For me this is the best travel guidebook series you can buy. Author Rick Steves knows how to help you make the most of your holiday, and he gets my vote for his updated 2010 Italy travel guide. You get the standard info: monuments, lodging, walking itineraries, essential telephone numbers, transportation, etc; yet Rich also throws in lots of useful Italy-specific cultural notes not found in most other travel guides.
What I liked most about this 988-page travel guidebook is the way Rick skillfully scales his recommendations according to how much time and money we plan to spend in Italy. Whether you're going to Italy for 3 days or 1 month, with $300 or $5,000, Rick makes sure you get the maximum experience for your travel budget.
The book includes:
The Biggies: including Rome, Venice, Florence, Milan, Siena, Assisi, Pisa, and Lucca
Sights Near Venice: Padua, Vicenza, Verona, and Ravenna
Hill Towns of Central Italy: San Gimignano, Cortona, Orvieto, Civita, Montepulciano and more
The Cinque Terre: Vernazza, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, and Monterosso al Mare
Other Riviera Towns: Levanto, Sestri Levante, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino, and more
Naples and the Amalfi Coast: including Sorrento, Capri, Positano, Amalfi, Ravello, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Vesuvius, and Paestum
Northern Lakes and Peaks: Lake Como, Lake Maggiore, Bolzano, Castelrotto, and the Dolomites
Full-color fold-out Planning Map: A handy map including all of Italy plus regional close-ups of Lake Como, Dolomites, Cinque Terre and Amalfi Coast on the front; city close-ups (with major sights) of Rome, Venice, Florence and Siena on the back.
Way to go Rick!
