Florence & Tuscany 2009

Best ways to improve this book:

Love, love, love the books! Nothing to improve.

Jennifer in Chicago, IL USA 07/22/2008

The summary ratings page (number of triangles indicating rating) of great places to go were all terrific- but PLEASE- add page numbers next to each of them.

Leib Lurie in Troy, OH USA 07/19/2008

We find his book to be extremely relpful. We met him the the Cinque Terre region and he is so delightful

Michael de la Pena in Shingle Springs, CA USA 06/22/2008

My friend feels that you are too negative, scary negative. Too much mentioning of the pickpockets and theives in several areas in the book. Maybe just to a small chapter on your experience and that's it.

Ana Miner in Novato, CZ USA 06/04/2008

I would have loved a bus map--- an actual map of Firenze and Siena with the bus numbers and routes.

Maggie Flynn in Florissant, MO USA 05/29/2008

I think it would be helpful to include more information regarding the SITA bus trip from Florence to Siena. I know you mention it… but it would be nice if it were a clearer picture – especially since so many of your readers utilize this route. Perhaps a time-table, or link, or at least more info regarding how frequently the bus comes (including Sunday’s). This is something I worried quite a bit about, and is frequently asked on the helpline. Thanks for making such a great guidebook!

Jenny in Camas, WA USA 04/30/2008

Re taking a side trip from Florence to Fiesole... you mention the great view of Florence. It is a great view -- but in the afternoon that view is straight into the sun. You might suggest to people that they take the Fiesole trip in the AM. I tried to take a photo from the lookout point the book mentioned, but I got nothing but glare. In the morning, that would be an amazing view (and photo).

Andy Garlikov in Los Angeles, CA USA 01/02/2008

Be a bit more upbeat about Siena - the town is amazing but the book does not do it justice.

Tracey Mantrone in Queens, NYC, NY USA 11/28/2007

Add some more suggested places for gelato. Certaldo has a great one - Bazzini's, on the town square.

Margaret Volpe in Clifton, , VA USA 11/13/2007

Making phone calls is amazingly absurd. In a world of email and bank accounts that I can log onto exactly the same way I do at home, instantly, spending only a Euro or so, the phones are still impossible. My husband had his iPhone set up to work internationally and I tried to call it using a phone card from a pay phone, and from hotel rooms, while we were in Italy. Very frustrating, even with the guide in the back of the Florence and Tuscany book. Finally got it to work, sort of. But it's confusing, calling from country to country vs. to and from US, vs. to a normally US cell phone that is activated for use in Europe -- is that still a US call???? If there is a way to explain all that better it would help. Since he had his cell phone and I didn't bring mine, it was also impossible for him to call me back -- how on earth could he call a pay phone back? Is that possible? I found that even when I made the call go through to his cell number, and got his normal voice mail greeting, it had not made his phone actually ring, he only got a signal that he had a new voice mail. So he never got my calls, only my voice mails, and had no way to call me back.

What do you think about the two-way radios hikers use? We considered taking those next time to avoid high cell phone costs but allow us to talk about where to meet or whatnot when we are in the same city but split up.

Most valuable piece of info in the book: Hotel takes your passport for a day or few hours, do not panic. Internet cafes need to see your passport and scan it. Knowing those two facts in advance helped me avoid the anxiety I surely would have had about both of those situations otherwise. I was taught early on that in foreign travel NEVER let your pport out of your sight! But if the R Steves guide say it's OK, it's OK. Thanks.

Barbara Powell in Lakewood, CO USA 10/21/2007

Editors: Now I see the explanation of 'red' addresses in the Orientation section. It would have helped to have this explanation in the restaurant section of the book. We arrived before the restaurant was opened and it was a bit difficult to find. Readers shouldn't have to flip back and forth looking for what a 'red' address means when it's dinnertime and they're hungry. ha. Make it easy on us, Rick.

Kathy in West Hills, CA USA 10/19/2007

Just returned from five weeks in Florence - Just to let you know you are RIGHT ON in every area. You would be pleased to hear all the positive feedback I heard from others about your accuracy and recommendations. Best guide book ever! Would love to have your job!

Ann Ringstad in Fairbanks, AK USA 09/07/2007

Rick's Florence & Tuscany is first-rate. Indeed, it's a highly informative, inavaluable travel guide. But something's missing in the the San Gimignano section - the Hotel L'Antico Pozzo. It's a centrally located, tidy, and most comfortable three-star accommodation. My wife and I were quite pleased with our two-night stay at this hotel during peak season, as we enjoyed a cozy, attractive room with all the amenities you'd expect in this price range. (standard doubles will set you back 110-130 USD) Breakfasts were fresh and ample; service was friendly and helpful; and the hotel's peaceful courtyard was a plus. Do consider the L'Antico Pozzo. It'll make a nice complement to the next Florence & Tuscany guide.

