Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Italy 9th Ed.: 9th edition

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've used Lonely Planet before and was disappointed in the Italy book. The info in text is useful, but the maps are really frustrating to use. Many streets are simply not labelled in the maps making it impossible to navigate some of Italy's labyrinthine neighbourhoods. Also, after buying it, I was amazed to discover that no city subway maps were included! I ended up having to photocopy them from websites so I'd know how to get around.

We visited about eleven cities in northern and central Italy and we carried both the Lonely Planet Italy and the Rough Guide Italy with us. I had the Rough Guide Italy and had no problems looking up information. My companion had the Lonely Planet Italy and she eventually gave up on it. She found the LP to be lacking in basic information and basically a book better left at home. We would recommend the Rough Guide instead.

We've just returned from 2-weeks in Italy and found this book to be full of great places to stay and eat. We ran into problems right away with a place we were going to stay for 4-nights that we had booked before we purchased this book. Left with no option but to find another place to stay, we consulted the guide. So many beautiful places. Plus points for giving addresses, web addresses if available, and accurate descriptions of what to expect. The sightseeing suggestions were also terrific. We stayed at 2 and 3 star hotels and pensions, got away from the crowds, and suffered no lack of amenities. A must have for your italian vacation.

With close to a thousand pages, this edition of "Lonely Planet Italy" may be a heavyweight to lug around, but its information is complete. It explained Italy: one bit at a time. But, for a traveller who is more interested in hopping around than in devouring endless pages, this book may become a burden. I would suggest that intending travellers (and holiday-makers) should regard it as a home reference, while embarking on their trip with a lighter text.
This book is generous with all that concerned Italy: from the ancient Roman Empire to the Renaissance, and down to twentieth century secular state. It provided sumptuous info on the 'dolce vita' lifestyle of the 'Azzuri': including their high alps, old cities, and the Vatican enclave.

This is the first time I've been disappointed with a Lonely Planet publication. I found this guide to Italy superficial and not helpful. It didn't contain information about some quite large towns, information about reaching destinations in scant and maps are not easy to read. And I preferred it when Lonely Planet put all the general information in the front of the book followed by the specifics region by region.

Italy is a country steeped in ancient culture and, for the most part, it is a combination of that culture - both ancient and modern, the countryside and the people which visitors come to see. As with any foreign country, the visitor needs a guide book - especially one which is so well written it simply exudes ideas about where to go and what to visit. This book really is the only guide you will ever need.

By comparison to other guide books, I found this one far easier to follow. It really is user friendly. Just as France is far more than Paris and the Eiffel Tower, so Italy is also far more than Rome and the Coliseum and this book will give you the broadest possible outline for each of the main towns and cities in addition to the more famous attractions.

In my own case, I am often in some seaport looking for shipwrecks. Whilst the ships themselves are not included, almost all the local facilities are there to be found.

In short; Thoroughly recommended. Just make certain you purchase the latest edition.

NM

It was definately useful and gave the standard information any tour guide will give you. At times it gave cute anecdotal info that other tour books lacked. However, I found Frommers and Fodor's to be more informative. They gave better itineraries. Lonely Planet wasted too much space on Dining and Lodging. Their other editions are better when it comes to giving advice on which attractions to see. However, as always, their general advice on practices in the country, transportation, and stuff like that, was extremely helpful. I still recommend using Frommer's or Fodor's for a trip to Italy.

This is not a travel guide. A travel guide is something that you take with you when you travel to help you figure out what you are doing.

I had my lonely planet. My wife had her small Japanese guide. We stopped carrying mine after a while.

Lonely planet has lots of good historical and cultural information that you can study on the plane or at home before you leave, but it is way to big and heavy to carry around.

Also, it is not very comprehensive regarding restaurants and hotels. How much did these places pay to be listed and to have their competetors left out? There are hundreds of hotels and restaurants in Rome (for example) but only a fraction are listed. We got much better information for free on the Net.

There are lots of guides that only have the tourist information you need to have on you. This book is good for the heavy reading only.

item was as described; it has been very useful ! The edition sent was the correct one and it appeared to be new when I received it :)

This book is great for travel in Italy. The background information is interesting, the maps are superb and the LP writers do an excellent job of highlighting the most interesting sites. I highly recommend this book to anyone going to Italy.