tigerofjiang

and so i have another inquiry =D
I'm wondering what kind guidebook would be the best for me to get some good info. going to Italy and France
the main cities I'll be staying at are:
Italy: Milan, Venice, Florence, Rome, Naples
France: Paris, Rennes

so you can see Italy is my main country ^^
I'll also be making day trips from those cities but not big enough to need a guidebook, as of yet

somethings to consider:
-I'm traveling alone
-I'll be 18-19
-I don't want to go on an organized tour, I'm traveling alone for a reason, and I find them quite dull (sorry)

thanks for any help!!

bobthenavigator

The Michelin Green book series is hard to beat as an overall guide---and not so big than you can't carry it with you.
I would get the ITALY book but also then another just for Paris. The Let's Go series is more for college age but not as camplete as Michelin.

thursdaysd

Take a look at Lonely Planet and Rough Guide. I also like Pauline Frommer's "Italy" and "Paris". I would take any of those on the road. For planning purposes I'd go camp out in a bookstore or visit the library and work my way through things like Fodor's "Exploring", APA's "Insight" and DK's "Eyewitness".

Peter_S_Aus

Just don't do Rick Steves!

cafegoddess

Tiger,

I pesonally like Frommers

If you don't mind me asking, how long are going to be in Europe? You are a brave person to travel by yourself. I hope you have a great time, please just be careful.

Peter_S_Aus

The National Geographic book "Venice" is excellent, and the Rough Guides are worth a look. I find Lonely Planet a bit trite. It does not really matter if guide books are a bit old - Europe is not changing that fast. "Venice" by Jan Morris is really worth reading - even though it is 50 years old (re-edited in 1990).
The Moleskine City Notebooks are fun, and a great memento. You need a decent map for Venice - don't rely on the free maps given out at tourist info offices.

Peter_S_Aus

Here's a day trip for Venice. It takes you over about half the town, and would give you an idea of the small things that you can discover.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-teenagers.cfm

Aduchamp1

Michelin Green Guides are excellent but you will need another for lodging and restaurants.

tigerofjiang

@ cafegoddess

I'll be in Europe from June 19-July 14
yeah, I know there are more dangers traveling alone, but it's the best way for me to do what i want, and i'm more of a alone type of person

i'll put up a rough plan of my itinerary soon =D


and thanks for the link Peter_S_Aus!
and also, what wrong with rick steves? i've heard of this before from other topics, but i never really looked into the person(s) lol

Peter_S_Aus

I did a trip report about our nine weeks in Venice. It's quite long - some would say short on hard information. It's to be found here: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...st-verbose.cfm

I wrote this about Rick Steves:

Rick Steve's Venice 2005 contains gems such as “Venice is one of the cradles of the art form known as opera”. Rick Steve is known as the writer of a guide book that has more than a few incorrect statements – like the Bellini “was invented here by Hemingway in 1948” in reference to Harry's bar, and that the present Rialto bridge is the third.
There was a pontoon bridge in 1180, timber bridges in 1264 and 1310 (which sadly collapsed in 1444), so it's actually the fourth. I doubt that the foundations extend for 650 feet on each side as he states – this would take them clean under the law courts, church of San Giacomo Apostolo, (founded in 421, 428 or 540, and surviving the fire of 1514, so pre-dating the Rialto Bridge by about one thousand years), and finish up in the fish market. On the other side of the Grand Canal, the foundations would have extended through Campo San Bartolomeo, through the internet cafe, under the Rio dela Fava, almost to the steps of the church of Santa Maria de Fava. He's saying that the bridge plus foundations are three times the length of the Piazza – quote him if you like. The merchants of the Rialto would never have tolerated such disruption, and the architect would never have won the design competition.

But he's good for the occasional laugh. He brands the area west of the Grand Canal (San Polo, Dorsoduro and Santa Croce) as where “real Venetians” live, and one wonders what the residents of Castello, San Marco and Cannaregio would say to that – maybe they are not real Venetians.

Mr Steve uses some quaint language, for example, in reference to the Doges, “Many others just put on their funny hat and accepted their role as figurehead and ceremonial ribbon cutter. Most were geezers, elected in their seventies and committed to preserving the Venetian traditions”. Tell that to Doge Dandolo, invader of Constantinople. Maybe Mr Steve does not indulge overly in checking his facts – his book is full of errors.

