Access Florence & Venice, 5e

by Access Press and Richard Saul Wurman

Book Overview

Offering both new and seasoned Italophiles a wealth of colorful sites to visit, this expanded and revised edition includes Venice's newly renovated Doges palace with an easy-to-follow map, tips on visiting Tuscan wineries, and an introduction to many of Florence's greatest dining spots.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062772880
• ISBN13: 9780062772886
• Release Date: December 2000
• Publisher: Collins Reference
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Can't plan a trip without an Access Guide

I am working on a Florence trip plan as I write. I have a previous edition of this book that is at least 10 years old, left from a Venice trip and too old to rely on. The bookstore didn't have the current Access Florence edition of this book so I didn't know there was one and I bought the new Rick Steve's book. I was able to figure out what I wanted to see, but was having trouble organizing it into a daily trip plan. I couldn't figure out where to stay or where to eat. Rick Steve's is sometimes too budget conscience for my taste so I don't completely trust his hotel, restaurant recommendations. Fell upon the 2007 edition of this book at my library. Read it and my plan fell into place. What is special about Access books is that they cover the city by section and I can plan my day around seeing a specific section of the city on a given day. Museums, shopping, restaurants and organized by location rather than by topic. For example: I plan to spend a morning in Santa Croce. After visiting the church, I know there is a mosaic workshop around the corner that sounds interesting. The school of leather is around the corner and you can observe the apprentices and buy their work, that's worth a peek. After that I'll need lunch and can find a place close by and know from the review what I'm getting. I'll be ordering my own copy to take with me on the trip. We all know things don't always go according to plan. If we are not hungry after the school of leather, we can do the next thing on our list and then find a reviewed restaurant close to where we are when we are hungry... I have been using Access Guides since 1984, their reviews are accurate and I trust them completely. Restaurants are evaluated for both cost and experience. A four star experience, two dollar sign cost restaurant is not to be missed and I know I can be happy skipping a one star, four dollar sign restaurant. Another thing I love about these books is "The Best". They ask predominant locals what are the best things about their city. These comments are scattered throughout the book and are as diverse as the locals. With a new book, I read these first make a list of them and then figure out what ones will be worked into my travel plan. This book has a list of "Don't Leave Florence Without" and I can promise you that I will do all 10 things and know they will be worth the time and a great experience. Bottom line: an Access Guide and Rick Steves Guide are the perfect travel planning tools. Rick Steve's ranks the sites and incorporates a lot of travel logistics into his books which Access doesn't have. However, it is the Access guide that will go with me on the trip.

Just perfet...

We are using this guidebook to help us planning our trip to Italy next May. It has practical informations and focus on the important sites in the two cities. we're sure this will be our most important tool during our stay.

This one will go with me....

This guide is a keeper, if only for the great maps! Arranged by neighborhood, I can see myself needing them when I'm in Italy. Also, I like the "day-trips" section for each city. Other city guides don't have this information, and it's really helpful for that day out. The guide is a bit long, so you have to make sure that your day trip bag is large enough for it.What this guide does lack is depth - historical, artistic depth. If you are traveling in Venice or Florence, it is just essential that you know about what you're seeing. That's part of why we go to these amazing historic sites. I would suggest traveling with a Blue Guide for each city that you visit. They are a great packing size, and they offer so much more descriptive information. They don't offer too much practical information, so that's why I'll be taking the Access Guide with me too.

the only travel guide we actually pack

This guide series is one of the easiest to use and especially if you have never travelled to the destination before. Broken both into regions or neighborhoods and color coded to distinguish restaurants, hotels, shopping and points of interest. This is very useful when one finds themselves hungry in an unfamilair part of town. The reviews are very good, with great recomendations. You will never want to use another travel guide after this series.

Great handy travel guide with terrific layout

This is a great book if you only want to pack 1 travel guide on your vacation. All points of interest are listed in the same order you would find them as you walk through each neighborhood, and they're clearly labeled on the neighborhood maps. The writing is very engaging and candid, offering just enough art historical background to get a better understanding of points of interest, while restaurant and hotel reviews offer the "inside scoop." Contrary to the previous reviewer, I liked the "personal touch" of having residents list their favorite spots - who cares if they've been paid or not - their suggestions are still good. Color-coding also makes for very handy reference. I loved this book and highly recommend it.