Florence. Alta MacAdam

The best guide book available for art, architecture, history and culture of any city, region or country. Don't leave home without it.

If your trip to Florence is motivated by your love for art, history and the developement of the medieval and renaiscance city, this is your guide. Buy the book before you go, and you will know what to look for and understand what you are seeing. Keep it after you return for reference. IT IS NOT A PRACTICAL GUIDE for finding the cheapest lodging or restaurant. Graphics are not as glossy or convenient as some of the "younger generation" guides. Enjoy your trip E. Yarhi,Jerusalem. Israel

This guide was required for a class I am taking. The guide is easy to read, colors are excellent, and the size is perfect for my travel bag. I know it will be an indispensable aid in Florence.

If you are looking for a guide that will help you "narrow down" the choices of sights to see in Florence, this one is not for you. If you are looking for extensive lists and reviews of hotels, again this is not for you. Finally, if you're looking for detailed restauraunt information, you won't find it here. Basically, this guide is not a planning guide. I have used the Internet for most of my planning (e-mail me if you need some help finding some great sites [email protected]).What this guide does have to offer is an amazing amount of cultural, historic, and artistic information in a very packable sized guide. This will be the guide to read when you are doing your own tours of Florence. It will tell you far more than any tour guide would.This guide also has map pages included. At first they are difficult to read and understand. But once you get the hang of them, you will love them. They are very detailed, and who wants to be seen walking around a city with a two foot map in front of their face?? The blue guide also gets you oriented to the city. Even if you don't use the Blue Guide's walks, they will show you which attractions are grouped together and will help you plan your routes (this is the one sense in which this guide works for planning). I haven't left yet,and my guide looks worn!In conclusion, I am putting together my own itinerary that will contain details like restaurant and hotel addresses. And then this will be the only guidebook that I take with me to Florence. And I am looking forward to reading it and absorbing as much of the city as possible! If you are remotely interested in history and art and more, you will not regret purchasing this guide. I have used many guidebooks for trips, and this one is the most informative and educated.