Customer Reviews

Fodor's Upclose Italy

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've traveled extensively and generally buy at least two guides for each country I visit, so I'm no stranger to travel guides. The only reason I give this guide one star is because I was afraid if I gave it the Zero that it deserves that others may have thought that I forget to enter a rating.

The book is extremely superficial, is completely inadequate concerning descriptions/coverage of areas and regions, and seems to dedicate an inordinate amount of space to finding cheap accommodation and cheap food. It wasn't my impression from the cover that this was a "budget" guide, but nonetheless that is not my main objection. The cover promises "the guide that gets you to the heart and soul of the country", which it doesn't, and which I didn't interpret to mean that I was buying a "budget" guide. If you do, however, want a budget guide I would recommend the Lonely Planet series. The overview description of Tuscany is 10 lines of text!

In addition to the book's lack of substance, the typeface is unusual and small -- making the book all the more annoying. Terrible!

I am buying this book for a third time. Three editions,three trips to Italy and five years later, this book is still an indispensible source of knowledge. In my opinion, this is not the only guide book you need, especially for the first time traveler. This book will enable you to catch the cultural flavor of the country and maintains a "do as the locals do" attitude. This is very refreshing, considering most books guide you to places in which you end up spending your vacation among other tourists, ending up as just a spectator within the country. In my opinion this guide book's audience is the twenty to thirty something cosmopolitan, who has graduated from the backpacking scene. If you like the Time Out Books, this book's approach is very similar. The nightlife listings are also above average, which is usually hard to find within guide books.

I have to totally disagree with the negative review. I lived in Italy for 3 months as a student and found the book very helpful. I have other travel books but this one ended up being the most useful. It really does tell you about restaurants and hotels that I never would have found otherwise. Not to say that there is no Italian culture in the book; there is plenty. If you want a history lesson, buy a history book. If you want to find great places to eat and sleep and not to mention all the sights, this book excels.