Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) [Paperback]

Darwin Porter (Author), Danforth Prince (Author)

Book Description

Series: Frommer's Color Complete | Publication Date: December 2, 2009

NOW IN FULL COLOR!

Insider advice on avoiding the crowds as you explore some of Italy's greatest gems, from the Uffizi in Florence to the Vatican Museum in Rome, and from the ruins at Pompeii to Venice's St. Mark's basilica. Plus tips for navigating the country's lovely but less-traveled corners, like the Marches, the Dolomites, and even Sardinia.

Where to find the absolute best seafood in Venice, the loveliest vineyards in Tuscany, the tastiest pizza in Naples, and, of course, the finest gelato that Italy has to offer.

Insightful commentary on Italy's dazzling array of art and architectural masterpieces, from Michelangelo's statue of David to the glories of St. Peter's in Rome.

Opinionated write-ups. No bland descriptions and lukewarm recommendations. Our expert writers are passionate about their destinations--tell it like it is in an engaging and helpful way.

Exact prices listed for every establishment and activity--no other guides offer such detailed, candid reviews of hotels and restaurants. We include the very best, but also emphasize moderately priced choices for real people.

All Complete guides offer user-friendly features including star ratings and special icons to point readers to great finds, excellent values, insider tips, best bets for kids, special moments, and overrated experiences.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Discover The Best of Italy
Content from Frommer's Italy 2010

Italy is so packed with attractions that it’s hard to know where to start. But that’s where we come in. In this chapter is our personal, opinionated list of what we consider to be Italy’s top highlights. Our list will get you started and point you toward some of the possibilities for designing your own vacation. Whether this is your first trip or your tenth, you’re bound to come away with your own favorites to add to the list.

Italy's Top Destinations by Category

The Best Travel Experiences	The Most Romantic Getaways	The Best Museums
The Best Ruins	The Best Luxury Hotels	The Best Restaurants

From the Back Cover

Frommer's Italy 2010

Full Color Inside

With Foldout Map

• Hundreds of color photos

• Foldout map, plus detailed maps throughout

• Exact prices, directions, opening hours,and other practical information

• Candid reviews of hotels and restaurants,plus sights, shopping, and nightlife

• Itineraries, walking tours, and trip-planning ideas

• Insider tips from local expert authors

Product Details

• Paperback: 976 pages
• Publisher: Frommers; 5 edition (December 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470470690
• ISBN-13: 978-0470470695
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For either armchair traveler or anyone planning a trip in the near future, January 25, 2010

By 

Pikmin (Allentown, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

In the past I've generally relied on the Rough Guide or Let's Go books for travel advice, holding the opinion that books like Frommer's were geared more towards older travelers who followed a fixed and possibly boring itinerary. But I'm hoping to return to Italy this year for the first time in 7 years, and am looking forward to seeing how it's changed, so when I got the chance to check out this book, I was eager to pick it up and start some armchair planning.

Having spent some time with it, I think this book would work really well for either the armchair traveler or anyone planning a trip to Italy in the near future, as it's really just packed full of useful information for travelers of any budget or style, while at the same time teasing you with beautiful photographs and descriptions. I like the layout in particular, for finding just what you need when you need it: each section starts with a brief and slightly poetic introduction ("Venice is a preposterous monument to both the folly and obstinacy of humankind. It shouldn't exist, but it does") , immediately followed by the "Essentials" section, giving you all the necessary logistics of arrival (key phone numbers, public transit, etc). The "Neighborhoods in Brief" is a fantastic way of getting a handle on the different areas of the cities that's useful in figuring out where you really want to stay (ie., do you want to stay in the funky neighborhood with excellent shopping and local restaurants, or the upscale area near the museums?).

A quick way for me to judge an Italy guidebook is to flip to the section on Venice, a city I adore. This books gets a thumbs-up from me on this section. An accurate assessment of the indecipherable address system ("A maniac must've numbered Venice's buildings") is accompanied by some good tips on actually finding a specific address. It also accurately assess the romance (or lack thereof) in most gondola rides.

One of the things I liked best about the book was the color photographs - you don't usually get those in a travel book, at least not this many and of this quality. Since half the pleasure of the travel guide is savoring the planning and anticipation, it succeeds on that level. There's also a pretty handy pull-out map of Italy at the back of the book with street maps of Venice and Rome on the flip side. These things do make the book heavy, but you can always do what I've done, which is cut out the section you're currently touring, and just take those pages with you when you go out for the day.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly helpful guide, December 24, 2009

By 

Ursiform (Torrance, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

When planning a trip I like to sample the opinion of several guides, as one is rarely complete or entirely aligned to my preferences. I'm planning a trip to Tuscany and Umbria next fall (I've been to Florence before), and thought this guide might be a good supplement to the Eyewitness, Michelin, and Lonely Planet guides I already have.

I was surprised at how helpful I found this guide. Like the Michelin guide, it rates key attractions with one to three stars. While I would never plan a trip based on the ratings of a single guidebook, I do find the star ratings helpful in elucidating the author's opinions in a way that sifting through different adjectives in descriptions isn't. Unlike the Michelin guide this book groups cities by geography (which is how you would visit them) rather than alphabetically across the whole country. It also has more detail on hotels. In fact, the extensive descriptions of hotels is one of the reasons I found this guide so useful.

While it is proud of it "full color", the color pictures are added here and there as an accent, and don't add a lot to the text. The Eyewitness guides are far more useful for their pictures, although they contain less helpful prose. (Seriously, if you are willing to spend the money for a vacation to Italy, invest in several guides up front, they're cheap compared to the trip itself!)

While I generally thought highly of this guide, it was not without its faults. One that struck me was that in its "Best of Italy" section it lists Todi and Spoleto as the first two entries for "most romantic getaways"; when you get to their listings they are both rated one star, without much said about why they are romantic destinations. Treat this book as one source of many in your planning, and you should be pleased.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fairly comprehensive guide to Italy, December 28, 2009

By 

N. Hawkins "whereishawkins" (Chicago) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete) (Paperback)

(What's this?)

I like big tomes of books with travel information, and I'll get to field test this book in several weeks during a crazy trip around Italy. This book's a monster, and very comprehensive. And I'm not a big fan of Frommer's in general, but I rather like this book. The book itself is easy to read unlike the Rough Guide books. The color photos were nice, but were bonuses and not really helpful to the content.

The book's layout was helpful because it's geographically based, so if you wanted to hit specific areas, attractions and lodging are logically based. The hotel and food sections were extremely helpful in trying to decide where to treat myself when I'm in Italy.

If you're looking for a good book on Italy, this is a great book to start with, but I'd never rely on just one book as a source of information. Consider this one of the good ones out there, and review them all.