Florence and Tuscany (Eyewitness Travel Guides) [Turtleback]

Adele Evans (Author), Christopher Catling (Author), Emma Jones (Contributor), Roberta Kedzierski (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2006

There is something for just about everyone in Florence and Tuscany. From viewing some of the world's greatest Renaissance art to wandering around designer boutiques. Discover a whole new side of Florence and Tuscany with the Eyewitness Travel Guide. This guide will give you practical information without any hassle. All of the important towns and other places to visit are described individually. Within each town or city, there is detailed information on important buildings and other sites. Make the most of your trip with the Eyewitness Travel Guide.

Product Details

• Turtleback: 336 pages
• Publisher: DK Travel (March 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756615402
• ISBN-13: 978-0756615406
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #442,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Travel > Europe > Italy > Florence
  • #52 in Books > Travel > Europe > Italy > Tuscany

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

99 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am very thankful for the DK Eyewitness Guides!, August 19, 2003

By 

J. Krueger "Seeker of Truth" (Falls Church, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Florence & Tuscany (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

As I've said in my review of the Eyewitness Guide to Rome, I am very impressed by the aesthetic qualities of the DK books. They make a great show and tell after you've taken the trip, save you from having to take many pictures, and inspire others to want to go there. The content, in terms of guided walks and tours, is just what you need if you're spending more than a day in the beautiful city of Florence. Face it, if you just spend a day, go to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio area, maybe the Duomo... and let them speak for themselves. But this book goes into decent depth for a variety of attractions and locations. If you are only there three days, you can pick and choose, and it doesn't skimp. I could see how the Eyewitness Guide to Florence would equip you for a month of travel in Tuscany, easily. I unfortunately couldn't get out of the city, but that leads to another praise of the book...

I had a significant medical problem in Florence, and needed immediate attention. The book gave the address for a clinic specifically for tourists (I didn't see this listed in the other guides I had access to). All of the doctors at this clinic spoke English, and I didn't even have to speak to hospital staff or reception. The thing is, even if many foreigners speak enough English to impress, in health situations it's very different and easy to confuse and become confused. Trying to get surgery isn't like ordering dinner. So the directions to this clinic allowed me to get the surgery I needed from someone fluent in my language and made the rest of my trip so much more enjoyable.

The bottom line is, if you're going to Tuscany, you can trust the DK guides to take care of what you need!

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best Overall Tour Guide to Florence, April 8, 2005

By 

Diego Banducci (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Florence & Tuscany (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

If you plan to buy only one travel guide to Florence and Tuscany, this is the one. It provides an overview of all aspects of Florentine life and then proceeds to discuss the attractions in different sections of the city, complete with street maps. Major attractions are given several page spreads with open building diagrams from which you can determine where a particular painting or sculpture is within a building.

Unfortunately, the coverage tends to be uneven. For instance, very little is said about the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, the museum that houses Michelangelo's second Pieta, Donatello's Mary Magdalene, and other significant sculpture by Donatello, della Robbia and others.

The listings of hotels and restaurants are limited, and for our purposes, were of little use. Better to use a current version of a guide dedicated to those subjects. Recommended: Time Out Shortlist Florence.

The best museum guides are the small inexpensive (about 8 euro) ones that are available at the major museums. These exist for the Academy, the Bargello, San Lorenzo, San Marco and the Museum of Archaeology. There is also an excellent, slightly larger guide to the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo that can be bought in their bookshop (You do not have to enter the museum to use the bookshop, which has a fine collection of books on Florence). We bought an entertaining and useful book there (Alta Mcadam's "Americans in Florence" [ISBN 88-09-013157-1]), which offers a series of walks with recommendations for sights restaurants, and hotels along the way. Unfortunately, it does not appear to be available in the U.S., although some of the same information may be available in the Guinti Guide to Florence.

Also consider purchasing the Knopf Guide to Florence, which is less functional but has beautiful pictures of the city.

The best map is the Knopf CityMap. Compact and very useful.

Recommendation: Our most impressive and beautiful experience in Florence was attending the afternoon vespers in the crypt of San Miniato, at which the Benedictine monks sing Gregorian chants. It's as if you were taken back 1,000 years. Truly lovely. Every afternoon at 5:30.

One last thing: Be sure to check the hours of the places you plan to visit. Many of the museums (e.g., the Bargello and the Medici Library) are only open during very short hours and only on certain days.

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent travel guide, April 6, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Florence & Tuscany (Eyewitness Travel Guides) (Paperback)

This travel guide came in very handy during a recent vacation trip to Florence. It's one of the best I've seen, though not perfect. This book is packed with useful information about the major attractions, interesting historical tidbits, lots of color photos and illustrations, and suggestions on things to buy and foods to eat. The maps of central Florence are very helpful to anyone planning to wander a lot by foot which is really the best way to see the city. Most of the major sights are within easy walking distance of one another. There is also information and photos of other towns in Tuscany with brief descriptions. This guide book has sturdy laminated covers which means it won't fall apart on you, even after constant use. My biggest gripe concerns the hotel and restaurant recommendations. Most of the hotels listed are very expensive. And the restaurant list could be better, in my opinion. It would have also been helpful to have more information about bus routes to places of interest outside Florence. My wife and I, for instance, took a side trip to a small town just south of the city. We found a local bus that took us there and the fare was less than two euros. But all of these faults are minor. I would still strongly recommend this guide to anyone visiting Florence.