Florence & Tuscany 2013 Guidebook
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Can't think of a thing. It was the first time we've used one of your guide books, and it was well laid out, easy to follow, fun to read and insightful.
Nita and Steve Rothschild in Edmonds, WA USA 10/05/2012
More detailed directions to parking in the larger towns, (Florence, Siena, Pisa). Our GPS constantly failed us when looking for parking.
Mortimer C. Newton in Providence, RI USA 09/12/2012
I had to rip the Tuscany part from the Florence part. The book is too big to put in my back pocket when we did the walking tour.That said we took every walking tour you suggested and it was fantastic. We spent 7 days in Florence and your book was the key to rally enjoying our stay. I'm sitting at the kitchen table here in Illinois 1 weeek after we got back, and I'm rereading the ripped portioned of teh Florence book again to keep in my mind the wonderful sights we saw. My wife and I referred to "Uncle Steve" many times to learn about the wondors of Florence. Thank you "Uncle Steve"..John and Kristina Falvey
JOHN FALVEY in WHEATON, IL USA 06/26/2012
Apart from the address (blue-red) information, we were very impressed. We had test borrowed a number of guides from our library and yours was the one we bought to take with us.
Keith Stotyn in EDMONTON, AB Canada 06/13/2012
Not exactly the book, but the audio guide. We used the audio guides at the museums in Paris last year and they were extremely helpful, especially as they were broken down into chapters. Your guides for Venice, Florence and Rome are all a single audio file, and my mp3 player will not "back up," only start over. So if I am (for example) 15 minutes into the Uffizi Gallery audio guide my only options are keep going, pause and start over; I have no rewind. If the files were broken into chapters like the audio guides in Paris I could back up just a little bit. Please consider this for the future. Thank you!
Doug in Asheville, NC USA 04/26/2012
We enjoyed the book, it was very helpful.
Scott in Fremont, CA USA 04/17/2012
We enjoyed the book, it was very helpful.
Scott in Fremont, CA USA 04/17/2012
My husband thinks I am better than a tour guide because I have been using the book (that he bought) I want to recommend our hotel, which was not in the book: Plaza Lucchesi, is a couple of blocks from the Uffizi, looks out on the Arno, is on the 23 bus route, and around the block from Santa Croce. It was recommended by someone else.
Susan Silvera in Los Angeles, CA USA 04/15/2012
Look at Hotel Degli Orafi as an accomodation, it's a bit higher-end, but is right next to the Uffizi. It's where they filmed 'Room With a View', and yes, our room had a great view of the Arno / Ponte Vecchio.
Also, we ate at a lot of great trattatoria in the Oltrarno area - wish there were more info in the book on that area.
Pat Leathrum in Corvallis, OR USA 04/01/2012
See information above on handicapped travelers. The assistance provided was the most important, getting in for free a bonus. The book was very accurate and extremely helpful.
Rory Robb in Kittery Point, ME USA 04/01/2012
Please, please, please consider adding Villa Ferraia information to your book. This is a marvelous place with the most beautiful local Italian owners that provide a true "back door" experience of Tuscany, and desperately need clientele. Please see my additional comments on the Graffiti wall. www.villaferraia.com
Larry and Angela Traubel in Cedaredge, CO USA 12/14/2011
I thought the book was great, don't get me wrong. But I would suggest a few things in addition to the maps being made more precise and detailed. The 'traffic limito' notes really worried me and I could not figure out from the maps where those sections were; I would put on the maps where they are so travellers don't accidentally go there. Next, more info on the international signs would help. There was a blue circle with a red X in it everywhere I went; this was not in the guide that I could find and since the guide is not in color, it is hard to figure out which sign is which in the few that are identified. Finally, and most importantly, I was rarely approaching cities from the direction described in the book, so I had trouble finding the parking areas described. I would add "if you approach from the south, do this" or "if you come in to town from the superstrada, go this way." I came into Pisa from the south, and parking was a nightmare. The map was too small for me to figure out where I was, and parking was very tough.
Cooper Woodard in Providence, RI USA 10/18/2011
Write more of them?
Marie Canada 10/09/2011
Remove the recommendation for the Annie Adair tour. Also, ZaZa (Florence) is over-rated.
Roland Klassen in Oakville, ON Canada 09/25/2011
I realize there are a lot of gelaterias in Florence, but I believe this one truly warrants a special mention:
Gelateria della Passera Via Toscanella, 15r 005/291882 cinotri@alice.it
Nicole Lavallee in Milton, VT USA 09/22/2011
Send us back to be personal contributors and offer testimonials to your book! ;-)
Todd & Mary in Hastings, MN USA 08/14/2011
Add Trattoria Katti to the list of recommended restaurants.
Arlene Brumm in Mukilteo, WA USA 07/26/2011
you should include TRATTORIA KATTI, via Faenza, Florence. Great food !
Romina M. in Roma, Italy 06/29/2011
This was the first time we have used a Rick Steves' guide. It was informative, entertaining, and above all, small enough to fit in my tote without breaking my back. We also downloaded a version on our iPad which worked very well. I only wish that we had downloaded some of the tours on our iTouchs.
Ann Kressin in Overland Park, KS USA 06/14/2011
Maps need more detail. Still love your books! :)
Jim Deppen in Louisville, KY USA 05/27/2011
Non! I love reading your books and dreaming about where we'll go next! Thank you!
Shannon Fonferko in Schaumburg, IL USA 03/20/2011
You say to send an e-mail to the hotel to request the best rate. When the return e-mail is in Italian and says to send credit card info in an e-mail, do you recommend we do that? Isn't that unsafe? Thanks!
Celeste Rubanick in Alachua, FL USA 02/21/2011