David Dillon in Westford, MA USA 08/31/2007

This book was so helpful!!!

Ellen Shields in Winchester, Ma USA 08/06/2007

Rick: You need to include a warning about the hordes of sidewalk vendors, primarily Africans, selling counterfeit purses. They set up in front of the Duomo and the Accademia and the Uffizi. One will be a lookout and as soon as the police come near, they pick up the four corners of their blankets, sling the merchandise over their shoulders and run!

Our guide told us that not only is selling the counterfeit merchandise illegal but any tourist caught buying from these vendors is given a hefty fine. I think he said 250 Euros. Buyer beware.

kath in los angeles, ca USA 07/16/2007

Explain what the 'red' means on the addresses. This is #25 red. We had to walk up and down Via Porcellana to find this restaurant.

[Editor's Note: Actually, we do include this information under "Helpful Hints" in our Orientation chapter. In the 2007 Florence book, it appears on page 26.]

Kathryn Grogman in West Hills, CA USA 07/16/2007

One thing that would improve all the books, I think, would be more detailed maps. We tried to use the map in the book to find the Florence Dream Domus from the Florence train station, but the name of the street directly across from the station had a different name near the station than it did one or two blocks later. Unfortunately, the one in the guidebook was the one that started two blocks from the station. That bit of uncertainty cost us 15-20 minutes of searching and of trying to ask natives for directions--and you know how that goes when there's a language barrier.

Joe Gawel in Saint Augustine, FL USA 07/11/2007

More detailed information about Fiesole. This town is only 30 minutes from Florence city center. More hotels and eating places than mentioned in the guidebook.

Craig in Salt Lake City, Ut USA 07/11/2007

There is no way to improve these books. I have always hated guidebooks- until R.S. His books are amazing. Every thing they said was right on, we are regular travellers, and pretty savy, and we still had our trip improved by his advice and ideas!

Dan in Boise, ID USA 06/27/2007

As with Rick's Rome book, we found that an exclusive focus on highlights wasn't enough in Florence. Eyewitness Guides don't tell a lot about a particular site, but they include many more options and have generally good maps far superior to anything in Rick's books. Also, Rick sometimes stumbles into some howlers in his commentary about history, especially when related to the Catholic Church, that we found silly and in some cases just plain wrong.

John K. in Berkeley, CA USA 06/08/2007

The transportation section on Florence needs to cover the other train stations in more detail, at least the Firenze Campo di Marte station. This is only 3 kilometers from the Firenze S.M.N. station and provides direct connections to more international destinations than the S.M.N. station. For example, you can board a night train to Paris-Bercy directly at this station. Because of the guidebooks admonishment not to use Campo di Marte, I ended up getting too many days on my daughters rail pass.

Tad Taylor in Chapel Hill, NC USA 05/15/2007

Loved the funny, personal reflections. We spent lots of time laughing at the dry humor in all the books. (Paris, Rome, Florence/Tuscany)

Linda Woodall in Gainesville, Ga USA 05/12/2007

The Forence section was dead on and we enjoyed all five days there. The Siena section was not of the same caliber and needs to be reviewed for accuracy. Two other restaurant comments:

Locanda Garibaldi: Unreliable. Supposed to be open Friday but after waiting outside for awhile one of the workers finally noticed us standing there and told us it wasn't going to be open.

Ristorante Guidoriccio: Then tried this place. They might have eventually opened as the door was part way open. But no one was to be found. We eventually just gave up and went to Spadaforte.

Since a lot of people do Siena as a bus trip getting timely food is a big issue here.

Mike Harry in San Jose, CA USA 04/28/2007

Remove Nello La Taverna from the Siena restaurant listings. We have 7 of your books and love them all, but I will be very wary of trying any restaurant suggestions in the future.

Eva in Brussels, Belgium 04/21/2007

I think restaurants and hotels that have been tried/used/screened for this book and didn't make the cut should be included. There are many restaurants and hotels besides the ones in your book and if we knew the ones that were very bad/touristy it would make our trips more enjoyable. Many times my family and I will be in an area where you don't have restuarants listed and so just try one. Or we may find one that looks good and decide to try it. A list of the verboten hotels and restaurants would be extremely helpful.

Emma in Jerez, Spain 04/03/2007

I wish the numbered map lists of restaurants had corresponding numbers at the description section that followed- it makes for less flipping back & forth if you can just go to the number to read about the place.

Catherine Harper in Littleton, CO USA 04/01/2007

Last summer when we stayed at the Hotel Medici in Florence, we had to drive into the city's center. Having read your guidebook, I knew that it was very important to furnish the hotel with the rental car's identification, etc. I did that, yet several months later, I received a charge of $180 on my Visa statement from the car rental company which was for a traffic infraction. I traced it back to a street on which we traveled to enter the city where the car was "captured" on camera. It's too late for me...I am telling you this so you can really stress to your readers the importance of making sure all the information is reported to the proper authorities by the hotel. I just made the assumption that the hotel would take care of it as the desk clerk had promised.

