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Title: The Unofficial Guide to Central Italy: Florence, Rome, Tuscany, and Umbria (Unofficial Guides)
ISBN: 0470229004
Author:
Melanie Mize Renzulli
Publicate Date: 2008-03-31
Publish: 2008-03-31
List Price: $21.99
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $10.94
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $11.76
Amazon Merchant Price: $12.80
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| Customer Review: |
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1: Only 40 pages for Umbria
Good content. There are only 40 pages devoted to Umbria however. Florence, Roma, and Tuscany are the focus.
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2: The U.S. isn't Disneyland; Tuscany isn't Italy
The only people that are really helped by books of this type are the proprietors of the establishments that are recommended. The problem with almost all travel guides is that they very rarely tell us anything we do not already know. Once a book has been in print for about a year, every restaurant recommended, if not a tourist spot in the first place, is now overrun with people flocking there because of the recommendation. It almost invariably follows that quality declines and prices rise. If the restaurant is truly a good one, then you might get lucky and be one of the first 20 or so to visit after the guide comes out; the rest of you are doomed to reach the place after the decline has started. I've been to central Italy perhaps 30 times in the past 10 years; I've never read a restaurant recommendation that I followed....well, only once and the place was a disaster; nouvelle cuisine, very, very French, in the heart of the Chianti Classico. Want a formula for finding a good restaurant in almost anyplace in the countryside? Look at the parking lot; if it has a disproportionate number of BMWs, Audis, obvious rental cars, stay away. Look for the place that has some beat-up Fiats, Lancias, perhaps an old Renault or two. If the locals go there, it must be good and it must perform consistently, even in February. The authors of this book are undoubtedly well-meaning and they have written a perfectly decent guide. So have about 90 others, with about the same information.
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3: All information included!
I bought this as a gift for a family member who is traveling to Italy soon. They are raving about it, saying, "I've already highlighted all the spots I want to go to."
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4: You MUST have this book if you're visiting Central Italy.
On our recent visit to Tuscany and Rome, we found there were two books we couldn't do without, a phrasebook and this.
This has the best, most comprehensive listings of main-stream attractions and "behind the scenes" spots of all the books I bought or read planning this trip. Some of the prices and hours for museums are a bit out of date, but you'll find places listed in this book that aren't in the others, and you'll wonder how those others could have missed it.
If your vacation includes Florence, Rome, Pisa, Siena, Perugia, or any of the other wonder cities in Tuscany and Umbria, YOU NEED THIS BOOK.
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5: Extremely useful!
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!
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