Frommer's Italy 2010 (Frommer's Color Complete Guides) |  | Authors: Darwin Porter, Danforth Prince
Publisher: Frommers
Category: Book
List Price: $25.99
Buy New: $14.32
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Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 2897
Media: Paperback
Edition: Pap/Map
Pages: 976
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.6
ISBN: 0470470690
Dewey Decimal Number: 914.504929
EAN: 9780470470695
ASIN: 0470470690
Publication Date: December 2, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | ISBN13: 9780470470695 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Amazon.com Review
Discover The Best of Italy
Content from Frommer's Italy 2010 Italy is so packed with attractions that it’s hard to know where to start. But that’s where we come in. In this chapter is our personal, opinionated list of what we consider to be Italy’s top highlights. Our list will get you started and point you toward some of the possibilities for designing your own vacation. Whether this is your first trip or your tenth, you’re bound to come away with your own favorites to add to the list. Italy's Top Destinations by Category
The Best Travel Experiences | 
The Most Romantic Getaways | 
The Best Museums | 
The Best Ruins | 
The Best Luxury Hotels | 
The Best Restaurants |
Product Description
NOW IN FULL COLOR! Insider advice on avoiding the crowds as you explore some of Italy's greatest gems, from the Uffizi in Florence to the Vatican Museum in Rome, and from the ruins at Pompeii to Venice's St. Mark's basilica. Plus tips for navigating the country's lovely but less-traveled corners, like the Marches, the Dolomites, and even Sardinia. Where to find the absolute best seafood in Venice, the loveliest vineyards in Tuscany, the tastiest pizza in Naples, and, of course, the finest gelato that Italy has to offer. Insightful commentary on Italy's dazzling array of art and architectural masterpieces, from Michelangelo's statue of David to the glories of St. Peter's in Rome. Opinionated write-ups. No bland descriptions and lukewarm recommendations. Our expert writers are passionate about their destinations--tell it like it is in an engaging and helpful way. Exact prices listed for every establishment and activity--no other guides offer such detailed, candid reviews of hotels and restaurants. We include the very best, but also emphasize moderately priced choices for real people. All Complete guides offer user-friendly features including star ratings and special icons to point readers to great finds, excellent values, insider tips, best bets for kids, special moments, and overrated experiences.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 A fairly comprehensive guide to Italy December 28, 2009
N. Hawkins (Chicago)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I like big tomes of books with travel information, and I'll get to field test this book in several weeks during a crazy trip around Italy. This book's a monster, and very comprehensive. And I'm not a big fan of Frommer's in general, but I rather like this book. The book itself is easy to read unlike the Rough Guide books. The color photos were nice, but were bonuses and not really helpful to the content.
The book's layout was helpful because it's geographically based, so if you wanted to hit specific areas, attractions and lodging are logically based. The hotel and food sections were extremely helpful in trying to decide where to treat myself when I'm in Italy.
If you're looking for a good book on Italy, this is a great book to start with, but I'd never rely on just one book as a source of information. Consider this one of the good ones out there, and review them all.
Must see attractions are something this book excels at!! December 22, 2009
Steph (California)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I loved Frommer's Italy 2010. Not only is a surprisingly thick and heavy (almost 2 lbs for a smaller sized paperback) but it packs so much inside. Plus it has a fold out map that includes the bigger cites such as Venice and Rome to orient yourself as you explore the cities. But what I really liked were the color photos! There aren't a lot of them but they are certainly more exciting than the grainy black and whites ones I had in other travel guides. Plus I have to agree with much of what the Frommer's guide states.
I've been to Italy and I would definitely agree on the spots the guide book recommended as spots that are must see first. (There are museums such as the one that houses Michelangelo's David which really is only interesting because it has David.) If the rating is 3 stars I would definitely recommend visiting it. I think when they grade it 2 stars they mean that there are a couple of things of note but the rest...so-so. The only thing I didn't agree on in Rome is that the Coliseum is a must see but I think it is kinda a rip off to pay to see inside. (You can pretty much see all the ruins from the outside.) And if you can and are a lover of gardens and fountains the Villa d'Este is well worth the extra travel to check out so I think it should be 3 stars, but I am a garden buff.
