Fodor's Essential Italy, 1st Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between (Fodor's Gold Guides) [Paperback]

Fodor's (Author)

Book Description

Series: Fodor's Gold Guides | Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Rome, Florence, and Venice: those magical names are at the top of everyone’s “must-see” list for Italy. First-time visitors design their itineraries around them, while Italy veterans return to them again and again, knowing that the old saying about Rome, “A lifetime is not enough,” equally applies to Florence and Venice.

This guide gives travelers what they want: the same high-quality coverage as in Fodor's other Italy guides, but with a focus on the most popular destinations. The resulting book is slimmer and lighter than competing guides, but it’s filled with great Fodor’s features and information that’s rich and varied enough to suit any taste.

• Includes itineraries showing readers how to see the best of Italy at their own pace, with maximum fun and minimum fatigue

• Magazine-like “In Focus” features include topics such as Ancient Rome, The Basilica di San Francesco in Assisi, Siena's Campo & the Palio, Who's Who in Renaissance (Florence), Cruising the Grand Canal (Venice), Palladio Country, Emilia One Tast at a Time, The Fashionista's Milan, and The Cinque Terre.

• Thorough coverage of the surrounding highlights, including Tuscany, Milan, and the Cinque Terre

• 8-page color insert

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's; 1 Pap/Map edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400017467
• ISBN-13: 978-1400017461
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,649 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gives me what I'm looking for, and a little more, March 9, 2007

By 

Viva Italia - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fodor's Essential Italy, 1st Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

I've been looking at a bunch of guides for planning an Italy trip this summer, and this is the best so far. It's not as big as other guides, but it's got as much information about the places I'm going as the other guides do, and it also manages to throw in little things that are unique, like an interview with a winebar owner in Venice, explaining the local winebar customs and no-nos.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Italy in all its glory, May 9, 2007

By 

carolynm - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fodor's Essential Italy, 1st Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

I used Fodor's to map out my itinerary to ensure I saw everything I wanted to see and experienced Italy in all its glory. It explained the "must sees" very well and concisely.

The map was handy but not as good as other maps purchased in a book store which had more detail right on the map of the places to see so we did not have to carry the book around.

Tips on how to avoid the long lines were very accurate.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information, terrible maps, August 20, 2007

By 

Peter A. Rogers - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fodor's Essential Italy, 1st Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

I've never been disappointed with a Fodor's guide until now. Although the information is very good, as usual for Fodor's, the maps are terrible. In particular, the pullout map is almost useless; many streets are shown, but not marked with a name -- and why does a guide for Rome, Florence and Venice not have a pullout map for Florence? Even the maps within the guide itself are disappointing -- names are printed in black, but the maps themselves are in orange ink, making them hard to read, and once again they lack enough detail to find your way in a strange city. Fodor's should check Rick Steves' Italy guide to see how to do a map. If you choose this as your only guide for an Italian trip, make sure your first action in any of the three cities is to buy a good map! (I particularly recommend the Berendtson map of Venice, and the Editricelozzi map of Rome.)