Blue Guide Central Italy with Rome and Florence (Travel Series)

The various Blue Guides to Italy are extraordinary resources for the knowledgeable traveler, interested in art, architecture and history, wishing to visit sites that they want to become more experienced with and educated about. The Blue Guides are not a general tourist guide. They are art, architecture and historical culture guides.The Blue Guides are not about restaurants, bucket lists, hotels, trains, buses, hiking trails, top tens, must sees, top rated, best values, most fun or what to pack for your trip. They are concise and expert guides to the essentials of art and classical culture in the chosen areas. The number of people saying that the guides are "difficult" or "boring" or "useless" or "impossible" says volumes about the complete unfamiliarity with the subject, and the superficial interests, of the critics.There is no shortage of glossy guide books available for people wanting to breeze through the Uffizi Museum in an hour, do Venice in an afternoon before returning to their cruise chip, make sure they get the photo of themselves holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa, find the best shopping for that adorable memento, sample the local food specialty, or make sure they see the Sistine Chapel before lunch. The Blue Guides are not those books. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for the knowledgeable traveler to Italy, and those wanting to be one.

As other reviews have said about the blue guides, the books are full of detailed background and interesting information about the places you could visit on your travel. It's easy to read, and it feels as a good conversation or a wonderful guided tour. It's perfect for planning your travel. It has maps of the building's interior (museums basically), with the main works of art and why you could or not be interested in them. It has some good regional maps and I would say it's a perfect companion for other guides that could be more oriented towards restaurants and hotels; the Blue Guide has information about that too, but it is not so detailed in that topic.It's perfect for planning your travel, great for an imaginary tour, and an absolute must have if you take it with you on your walks all over the place you are touring.

the coverage is very convenient, including as it does florence, perugia and rome.the maps are also convenient with good coverage. the articles describe key historicand geographic features, and there are many good pictures. in an era of brief andmeaningless descriptions, this book stands out as a worthy successor to the older,succinct but educational, blue guide books.

Love Blue guide, only tour books I will buy

Very thorough and helpful.

Never out of date

I know of no other guide which gives as full, detailed and expert a description of the architectural and artistic aspects of the region. It is an essential companion for anyone interested in such things, even if it is short of illustrations. But note that other guides deal better with matters such as hotels, restaurants, and transport.

Arrived on time. Good condition as described.

Very comprehensive but if you are visiting some of the less common places you will need a local guide as extra

This is a brilliant book with excellent detail that you will not get from most guidebooks to Italy. All the smaller towns of interest are mentioned and the hotel suggestions are very good. I can't wait to go next year.