My husband and I are going to Tuscany in August and need a detailed map of the area for touring by car. Does anyone have a suggestion on where to find one? Also how far in advance do you need to make resturant and spa reservations? Thanks, Nancy

Nancy, <BR>We just returned from 10 days in Italy, four of them in Tuscany. I don't know how much help I can give although we drove quite a bit in Tuscany. We used several maps and were disappointed as to the detail on all of them. They are not anything like US maps - many smaller villages are not included and I learned to depend on road signs much more than the maps. We used Michelin, Rand McNally and a couple of local ones. The Michelin seemed the best of the bunch. I purchased it before we left from Barned and Noble. As far as reservations - we didn't have any problems making them the same day - but I understand August is vacation time for Europeans and it gets much busier than when we visited in June. Hope this helps.

Really, Joe? <BR>Have you, by any chance, seen a TCI (Touring Club Italiano) 1:200,000 map? That's 1 cm per 2 km ... I haven't noticed a single road or village that's not on it! <BR>Paulo <BR> <BR>

Nancy, The quality of maps are in direct <BR>relation to the price. I have always <BR>used Michelin maps but they come in 3 <BR>series. The 900 series is RED and is <BR>usually 1,000,000 to 1 scale[Italy]. <BR>The 400 series is orange and is 400k/1 <BR>[central Italy=#430] and the 200 series <BR>is yellow and 200k/1[Provence=#245] <BR>I find the 400 maps to be adequate for <BR>most of my needs but if you want the <BR>BEST map of Tuscany then get the Kummerley and Frey Tuscany map with so <BR>much detail you can actually tell the <BR>small turns in the road. Hard to find-- <BR>call the Globe Corner Book store in Boston at 800-358-6013. The ITC maps are <BR>good detail and are cheaper but I do not like the graphic details or color. <BR>Most Barnes and Nobles will have many <BR>red and orange Michelins but may be out <BR>of the one you need. Hope this helps. <BR>A good map is your FIRST PLANNING TOOL.

As I said in the other posting, you can order Michelin maps from Amazon. I was curious, so I checked if they would have the Kummerly and Frey maps Bob mentions. They are listed as out-of-print, but Amazon will try to find them for you. I've never tried this, but it might work for you.