Product Details

• Actors: Rick Steves
• Directors: Graham Loveridge
• Producers: Tracy R. West
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Questar
• VHS Release Date: April 30, 2002
• Run Time: 53 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1568551711
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,432 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Art, food, and history, with an eye toward budgeting, is the focus of host Rick Steves's tours of the expensive, tourist-clogged cities of Venice and Florence. Having traveled to Italy--alone and with family in tow--for two decades, Steves draws upon his ample experience to guide would-be travelers away from crowds and money drains. In Venice, he takes viewers through the canals, suggesting an alternative to the "ransom" paid for gondolas, and to the standard attractions like St. Mark's Cathedral, all the while dispensing tips on dress code, inexpensive lodging, and gelati. In Florence, he starts with frescoes in a less-visited city across the Arno River and then treks over to the Renaissance Ringleader's ring road to see Michaelangelo's David; its precursor, Donatello's David; and the Uffizi Gallery, crammed with works by Botticelli, Titian, and others, dropping more tips as he goes. This 50-minute offering, first seen on public television, also includes general advice on seeking a travel agent, attempting to speak other languages, and itinerary planning. --Kimberly Heinrichs

Product Description

Follow intrigues of the Doge's Palace and see the stolen booty in St. Mark's Basilica. Leave the watery glitz for a progressive pub crawl dinner. Discover how to get around the canals and pleasantly lost in back streets. Visit the sleepy outer island of Burano. Enjoy the cultural richness of Renaissance Florence. Savor the prospect from Giotto's Tower, look into the eyes of Michelango's David, and study the hair-raising inferno in the Baptistry. 1997 VHS 60 min. Wehman Video Cat. #0582

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best "how-to" travel series on the market, October 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Italy: Venice, Florence [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Rick Steves gives good, practical advice for traveling in Europe, right down to the packing tips. A friend who just returned from Italy said the crowds were unbelievable; Steves seeks out the places where the tour buses don't go, and gives tips on reducing costs for food and lodging (i.e., stay in a pension instead of a five-star hotel, and check out the local market for a picnic lunch). If you're looking for a comprehensive guide to The Art of Florence, get a Sister Wendy tape. Steves concentrates on the basics of traveling in Europe, and does it in a very entertaining way.

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible, September 17, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Bigfork,Montana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Italy: Venice, Florence [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is the worst tape I have ever seen. It gives about 5 minutes of Venice and the rest with a travel agent about planning your trip.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent preparation for a trip, July 28, 2005

By 

Elisabeth Hallett (Hamilton, MT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Italy: Venice, Florence [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This is a great video for someone who is actually planning a visit to Florence and Venice. It's also a fun video just to watch -- lots of scenes of Italians in action. Reviews that imply there is not much time spent on the cities are simply incorrect. The time spent in Venice and its islands totals 22 rich and well chosen minutes; Florence is equally well represented. There are about five minutes devoted to very good tips on planning your trip, and tips on overcoming the language barrier are scattered throughout the Florence section. I would recommend this tape highly to anyone planning their first visit to Venice and Florence! Rick Steves knows what he is talking about and he gets a lot of valuable information across, while treating the viewer to a fun and beautiful visit to these two wonderful cities.