5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice guide, well researched, June 12, 2006
This review is from: Frommer's Italy's Best-Loved Driving Tours (Paperback)
When we travel to Italy we love to rent cars and take the road less traveled to cities that are typically off the tourist path. I have a number of books on driving tours through Italy. I find that I return time and again to the books on driving tours because very little changes in Italy from year to year, which I think it part of the beauty of Italy.
At the beginning of each section the book provides a narrative regarding the larger cities in each area. I have listed these cities in brackets after the regions below.
This book has outlined 25 tours through Italy these are as follows:
Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto (Torino, Milano, Bologna, Rimini, Asolo, Verona)
Tour 1: The Foot of the Mountains
Tour 2: Of Alps, Lakes & Plain
Tour 3: La Grassa - the Fat Country
Tour 4: Of Mosaics, Sun & Sea
Tour 5: The Gentle Veneto
Tour 6: Beyond Venice - Inland Veneto
Liguria & Tuscany (San Remo, Genova, Pisa, Firenze)
Tour 7: The Lingurian Hilltowns
Tour 8: The Riviera of Levante
Tour 9: Treasures of Tuscany
Tour 10: The Cradle of the Renaissance
Umbria & The Marches (Perugia, Ancona, Urbino)
Tour 11: The Green Heart of Italy
Tour 12: Italy's Best Kept Secret
Tour 13: The Northern Marches
Lazio, Campania, Abruzzo (Roma, Napoli, Pescara, L'Aquila)
Tour 14: The Apennines & the Adriatic
Tour 15: Abruzzo - the Remote Interior
Tour 16: Roman Country Retreats
Tour 17: The Roman Countryside
Tour 18: In the Shadow of Vesuvius
Tour 19: Small Cities of Campania
Calabria, Basilicata, Puglia (Catanzaro, Cosenza, Matera, Bari, Brindisi, Foggia)
Tour 20: The Toe of the Boot
Tour 21: The Highlands of Calabria
Tour 22: Forgotten Basilicata
Tour 23: Ancient Puglia
Tour 24: The Heel of Italy
Tour 25: The Gargano Peninsula
For each tour the book provides the following information:
1. Time required
2. Total distance in both kilometers and miles
3. Distance between towns
4. Driving directions
5. Brief narrative about each city on the tour
The book does provide limited lodging information in the back of the book. However, I don't find it to be adequate to make an informed decision. I would recommend a lodging only book to make those decisions.
If you were interested in driving to the smaller cities and towns in Italy, I would also recommend "Italy on Backs Roads" by Hunter Publishing and "Driving Tours of Italy" by Macmillan Travel.
The book does contain some pictures, although fewer than the typical guidebook. I would also recommend that you supplement this book with a good map of Italy. I use the Michelin map of Italy. That way if you get a tip from a local you can venture even further off the beaten path. Some of our best memories of Italy were as a result of a tip from someone in a restaurant or a shop. Italians love to chat and share their country. If you ask them questions they will point you to some of the most lovely places.
This book is a small size and fits easily into a big purse or suitcase. I find it works best to copy the sections of all the guidebooks that apply to my trip and bind these together as a personal guidebook that also saves space in my suitcase.
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