Product Description

Discover Italy

Ski off-piste, trek the Dolomites or shoot the rapids on the river Lao

Heed the command 'tutti a tavola!' and begin an epic journey around the Italian table

Thumb the latest fumetti or debate Fellini's finer points after you've read our Culture chapter

Compare classical columns with state-of-the-art structures from international architects

In This Guide:

Language, cookery and wine courses - you name it, our authors have checked it out

Book in and bed down at the best-value accommodation

Visit lonelyplanet.com for reviews, updates and traveler suggestions

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8751 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 926 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781741043112
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, if you're going there, chances are Lonely Planet has been there first. With a pithy and matter-of-fact writing style, these guides are guaranteed to calm the nerves of first-time world travelers, while still listing off-the-beaten-path finds sure to thrill even the most jaded globetrotters. Lonely Planet has been perfecting its guidebooks for nearly 30 years and as a result, has the experience and know-how similar to an older sibling's "been there" advice. The original backpacker's bible, the LP series has recently widened its reach. While still giving insights for the low-budget traveler, the books now list a wide range of accommodations and itineraries for those with less time than money.

Explore the riches of Italy with Lonely Planet's essential guide. Featuring a special color feature on Italian art and architecture, this book also contains insider's advice on the best pasta and gelati; skiing and trekking information, notes on history, culture and current politics; as well as practical food and accommodation suggestions for every budget. Delightful sidebars add insight into the culture, with details on everything from gladiators to mushroom picking. --Kathryn True

Review
"Lonely Planet is the book most serious travelers trust." -- Denver Post, January 2008

Lonely Planet guides are a must-pack” --Toronto Star, February 2006

From the Publisher
Who We Are
At Lonely Planet, we see our job as inspiring and enabling travelers to connect with the world for their own benefit and for the benefit of the world at large.

What We Do
* We offer travelers the world's richest travel advice, informed by the collective wisdom of over 350 Lonely Planet authors living in 37 countries and fluent in 70 languages.
* We are relentless in finding the special, the unique and the different for travellers wherever they are.
*We update our guidebooks by visiting thousands of places in person to get the details right and tell it as it is.
* We always offer the trusted filter for those who are curious, open minded and independent.
* We challenge our growing community of travelers; leading debate and discussion about travel and the world.
* We tell it like it is without fear or favor in service of the travelers; not clouded by any other motive.

What We Believe
We believe that travel leads to a deeper cultural understanding and compassion and therefore a better world.

Customer Reviews

You're Going To Love Italy!
I've been to Italy several times.....Rome, Venice, Florence, Bologna, Milan, some of the hill towns, etc (most recently last April). Here are my reviews of the best guides to meet your exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.

Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the public transportation system. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide

Bravo! Excellent tour guide and easy to use
I just returned from a wonderful vacation trough Italy visiting Roma, Pisa, Firenze, Venezia, Siena, and Orvieto. The Lonely Planet Italy guide provided very useful information such as history, places to stay and eat, and other up to date pertinent information on each of these places (and more).

The Lonely Planet Italy guide is medium sized and is not heavy. It fits easily on a hand bag. This book is easy to use and understand. It is organized by region, and then by town. Each regional map highlights the most important tourist attractions.

The first two chapters: Facts about Italy and Facts for the Visitors; cover Italian culture, history, and local customs, and many valuable hints for the traveller. Reading this two chapters before leaving help us to prepare and plan our trip.

This book enhanced our travel experience 100%!

Lonely planet forever
I studied for 3 months in Rome in 1999. The 3rd edition of the Italy guide was the defacto bible for travel from Sicilia to the Dolomites. Of course Venice, Florence, Pisa and Rome are covered, but how about Cortona, Siena, Poggibonisi, Assizi, Orvieto, Enna, Catania, Vulcanis, Bari, Lecce, Positano, Siracusa? How to get there, what to see, what to expect in these hill towns and costal villages? If I got there could I get back to Rome by Monday's morning classes? No other single travel book is filled with all the information found in the Italy guide.

As an example, one weekend I told my roomates that I wanted to go to San Marino because according to the guide I could get my passport stamped with entry to a country within a country. Also it mentioned "spactacular views". Nothing prepared us for what we saw, a fortress castle hewn into the 2000+ ft cliffs and a city in the clouds overlooking a vast plain of farms and towns!