DK Eyewitness Florence and Tuscany

I can think of no better book to guide you around the hill country of Tuscany than this DK guide. It not only provides in depth views of the great landmarks of Florence such as the Ufizzi and the Duomo but highlights special Tuscan towns like San Gimignano and Arezzo. There is fairly extensive coverage of Siena, Pisa and Lucca as well. What makes this book stand out over others is that it is so handsomely illustrated with marvelous cutaway sections of the Duomo and Baptistry in Florence as well as three dimensional views of the historic quarters. There is an interesting history section as well as useful information when it comes to planes, trains and automobiles. This guide also highlights some of the Etruscan ancient sites. Best to double check the museum times, and follow the DK advice of booking tickets in advance, as it will save you long waits at the galleries. Whether you are sampling Tuscany for its wines or tracking down the great artists and writers, you will be glad you have this book to guide you on your journey of discovery.

My husband and I were on a one-week whirlwind tour with a touring company. We purchased this right before hitting Florence and Tuscany and it was an invaluable resource. The photos are beautiful and the information provided was just enough to get us excited (and knowledgeable) about what we were seeing. The Street-by-Street guides were particularly helpful since we were given a small black and white map by the touring company which didn't point out anything useful! I am using the book as a reference as I scrapbook the trip, and it will be a wonderful souvenir in the years to come. Thank you!

As I've said in my review of the Eyewitness Guide to Rome, I am very impressed by the aesthetic qualities of the DK books. They make a great show and tell after you've taken the trip, save you from having to take many pictures, and inspire others to want to go there. The content, in terms of guided walks and tours, is just what you need if you're spending more than a day in the beautiful city of Florence. Face it, if you just spend a day, go to the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio area, maybe the Duomo... and let them speak for themselves. But this book goes into decent depth for a variety of attractions and locations. If you are only there three days, you can pick and choose, and it doesn't skimp. I could see how the Eyewitness Guide to Florence would equip you for a month of travel in Tuscany, easily. I unfortunately couldn't get out of the city, but that leads to another praise of the book...I had a significant medical problem in Florence, and needed immediate attention. The book gave the address for a clinic specifically for tourists (I didn't see this listed in the other guides I had access to). All of the doctors at this clinic spoke English, and I didn't even have to speak to hospital staff or reception. The thing is, even if many foreigners speak enough English to impress, in health situations it's very different and easy to confuse and become confused. Trying to get surgery isn't like ordering dinner. So the directions to this clinic allowed me to get the surgery I needed from someone fluent in my language and made the rest of my trip so much more enjoyable. The bottom line is, if you're going to Tuscany, you can trust the DK guides to take care of what you need!

I just returned from Florence and this book was invaluable! Of all of the guidebooks our group of 4 brought with us, we kept referring to this one. Take it with you to the museum to guide you through the exhibits, have it at the dinner table to help you order...if you want only one guide book, this is the one!

I am so happy that I had this book in my hand during out week visit in Florence. I read this book before going and was able to get an idea of what Florence was about, but when I arrived, this book did not leave my hands! This guide divides Florence into sections. We set out agenda according to sections in the book. The street-by-street map was invaluable and we were never lost. I am the worst with directions, but I knew extactly where I was during each day. With the maps, I navigated instead of my husband! The cut aways and guides to the various museums and attractions were also invaluable. We were able to walk into any attraction and know what the star features were and not have to miss a thing. We did not have to buy the extra tour books in each museum because our Eyewitness Guide gave us all the information we need and then some. Not only was I the navigator, but I was our personal tour guide. With the book, I was able to read out loud to my husband and tell him about everything we saw in Florence. There were many other tourists with the Eyewitnes Guides in their hands and I was pleasantly surprised to see the book in so many different languages. This book was able to tell us the customs of the region. When we were surprised about having to pay for a cover charge in a restaurant, I checked the restaurant section and it explained about cover charges in restaurants. We used the train from Florence to Rome and the guide told us about stamping our ticket at the yellow boxes before boarding. This guide covered it all.You can forget the credit cards, but DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITH THIS ONE!