Product Description

In expert fashion Blue Guide Florence covers the range of what this extraordinary city—the cradle of the Renaissance—offers to travelers: from singular museums and galleries to beautifully, meticulously built churches, to some of the most breathtaking walks and finest food in the region. From Brunelleschi's Duomo to the magnificent Boboli gardens, Florence reveals a fascinating history—of intrigue, patronage, and art. Color diagrams, floor plans, and maps; 40 color photographs.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #484059 in Books
• Published on: 2005-06-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

About the Author
Alta Macadam is a Florence-based art historian who has been writing some of the Blue Guides’ best-known titles for many years. Her Americans in Florence was published in 2003.

Customer Reviews

Great on detail, not so great as a guide
On his website, travel guru Rick Steves says that Blue Guides take "a dry and scholarly approach to the countries of Europe. They're ideal if you want to learn as much about history, art, architecture, and culture as you possibly can." This is basically true, though I much prefer a "dry and scholarly" tone to Rick's "nerdy and precious" style. He's great when it comes to practical tips, but he can't touch the historical, artistic and architectural content of the Blue Guides.

Blue Guides pack a tremendous amount of information into their pages, much more than any other guide I've used. They're wonderful for reading before and after your trip, but they're probably too dense to pack and take along for most people. Before leaving on my honeymoon to Italy, I photocopied the relevant pages of the Northern Italy book to avoid having to pack it because I knew I wouldn't be visiting most of the cities it covers. On that trip I field-tested three guides: Rick Steves, Eyewitness, and Blue Guide.

Blue Guides are not good to use as your main guide. They're far too light on practical matters such as maps, directions, hotels and restaurants, and they're not updated every year. I used Eyewitness to plan and get around and then pulled out the Blue Guide once I reached a major site. I used Rick Steves so little and found him so unhelpful that I left his books behind in hotels along the way.

Blue Guides have come a long way over the years. I was given an older edition of the Rome guide many years ago, and I couldn't believe how small the print was; it had a lot of detail but would have been very difficult to use while traveling. The publishers have learned their lesson: the current editions are far easier to use and much more attractive, with colorful maps and an easier-to-read format. They've improved on the practical aspects as well, but you'll probably be in trouble if you rely on this book to get around. I recommend packing a more comprehensive one-volume guide such as Eyewitness and using Blue Guide to learn about specific sites once the other guide gets you to them. Keep Blue Guide on your shelf as an attractive reference and let it inspire you to return to Florence!

Very useful guide
This is a very useful guide for Florence and the surrounding area. The book is divided into chapters, each chapter focusing on a neighborhood of the city, or on a village/town in the vicinity. For the most important sights the book gives a numbered floor plan, simplifying a visit. Less important or famous sights are well-covered too; these are often described in the context of a "walk." Several villages in the vicinity of Florence are also included, along with details of how to reach them & where to eat or have a snack during a visit. Moreover, there are appendices in the back describing churches and museums not mentioned in main body of the text, so that if you wander(or ring your way)into a small church with unlabeled works you aren't totally lost. However, as the book is not very often updated, you ought to check opening times of museums and churches online before you go, and annotate the book with the current times. However, this is the only difficulty with this book, and a tiny one.

A must for the traveler to Tuscany and Florence.
The best guide book available for art, architecture, history and culture of any city, region or country.

Don't leave home without it.