Helen Sablan in Anderson, SC USA 02/12/2007

Maps are sometimes confusing - a little too general sometimes.

Kathy Mooney in Ashland, OR USA 02/07/2007

we buy your new editions every year

Dr. Michael Banks in New York, NY USA 01/24/2007

Add the Hotel Laurus (Best Western/Viva Hotels) to the Hotel list - very central between train station and Duomo. Have Senior discount.

Sheila Harrity in San Pedro, CA USA 11/10/2006

Very good presentation. With 3 days, we didn't have much time to use most of the info.

Lenny Fein in Austin, TX USA 11/10/2006

i used 3 of your books on a recent vacation to europe. switzerland 2006, rome 2005 and florence and tuscany 2005. i could not have seen and done so much without the helpful information in these books. everything was outlined perfectly with great helpful hints. it certainly helped to make my trip a vacation of a lifetime. all the main attractions were right on the money. thanks so much !!!

debbie cronin in berkley, ma USA 10/22/2006

Everything was great..I was nervous at first, leaving the US for the first time, by myself..but with my guidebook I felt that I was in the best company. Everything was well laid out and organized and easy to follow. I recommend your guidebook, show and podcasts to EVERYONE! The only problem..I want to go back to Italy, but there is so much more to see. Now, I've purchased your Paris and Benelux books and I am working on my next European get away!!! I can't wait! Thanks so much for all that you do, I really appreciate it!

Kristen Mitchem in Morrisville, NC USA 10/14/2006

Give more tips on where to park in the hill towns. Mention which ones might not have any street parking and how to get to the parking lots.

Jennifer Detzel in Wyoming, MN USA 10/02/2006

Double check your restaurants occasionally. Some are understated/underrated, and some are just plain bad.

Pete in Bartos, VA USA 08/18/2006

Let readers know that Santa Maria Novella is NOT the only train station in Florence. Our train from Venice stopped at the other two stations in Florence - not at S.M.N., so we missed our stop along with another American family who also assumed incorectly that the train would arrive at S.M.N.

T. Koons in Forest, VA USA 07/22/2006

I want to recommend Antica Fattoria del Grottaione in Montenero D'Orcia. We really felt like locals out for a family dinner.

Bonnie Lurie in Jensen Beach, FL USA 06/24/2006

It is great..........so funny.

Susan Willis in Lakeland, FL USA 06/06/2006

More information the Accademia and more information on where to park in Firenze. Also, any information on public WCs would be appreciated.

Stephanie in Aviano, Italy 05/23/2006

Keep doing what you have been doing!

Susan and Tony Recce in Lawrenceville, NJ USA 04/30/2006

Keep it up. My husband mocked me the entire trip, but advice panned out dozens of times as we traveled the length of Italy. It was the only book I carried in my bag.

Other Americans were consulting it.

Jill CH in Ontario, CA USA 04/19/2006

We really enjoyed the book - we went out and bought the Rome guide while we were in Florence. We ran into a lot of people using them and enjoying them as well. We thought it would be useful to include exactly HOW to use the bus systems in Florence and Rome - but maybe it was in the book and we didn't find it. (Where to buy a ticket, how to validate it - is it really necessary to validate it...).

[Editor's Note: Look on pages 22-23 of the 2007 Florence book for information about buying bus tickets, how much they cost, where to validate them, what doors to use on the bus, etc.]

Jennifer Hinckley in Brooklyn, NY USA 04/17/2006

I would like to ask you to please add "Panella's Residence Bed and Breakfast" to your list of accomidations in your Florence & Tuscany 2007 version. We tried booking with accommodations recommended in your book, but could not find any availibilty. So we finally found Panella's and loved it. The B&B was simply the best in every way. Excellent location, excellent breakfast and the room was like staying in a palace! I can highly recommend Penella's residence for future editions to Rick's guide to Florence. We used the book at every turn and will continue to collect Rick's books for future trips.

Joel in Kennedy, WA USA 03/16/2006

The only complaint we have is that we travel off season to save money. Several places closed earlier than the hours listed in the book, that would be our only issue.

Scott Shapiro in Pleasanton, Ca USA 02/20/2006

I really want to praise you for the book! I have 4-5 guidebooks on Florence and yours is easily the best. The hand-drawn maps are excellent as are the little tips and advice throughout. I bought it from the US since I am a UK resident and I was very pleased indeed with it. Excellent stuff. Thank you.

Nick Shorthouse in Stoke On Trent, UK 02/15/2006