages included. At first they are difficult to read and understand. But once you get the hang of them, you will love them. They are very detailed, and who wants to be seen walking around a city with a two foot map in their face??

   The blue guide also gets you oriented to the city. Even if you don't use the Blue Guide's walks, they will show you which attractions are grouped together and will help you plan your routes (this is the one sense in which this guide works for planning). I haven't left yet,and my guide looks worn!

   In conclusion, I am putting together my own itinerary that will contain details like restaurant and hotel addresses. And then this will be the only guidebook that I take with me to Venice. And I am looking forward to reading it and absorbing as much of the city as possible! If you are remotely interested in history and art and more, you will not regret purchasing this guide. I have used many guidebooks for trips, and the Blue Guides are the most informative and educated.




2. The amazingly rich Blue Guides have been around for years and years - I recently bought a hardback Rome Blue Guide from 1964! - and they just keep getting better and better. If you're like me, and have a passion for art and history, they're the best guides available. No glossy photos, and dense with details, they're not the book for everyone - but because they concisely describe nearly every corner of the city, they ARE the guidebook for some of us.

   I use other guidebooks for planning (Access is excellent, and Littlewood's "A Literary Companion to Venice" is great for walking tours) but the Blue Guide is only one I carry in my purse every day in Venice.




3. Some travelers recommend the Blue Guide to Venice, especially for its walking itineraries. It doesn't have information on restaurants or hotels. It is an excellent reference, perhaps bring it with you and read up on each site before you leave your hotel room, but it is very very detailed and, in my opinion, dry reading. I like the Links book "Venice for Pleasure" better because there is much detail and history, but the tone is conversational; for me the Blue Guide is like reading an instruction manual.



4. The best guide book to Venice ever published. It's all there: art, architecture, history, maps....
   
   A must for the serious traveler who wants to learn it all.



5. As an alternative to buying a souvenir guide to every site experienced, and missing a great deal more along the way, the Guide contains the specific and important details of major churches, museums, galleries and palazzos. I have used the Guide in Rome and found no need for additional guides. Focus is on what you'll see on your walks, and what you should see. No color pictures, fewer "ads" for stores and restaurants -- tho there are some -- but valuable-to-essential to the tourist serious about the experience in Venice.

No comments about A Marriage Made in Italy - Area Guide 1: The Amalfi Coast.

1 comments about Ticino Guide.

1. I found the title "Ticino Guide" to be misleading. My expectation is that this would be a travelogue of the Ticino Canton with a cultural history of each town, best places to eat, sites to see, etc. Instead Ticino Guide is an architectural tour of Ticino.

2 comments about Eyewitness Travel Guide to Naples.

1. The Eyewitness guides are always the best available for any destination...nothing comparable. You can create your own tours with these guides.



2. Although the section on Naples is extensive, the section on the Amalfi and Sorrento Coasts is disappointingly slim. There is scant information on how to get there and what to do there, given how popular these locations are with tourists. Also, the book (and most of the Eyewitness series) surprisingly doesn't include any relevant websites for further research. The pictures are great, as always, and the layout of the book is terrific, but disappointingly behind the times.

No comments about Villages of Italy (Italy from Above).

5 comments about Rick Steves' Rome 2006 (Rick Steves).

1. Mr. Steves Rome tour guide is, like most of his other books very useful. I always want to know where to stay and have that arranged before I arrive in a city. Rick's useful information helps with that. He has very good ideas for arranging a tour of the city and helps with places to eat.



2. Any American contemplating a visit to Rome will be well advised to pick up a copy of this book. Rick not only describes the things to do but lets you know what NOT to do and what to avoid - sage advise for the first-time visitor. He also directs the tourist to out-of-the-way restraints and hotels where one can meet real Romans not just doormen. This book is a must!



3. Great "tips" on how to get the most out of your trip. His style of writing makes you want to read more--very funny! Especially love the small section on Italian phrases. Thanks Rick--now we just have to go to Rome to use it!



4. This book will be my BIBLE when traveling to Rome. There are so many good tips and inside information. Having this book will help us plan our trip and make the best of our time and money. Because we're traveling NEXT August, I believe I'll try the 2007 addition too. Thanks Rick Steves!!



5. I just returned from Italy where I used this book practically as a bible while in Rome. Having used other travel books around the world, I really enjoyed and appreciated how Rick Steves organizes his book and provides you with just the right amount of detail and direction to make the most out of your trip.
   
   Only having four days in Rome, his book helped me see the major sites, avoid long lines and make the best of a short trip. I recommend reading the recommended 'tours' the evening before to help you plan your attack. It was great to be able to wander through the Forum, book in hand and hit the highlights while understanding the magnificance of the place.
   
   The way the tours are grouped are fabulous. I really felt like I saw the best that Rome had to offer.
   
   The tips on avoiding lines was invaluable! Take those tips to heart and you'll save many hours of frustration. I used a combination of restaurants I found, plus his recommendations and never had a bad meal.
   
   Truly a great book, now If only I can find a similar book for Asia.

No comments about Global Access Visual Passport Italian (Global Access).

No comments about Venice, Florence, Naples, Rome, and the Vatican City (Civilization, Art, and History).