Florence and Tuscany (DK Eyewitness Travel Guide) [Paperback]

I have just spent ten days in Tuscany, half in Florence and half in San Gimignano and its environs, and this book was brilliant.

I read up on the background information to Tuscany before I went, including the food, travelling (we used both the trains and hired a car) and the flora and fauna of the area and the book was spot on each time. I was able to find and enjoy the regional dishes recommended by the book and also spot the hawkmoth and flowers pointed out.

For Florence, the number of tourists walking round with their copies of this book was amazing. I saw it in English, Italian, French and Spanish which must serve as a testament to the Eyewitness range's deserved popularity. The guides and 'must see' parts were helpful and the historical detail of particular parts were good enough not to buy the museum guides (although I found the Uffizi guide was worth buying as the DK book can obviously only show the most famous paintings).
The map was good, although as it's in the middle of the book I found the bookmark flaps necessary to keep my place which was a bit of a pain.

Once in San Gimignano, the small street map was exactly right, and once again the highlights were perfect.

The only downside to this otherwise excellent guide is that the restaurant sections weren't very helpful for the middle of August or those on a budget - most places were closed or very expensive. In Florence especially it was just easier to wander around and find what we liked to look (and price) of.

I'm off to Australia next and shall definitely be buying the Eyewitness version to travel with...

QUICK INFORMATION:

The DK Eyewitness travel guide is firstly what it says it is - A Guide. It is there to help you with advice to resource you with useful information for your forth-coming travels. I have especially used these while travelling in Italy and always found it offers visitors a detailed guide for today.

These guides I would suggest are for the following - if you are combining a holiday with a spot of sightseeing, require a history element, maybe taking off and having your own little adventure, wish to par take in travelling in your own style by rented car, train or by bus this is the guide for you. I do not advise this pitcurticlar guidebook for backpackers or people travelling off the beaten track. Backpackers may require a bit more in-depth information.

Second quick checkpoint when purchasing an edition of this book, please check that you have the most recent and up to date version.

A necessary factor of any travel guide is to require the latest information most editions of these books are usually updated yearly. Although the 2005 edition would work very well for holiday makers this year, the latest edition 2006 will give you extra hotels listings, restaurants and improved maps with the layout of the book worked upon and updated.

BOOK OVERVIEW:

This book is extremely well planned and laid out, even showing you how to use this book guide. Areas of Florence and Tuscany are all identified and nicely colour coded, It covers in each section History, Art, Architecture, Culture, as well as Churches, Landscapes, Museums, Shopping, Markets, Villages, Festivals, and great days out. It starts with an introduction to Florence and Tuscany through the year, followed by an understanding of Florence and Tuscany area by area. It comes with a survival guide of practical information for each area shown, supplied with a map and street finder.

Each section of this book has then been broken down; sections and chapters with smaller surrounding areas for the following, Florence, City centre east, North and West, Oltrarno, Western Tuscany, North, East, South and Central Tuscany. An area of Florence or Tuscany has being mapped out and numbered for the items of tourist interest, where to go, location, places to see or an object being described with a picture. It also shows interior and exterior of buildings with photographs and illustrated design. It's not just reading its showing you. As in all these DK travel books it has a visitors checklist which I think is a great idea giving you information such as opening and closing times of shops, Museums, ect. Tips are given throughout to make things easy for you.

Clear Information on Chemists/pharmacy/hospitals can be found in the Survival Guide section an importance in any country, also many tips on being safe. Information on all places range, more pages are written depending on history, sights and things to do. For the not so in-depth sections I always reverted back to my bigger source when travelling around word of mouth, speaking to the locals or fellow holiday makers. Road maps, motorways are all shown and guided with direction. Once again driving in any Italian city can be tricky mostly gridlocked. A Travel section will help you with best places to pick up car rental, train, buses also airport locations. Guidebooks in general do not list prices because they frequently change; some will only estimate how much, but many handy websites can be found from key words so you yourself can go direct to information.

I love the Travellers Needs section, hotels, restaurants, where to locate food and wine; the expensive and inexpensive. How to find the most delicate of pastries or just tracking down all that glorious Italian ice cream, pure indulgence. My favourite ladies shopping, female retail therapy comes with a directory also where the markets are and what time of year you can pick up a bargain. It also tells you how to book and obtain tickets for day/nightly entertainment. As always in any city be vigilant keep those wallets/purses in a safe place.

Lastly the Italian phase page please give it a go, it brings a smile to any Italians face that you made an attempt and an even bigger smile at an attempt gone wrong.

MY TIPS:

Read this book in advance before travelling; use this book with the internet. For example, this time around I wanted to do the tour of the Uffizi Gallery, although this time I was there in Febuary queuing was lighter, one thing I learned from a previous Summer trip the queues can get long in Florence and if you're short on time queues are just not needed. This information is exceptional for the one dayer in Florence, just type in via the internet Uffizi Gallery a web site is shown where you can book online for one or many tickets, with or without a tour guide. Groups can book up to 15-20 people with guide. The difference when you arrive no queuing (so if your in the big queue your in the wrong queue) you go straight in after showing you've already pre paid pick up your guide and off you go. I would personally recommend a tour guide, Go for the 9am tour if possible it's two and half hours long. Its not to be missed, Uffizi Gallery holds one of the most important art collections including classical sculpture. Four Centuries of history makes the Uffizi Gallery the oldest in the world. If there's something that you feel you need to see to make your trip special always go to great lengths to gather information to make sure you don't miss out.

For Hotels, Bed & Breakfast or other lodgings this book supplies you with information but just go one step further, look up the Trip Advisor website, it gives you a personal review from people who have stayed at certain hotels, B&B listed from this book, management of these establishments sometimes respond on the site if a complaint is made. It gives real insight.

This book I found to be a wonderful source of information, the history element is my keen interest. These books come highly recommend from myself. Good Luck, stay sharp in any city, have a fantastic time.

A.Bowhill

I am a fan of these publications - they make it very easy to plan a journey, as well as providing a great starting point to find out more about the history of a city/area. This book proved very useful in preparing for a visit to Florence in February, and I would not have been without it. Of particular use are the aerial maps, which make locating oneself much easier when lost!