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Summary: The traveler companion
Review: I lived in Italy for more than a year, someone had offered me this guide and it turned out to be indispensable. The regions of Italy are very well presented in separated parts. Focus is put on cultural interest as well as typical Italian things to do or see. Everyone should find what he wants, whatever is his initial interest. A great number of pictures allow you to have a fair idea of the place you are going to, and there is always an annotated simple map really representative of the place, just what you need. I found the selection of hotels and restaurants quite accurate, the guide gives you the possibility to check on hotels through pictures and proper descriptions, as well as their price ranges, which is essential to any traveler. I have already recommended this book to few of my friends as a must have for tourism in Italy.
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Summary: It is not worth its weight!
Review: You will have to give up some essentials in your luggage to make the weight allowance on the plane for this book! Although the book has many beautiful pictures and good information, I would not think of carring it with me. This company should scrap the slick paper and opt for lighter recycled so we can better utilize it and possibly write in it. There are better "travel" friendly books out there.
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Summary: The Best Travel Guide for Italy. Period!
Review: This was the most amazing travel guide that I have ever had the privelege of reading...and I have read and used quite a few! Everything from the maps of the cities, the walking tours, and the restaurant recommendations to the sight descriptions and historical information was fantastic. You MUST get this book if you are going to Italy!
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Summary: Excellent Book
Review: Eyewitness is a very heavy book - but the weight is worth it. For actual sightseeing it is a must. Other travel guides like Rick Steves and Lonely Planet don't explain what you are seeing or give any background - they just tell you how to get their. Eyewitness shows you visually and through well written passages about all the sites, buildings and land. The pictures are magnificent the maps are easy to understand and the diagrams are always top notch. This isn't a guide on where to eat or stay (although they do have some listing in the back) -it's a masterpiece on what your seeing.
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Summary: Italy Between the Soft Covers
Review: Great travel book, and better yet when supplemented by Roger Youman's concise guide to Tuscany
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Summary: Don't buy Fodor's!
Review: I bought the Eyewitness Travel Guide and Fodor's 2000 Italy (Fodor's Italy) for my recent trip across Italy. When I had to choose which one to put in my backpack and which one to leave at the hotel, the Eyewitness Travel Guide always came with me. The choice was simple.
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Summary: Lots of pictures, not much information
Review: When planning my trip to Italy I bought several guidebooks. The numerous pictures in this book helped me to visualize potential destinations and decide which regions were most appealing to me. I did not find the hotel recommendations useful, since they tended to be relatively expensive.I do not see much value in this book once you arrive at your destination. The real thing in front of you is so much more awesome than the diagrams. For the most part, other than the diagrams, the information provided is superficial. For example, the Duomo/Baptistry in Florence are alloted 4 pages, most of which are covered with pictures. Many other guides provide more information than this in a paragraph or two, while some devote several pages to describing the incredible history and works of art. I ended up leaving this guide home because of it's excessive weight, and now that I've returned and looked through it again I do not regret my decision. I would admit that I am in the minority in judging this book, as it seemed to be the most ubiquitous Italy guidebook, available at all the major sites in multiple languages.
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Summary: Bella Italia
Review: When Eyewitness travel guides burst on to the scene, they revolutionised the genre. Dorling Kindersley have long published marvellous series information books for schools and young people, and they have brought the same high quality of production to their travel series. Eyewitness does a few things superbly: 1. Their use of full colour photography. 2. No Top Tens or 1/2/3 stars. Eyewitness just show it how it is and let you decide what interests you most. 3. Real maps, with real street indexes, integrated right into the book. No more sketch maps with dubious scale or misrepresentations of actual distances. 4. Breaking up cities into manageable and logical sectors. So after helping you get there, they offer full coverage of the area. 5. There is no attempt to be hip or impose points-of-view. Other guide books do that, and do it quite well at times, so they are best left to that field. Italy is a fat book, and it might be heavy to carry around, but as other reviewers have said it is invaluable. It would replace at least two other guide books, and relegate the other lushly illustrated "guides" that are out there to the coffee-table status that is probably more appropriate. My one criticism is that the accommodation listings are more appropriate for the well-heeled traveller. Here's what I'd do: go to the local library and borrow the Let's Go, Rough Guide and Lonely Planet. Photocopy the listings and use them to supplement . As for restaurant listings, I've never used them in any guide book - just stepped outside the lodgings and wandered!
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Summary: Amazing photography --- a must-have for your trip
Review: From full-color diagrams of museums to detailed street maps of every city to straightforward summaries of each point of interest, this guide covers all the bases. Whether you're planning to visit one city or ten cities, for three days or three months, this book makes sure you won't miss anything. While it's a little light on hotel and restaurant information, the information on specific works of art and architecture are more detailed than you'll find in any other guidebook. And it's so beautifully done, you'll find yourself leaving it out on the coffee table for months after your trip.
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Summary: Travel Agent Recommended
Review: This is the quintessential travel guide, the one I use when traveling in Italy, and I am a travel agent. It provides indepth information, graphic diagrams, photos and other essentials to make the trip easy and enjoyable. Though a bit cumbersome for carrying around, I popped in my little backpack and pulled it out often. If you buy only one travel guide for Italy, this should be the one.
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