Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Venice (Lonely Planet City Maps)

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I'm just back from three weeks in Venice. Because I'm obsessive, I ended up taking along four maps: Street Smart, Lonely Planet, National Geographic, and the Rough Guide map. I thought I'd share my experiences.

The Rough Guide map ended up being my favorite. It's different than the other maps: larger, easier to read, printed on waterproof "plastic paper". It's by far the best if you're in a twisty off-the-beaten-path place, if you're looking for a particular address, or if you're trying to read it at night. If you only want to take one map, I recommend the Rough Guide map.

The issue with the Rough Guide map is, it's larger than the others. Sometimes a smaller map is easier to carry around, and sometimes it's easier to see the "big picture" with a smaller map. I found myself carrying two maps all the time.

In the small map category, I found that the National Geographic "Destination Map" for Venice is much more useful than the Lonely Planet map. It is more accurate. It covers the whole city. It is easier to read. It has a better vaporetto map. If you want a smaller "hard-plastic" map, I suggest that you buy the National Geographic map instead of Lonely Planet.

This map is attractive and compact, and is plasticized so it should endure a lot of rough treatment on a trip. It includes a diagram of the vaporetto (water bus) routes that would be more helpful if it were larger. The map covers the main tourist areas in reasonable detail, but it is of no use for one wishing to explore the less beaten paths. In short, it's pretty, but incomplete.