Venice 2013 Guidebook
Best ways to improve this book:
1. Include San Samuele vap stop (see above). 2. Perhaps make it clear that some of the pub crawl cafes don't actually RUN OUT of cicchetti at 8PM (as the 2012 book implies), they simply stop serving them, because they change to 'restaurant style' dining - full meals which are presumably a bit more lucrative. In other words - start early, or risk a very short crawl !!
Lindsay in San Diego, CA United States 09/19/2012
Give clearer instructions on getting from the airport to Venice. See corrections above. When you get off a long flight and are tired, you tend to rely more on the guidebook to get to the hotel. The ticket seller could not tell me which line was best line to take. I have used your guidebooks for 20 years successfully, & this is the first time I have written about a correction. Thanks for all the other great advice I have used on other trips.
Steve Denman in Sarasota, FL USA 08/19/2012
We were fine, but perhaps add a more clear warning about Venice's transportation. Either feet or boat and there are no handicap ramps or ways to get over bridges other than to walk. We saw many travelers trying to carry large suitcases over bridges and look for hotels.
Rachel in Denver, CO USA 07/03/2012
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 Grand Canal 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. Thnak you!
Doug in Asheville, NC USA 04/26/2012
Loved all the advice.
Susan Silvera in Los Angeles, CA USA 04/15/2012
Might want to add Palazzo Schiavoni to your 3 star. Fabulous intimate 9 room overlooking a canal near St. Marks Square. See above information on handicapped travelers.
Rory Robb in Kittery Point, Me USA 04/01/2012
I was very pleased with it. Many people were reading it on the plane.
Suzanne in San Diego, CA USA 12/27/2011
Please advise those with back problems and those over 50 that they should anticipate bad mattresses to sleep on. Of the three places we stayed, one had a horrible mattress, one was a bad mattress and the other was merely passable.
Nancy in Driver, WA USA 11/14/2011
The section on water transportation was confusing. We did eventually figure out the waterbus routes, but a good map of stops and routes would be really helpful (e.g. There are 3 San Zaccharia stops, each with a different function).
Elizabeth Bamberger in Portland, OR USA 09/26/2011
We stayed at the Albergo Marin. However, we might have selected a hotel on the same side of the canal as the train station, the water taxis and the cruise ship berths if we had known that "crossing the grand canal" meant that we had to drag luggage up and down the stairs.
Arlene Brumm in Mukilteo, WA USA 07/26/2011
We downloaded your excellent Grand Canal cruse narrative onto a plain old MP3 player and started playing the single large file once the vaporetto left the dock - big mistake, since it contained lots of preliminary information, we never got in sync with the vaporetto stops. Recommend you advise users to start the audio well in advance of boarding the vaporetto.
If possible, post more cheap eating options for Venice. We have found that the pizza and gelatto at Millevoglie at 3033 Salizada San Rocco (right by the Frari church) to be excellent quality and a good value. Seems to be family operated also.
We have never regretted using any of your books over several years of European travel.
Bill Bozo in Springfield, VA USA 04/13/2011
Where to get a good map of Venice. We tried to follow your maps but they aren't enough to get us to the Friari Church, which we will see when we go back!
Shannon Fonferko in Schaumburg, IL USA 03/20/2011