He does says one very true thing, though. “If there is a negative aspect to the image Italians have of Americans, it is that we are big, loud, aggressive, impolite, rich, and a bit naive”. and “... they nearly always afford us individual travellers all the warmth we deserve”. With his approach, the warmth Rick receives may be a little frosty. Good book for the dedicated sight seeing tourist.

StCirq

I would go to the library or a bookstore and look through different guidebooks to get a sense of what meets your own purposes. The Michelin Green Guides are kind of the gold standard, but perhaps you want more information on, say nightlife, in which case the Rough Guides might be better for you.

I personally use the Eyewitness guides for the most part for planning and the Michelin Green Guides for actual touring. I also love the Cadogan Guides for refreshing (sometimes even alarmingly refreshing) viewpoints.

Apres_Londee

You might want to look at the Timeout Guides for Paris, Rome and Milan for things like restaurants and nightlife.

tigerofjiang

when you say michelin green guides
do you mean the oddly looking thing, the michelin tire guy thing?

would they have these guides at like barnes & noble or at borders?

Peter_S_Aus

There are four things you need from a guide book.

The “Hard Information” – travel information, opening times of museums, what things cost, how to get from A to B. I do think that Rick Steves books are probably pretty good for this, and they are up to date. They are targeted to an American readership.
The “Soft Information” – where to stay, hotel recommendations, bars, places to eat. Lonely Planet is OK for this – and lonelyplanet.com saves you from buying the books and lugging them around.
The “History and Culture Information”. There are so many perspectives on this one, and my experience – and I can only speak for Venice – is that the conventional guide books don’t do this too well. The National Geographic book would maybe be an exception. If you are visiting Omaha, Juno and Gold, you would want to read very widely, and I think this could be a very moving experience – there is something about visiting any place where great heroism has been displayed. It sends a shiver up your spine.
The “Art and Architecture Information”. This really depends on how interested you are. Art can give you a great insight into how people were thinking culturally, politically and economically centuries ago – but you have to read about it. I found the Eyewitness guides, that StCirq recommended, are good for this, and they give you a heap of information. Second hand copies would be fine, because architecture does not date.

I had an ancient (1899 Baedeker) guide book with me in Venice – it was fun to imagine myself travelling in the days when steam trains made their way to Venice, phones barely existed, the question might be asked “I’m going to an internet café, how do they serve internets?”, imagining that I had a servant to carry my luggage.

But, like everyone else, I had to drag my bag on wheels.

sarge56

DK Eyewitness Travel Guides. Period.

StCirq

tiger, yes you can often find the Michelin Green Guides at Borders and Barnes and Noble. You can also order them, often second-hand, at Amazon.com. If you have a travel book store in your area, even better. Some of the more obscure ones are sometimes hard to find.

Tip: stop using the work "like" all the time inappropriately. It's bad enough in spoken English. In written English it looks ridiculous.

Aduchamp1

In general:

Frommer’s and Fodor’s-Good on restaurants and hotels, poor on history and culture, small town recommendations non-existent

Rough Guide and Lonely Planet-Opinionated and edgy, good on history, small towns, and culture, terrible on restaurants and hotels

Cadogan-specialized for a specific areas. Quietly helpful

Eyewitness and National Geographic-Like stereotypical models nice to look at but little sunstance.

Rick Steve’s-I would rather be lead by a blind man

Michelin Green-probably the best for sites.

tigerofjiang

all the time?? ohhhhhkkkkaaayyyy i'm not saying it all the time, this is using it all the time
like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like like

i've only used it maybe three, give or take, times my last three posts
i use it sometimes to compare (its not like this item, etc.), to express when i am unsure (could i get these at like....??), to emphasize and/or in a silly way (that's like super cool, and so on)
i wonder why you're so annoyed but such a non-annoying word.

tigerofjiang

forgive me, as a teenager i like to defy....LOTS

TDudette

hey tiger, I agree with StCirq. Go to the biggest book store near you and look at the travel guides. None will have everything you need, all will have errors (things do change) but something will be a fit for you. Or, just buy your ticket, reserve some hotels and ask when you get there! Almost every hotel has a pile of info just waiting for you.

I've been on the receiving end of some fodorite unwelcomed and unkind words-take what is wise and ignore the others.

Have a great time!