The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy: Florence, Rome, Tuscany & Umbria [Paperback]

Melanie Mize Renzulli (Author)

Book Description

Series: Unofficial Guides | Publication Date: March 12, 2004

The Unofficial Guides® are the "Consumer Reports" of travel guides, offering candid evaluations of their destinations' attractions, hotels, restaurants, shopping, nightlife, sports, and more, all rated and ranked by a team of unbiased inspectors so even the most compulsive planners can be sure they're spending their time and money wisely. Each guide addresses the needs of everyone from families to business travelers, with handy charts that demonstrate how each place stacks up against the competition. Plus, all the details are pulled out so they're extremely easy to scan.

Get the unbiased truth on hundreds of hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more in The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy--the resource that helps you save money, save time, and make your trip the best it can be. It includes:

• Information that's candid, critical, and relentlessly objective
• A complete planner to Florence, Rome, and the highlights of Tuscany, Umbria, Latium, and the Marches
• Honest advice that lets you feel safe and comfortable in the heart of Italy--whether you speak Italian or not
• Insider tips on finding the most charming hotels for the best price
• Hundreds of restaurants reviewed and ranked for quality and value
• Tips for saving money and feeling at home with the Euro
• Expert advice on how to get around the region like a local
• The inside story on shopping--where to get the best for less
• Everything you need to know for a worry-free vacation

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

From the publishers of The Unofficial Guide® to Walt Disney World®

"A Tourist’s Best Friend!"
–Chicago Sun-Times

"Indispensable"
–The New York Times

The Top 10 Ways The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy Can Help You Have the Perfect Trip:

1. Information that’s candid, critical, and relentlessly objective
2. A complete planner to Florence, Rome, and the highlights of Tuscany, Umbria, Latium, and the Marches
3. Honest advice that lets you feel safe and comfortable in the heart of Italy–whether you speak Italian or not
4. Insider tips on finding the most charming hotels for the best price
5. Hundreds of restaurants reviewed and ranked for quality and value
6. A complete guide to the region’s cultural and historic sights–with helpful hints for making the most of your time
7. Tips for saving money and feeling at home with the Euro
8. Expert advice on how to get around the region like a local
9. The inside story on shopping–where to get the best for less
10. Everything you need to know for a worry-free vacation

Get the unbiased truth on hundreds of hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more in The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy–the resource that helps you save money, save time, and make your trip the best it can be.

About the Author

Never a coffee drinker until she lived in Rome, Melanie Mize Renzulli is now a cappuccino connoisseur and a fan of black truffles, Bernini, and Italian pop. She is the author of Frommer’s Irreverent Guide to Rome, a contributor to The Unofficial Guide to the Southeast with Kids, and has written shopping, dining, and travel articles for Bell’Italia, AOL Digital Cities, the Washington Post, and Epicurious.com. She currently lives with her husband Anthony in Washington, DC.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 2 edition (March 12, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764549928
• ISBN-13: 978-0764549922
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,481,459 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Well-Rounded, January 12, 2007

By 

BellaBull "RJ" (Georgia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy: Florence, Rome, Tuscany, and Umbria (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

I was pleasantly surprised with this book.
The way the attractions are organized, with star ratings for different age groups (apparently culled from tourists at each site) as well as the author's rating (sometimes the same, sometimes better or worse) helped give a better picture of each option, since not everyone likes the same thing.
The mini-history lesson for each town is also a bonus in my opinion. I really enjoy knowing a little background on where I'm going, as I feel it leads to better understanding of the things I see & people I encounter.
It is a little heavy on Rome & Florence, but is also sure to include some really unique spots.
I would definitely buy another one of these guides, but be sure to check the publication date to be sure it's within the last couple of years.
I don't rely on guide books too heavily for lodging or restaurants (I use internet research for that) since even a most recent edition takes some time to come to press and things change. I generally see that section of guide books as a starting point or fall back if needed but not as the primary source. Also, various attractions can vary widely in hours (sometimes they just change or are closed/limited due to constant renovations - just the nature of things in Italy), so be sure to double check directly with the attraction (by phone, e-mail, or on the website) before you go to avoid unexpected dissapointments.
It is also well written (although the editors missed some major typos in page headings and the like, but nothing that detracts from the book) - engaging but still informative, not fluff or personal opinion.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, Practical guide, July 25, 2007

By 

Martha Carlin "Hooked on Books" (Denver, Colorado) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy: Florence, Rome, Tuscany, and Umbria (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

This guide was very practical and useful in comparison to the guidebook my friend had with her. Hers had a lot of pictures but less practical information. We tried several of the restaurant recommendations - one in particular in Florence was one of our best meals and one of the best prices - half of the cost of any other meal on the trip. One recommended wine shop though was no longer open.

I was also dissappointed that the information on the galleries was not specific about how difficult it can be to get in on certain days - for example, The Uffizzi in Florence is quite difficult to get in to without an advance reservation on a Tuesday because it is closed on Mondays. This was the day I had planned to go and the line was 5 hours long just to attempt to get in.

I think it would also be helpful to include some information on the "after hours" touring options. While pricey, several of the Galleries, including the Vatican Museum have services that can provide a tour after the normal hours of the Museum when all the crowds are gone. This would likely be well worth it if you can afford the option or want to treat yourself to one special tour.

Overall I thought this was a good guidebook and easy to use.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely useful!, October 4, 2007

By 

J. A. Bevevino (Warren, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy: Florence, Rome, Tuscany, and Umbria (Unofficial Guides) (Paperback)

My husband and I used this guide on our first trip to Rome and Florence. It was well written and well organized. The book contained some great tips about getting around using public transportation in both cities; the included maps were helpful.

Sights were rated based not only upon how interesting they were but on what age groups would be interested in them, from children through senior citizens. The restaurant reviews and recommendations were right on target. Everything from "inexpensive" to "very expensive" eateries were included.

This book was obviously written using input from a variety of real travelers, not some "high-brow" travel critic! The book included information on many smaller towns, too. The only drawback was that the book was a bit on the large side. It fit into a backpack but with the other things we commonly carried, (water bottles, camera), it was a little cumbersome. However, this book contains so much useful information, it was worth taking along! Read it before you go to Italy and take it on your travels. We were glad we did!