The problem with Italy is there is so much to see you can actually get tired of going to museums and seeing masterpieces so pace yourself. Then if you have the extra time and energy consider trying the lesser starred attractions. So attractions are something this book excels at. As to the lodging I am not really sure since most of the time I was never there long and can't even remember the names of the places I stayed at. And the food was pretty much universally good. Most of the time we ate stuff we bought on the way and picnicked with since we were on the go so much.
Overall, I am pretty excited to take this book with me on my next trip and confident that it will prove invaluable on the cities that I haven't been to. The only thing is that it is heavy and carrying it around could really be a pain. If you plan on only going to 1 or 2 cities it might be better to photocopy those pages and take the included map with you instead.
Incredibly comprehensive, a wonderful guide December 23, 2009
Derek G (Redneck, South Carolina)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have never seen a travel guide as comprehensive as this. At almost 1000 pages and 2 1/4 lbs this is a monster of a book, yet it's still easy to find the information you are looking for. It starts off by giving you a list of the best of Italy (i.e. cathedrals, wineries, ruins, etc.) and moves to a history of Italy and how its people, architecture, and cuisine has affected popular culture. Afterwards, you are given a list of suggested itineraries and the best times to visit.
In later chapters, we are treated to massive in-depth coverage of each city with beautiful color pictures sprinkled throughout. Returning to the same city in the book is as easy as memorizing the colored tab on the side of the book. The city of Florence alone gets 75 pages of coverage and other cities and geographic areas get similar treatment. From the must-see statues to the places to stay to even the local doctors and the telephone code, you can't ask for a more comprehensive guide. Being used to the typical five-star system I had to get used to their rating system. All of the restaurants and hotels in their guide are recommended (even ones with no stars) up to three stars (exceptional). They will even point out if some of the more commonly known attractions are overrated.
Italy was the first Frommer's Guide written and it shows. If you're looking to travel to Italy, you can't do better than this book.
Informative, easy to read-just as good as DK and Rick Steve's guide books January 9, 2010
ccincalif (Southern California)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I have to say that I have been partial to Dorling Kindersley guide/travel books, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that I really liked this Frommer's Italy book. I hope to go back to Italy at some point this year and will definitely be bringing this book. I also think it is in the running with Rick Steve's books too, which I have used in the past (Ireland). It is an easy to use book and information is clearly laid out so one can find the information needed without getting frustrated.
Suprisingly thorough and more useful for most than Fodor's or Eyewitness December 31, 2009
J. Fuchs (Los Angeles, CA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After reading and not liking at all Frommer's 2010 guide for London, I had low expectations for this guide, especially as I have lived in Italy, traveled fairly extensively throughout the country, and have previously owned guides to Italy by numerous other publishers, incluidng Fodors (still my favorite) and Eyewitness. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this book so comprehensive. It includes quite a number of places that other guides ignore, including Le Marche (The Marches) and Elba, and packs an astonishing amount of useful information into a book of manageable size. The glossy color pages make the book beautiful to look at, although on the negative side, they also make the book too heavy to take along on a trip.
The introductory chapters briefly cover the history of Italy, the art and architecture, and general guidelines for traveling in Italy, along with a very few recommended itineraries, mostly useful to first or second-time visitors. Brief descriptions of the food and wine of the various regions are too short to be of much use, but there is a nice listing of festivals and good tips on when to travel. The writing isn't exactly scintillating, but it's definitely 5 stars on information.
The book manages to cover Rome, Florence and Venice in a great deal of depth, while still leaving plenty of room for brief, yet rather complete, descriptions of other places, both those frequently visited (Sienna, Bologna, Pompeii, etc.), and those that deserve to be traveled to more often (Urbino, Gubbio and Sicily, for example). Smaller towns get their share of coverage, and attractions are comprehensive as well (even the Torture Museum in San Gimignano rates a mention).
Restaurant and hotel listings are extensive enough to be useful, but not so overwhelming that they push out descriptions of why you'd want to travel somewhere in the first place, which Frommer's tends to do with its city guides. If you want a great deal of information about attractions in Italy, at the expense of a lot of photos, Fodors is a better guide, while if you're really big on pictures, Eyewitness would be better. Frommer's is somewhere in between and so, on the whole, a better combination of description and visuals than either of the other two.
This guide is highly informative and useful for both first-time and seasoned travelers to Italy and would make a great guide if you can buy only one.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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