My wife and I are thinking of doing Italy next year (late Sept/early Oct) and are trying to gather some information. I have been to the major cities before, some 10+ years ago, but she has never been.

Are there any guidebooks you reccommend other than the usual Rick Steeves, etc.?

Thanks

I find it useful to go to the library and get all the guidebooks for a place, examine them, and then decide which one or two are the most useful for my interests. Then I buy only that one or two.

I think there are two schools of thought about Rick Steves' books. If you majored in the fine or liberal arts, you find his books superficial; if not, you find them useful.

I always chose Frommer's, but that's just my perference.
But I also check-out all the travel guides the library has first so I can compare.

Here's another vote for checking out as many guidebooks as possible from your local library. I find Eyewitness guides very helpful for initial decisions (such as where to go), as they always have great pictures. Once you've narrowed things down, then you can buy a couple of guidebooks.

Frommers and Fodors are useful for descriptions of destinations and recommended itineraries. I find Lonely Planet has good descriptions of smaller or more out-of-the-way destinations

I like Rick Steves for his suggested to-dos and descriptions (not everything is described as wonderful). I also like the way he sets forth information about things like transportation within cities.

Once I decide where to go, I start referring to guidebooks that are more detailed and/or specific to a city, locality or region. In that category, I would put Michelin green guides and the Cadogan series. Not everybody wants that kind of detail, though.

For more updated material, check the local Eng. language websites for the area you are exploring. As a writer for Fodors and DK Eyewitness guide to Rome, may I humbly suggest the marchevoyager and elegantetruria websites...grazie

It REALLY depends where you are going...some out-of-the-way spots are covered well in some books...and not at ALL in others.

I would ignore the "go to the library" advice! My local library has a travel collection from about 1962 - fine for history...but so so fine for finding a great spot to eat! Go to a big book-store (don't need to mention the chain names...but you know what I'm talking about) and sit down and see which has the most info. for the area you'll be visiting...also...don't forget somme "specialty" books - at leasat browse my very favorite is the "Food and Wine Guide to Naples and Campania" by Carla Capaldo...also saw a new "food guide" out the other day in the books store...but I was in a hurry and didn't get a chance to peek! My last trip, I use the "Blue Guide" and it wasa great - small enough to fit in my purse...enough info. but not too wordy. Not my choice though if I needed to find hotels though.

I like the National Geographic bookguide of Italy. It's not good when it comes to recommend budget lodging or transportation (I use the Internet for that anyway), but it gives you great and concise historical background of places as well as excellent walks in the historic centers of Rome, Florence and Venice and beautiful pictures that will make you look forward to your trip.

For pretrip planning, we use the internet and get all the guidebooks we can find at the library. For actual sightseeing on the trip, we usually take Michelin Green as we don't need a lot of hotel, dining, and general country information at that point.

I've enjoyed Eyewitness guides in the past, for good emphasis on historical buildings and smartly done suggestions on landmarks.

Another vote here for the DK Eyewitness books. Not too great for restaurants or hotels, but that I can find easily enough through a Google search. But for where to go, why it's there, what it means, how it came to pass, who is associated with it and when it gained its importance, there's nothing like the Eyewitness books. Vetrella, you have become one of my heroes working for them because those books never let me down. Not only do I read before and during the trip but I use them as a desktop reference when I put together my own travelblogs or catalogue my photos.

Also, ask your friends if you can borrow their books.
I did but now don't remember who lent me what!

Hi
Check out the local bookstore to see what type of guidebook suits you. I have found myself using Michelin more often in recent years. I loke the driving tours and descriptions. I also use Cadogan books. I like the writing and it is breezy writing. I have also been using Fodors for some countries. I not big on picture guides, though I did just buy the Insight guide to France to get a background of where we will be going this year. I'm also waiting for the new Michelin guide to come out. It really depends on your interests.

Thanks Zeus for your kind words...now if I had only earned even l cent for every copy of that book (DK Eyewitness Rome) sold in myriad languages since 1993 I'd be a millionaire!!
My latest is "Travels to Tuscany & Northern Lazio" - an historic "on the road" . check my website for indepth info on central Italy www.elegantetruria.com

I'm a big fan of the Cadogan guides too.

I just returned from a month in Europe. I had Frommer's guides for Italy and Paris, Fodor's for Salzburg/Vienna, and something else for Switzerland. The Frommer's books won hands down. I had a hard time finding anything in the Fodor's books, and it didn't have a lot of the good information and tips that Frommer's had. The index in the Fodor's book was much less detailed than the Frommer's also. Fodor's may have a superior website, but Frommer's wins on books.

Fodor's, Let's Go and Lonely Planet are the three we always use. They are usually very detailed and complement each other perfectly. Fodor is usually more general, Let's Go is very very detailed and Lonely Planet more "off the beaten path".

Below is the link to Maitaitom's Italian Survival Guidebook (aka trip report with pictures).

Along with pictures and descriptions of many towns, restaurants and sights, it provides useful answers to questions like:

What happens if I put Super Gas in a Diesel rental car?
How do I get my rental car in reverse?
If I acidentally drive on a pedestrian town square, what is the quickest getaway?
Is $200 too much to spend on a piece of fish?
What ingredients go in a Singing Gondolier?
If I drop my camera in a canal, should I dive in after it?
Where can I buy overly expensive Cat Puppets?
An much, much more!

For the money (which, of course, is none), it is a very handy guidebook, although you have to suffer through an inordinate amount of bad jokes along the way.

http://travelswithmaitaitom.typepad.com/travels/

I also like Time Out because they frequently have maps with all the street names listed in the index, so if you get lost you can look up the street you're on and get your bearings.