Florence is the heart of Renaissance Italy and one of Italy's most visited cities. Florence has many interesting museums, beautiful churches and buildings, and impressive artwork. Here are some recommended travel books and guides to help you get the most out of your travels to Florence.
1. The Food Lover's Guide to Florence
Finding great food and restaurants in Florence can be difficult. The Food Lover's Guide has gotten great recommendations from people who've used it. Emily Wise Miller takes you to restaurants, pizzerias, and wine bars where you'll eat like a local rather than a tourist.
2. Florence in Detail - A Guide for the Expert Traveler
Created in collaboration with the International Herald Tribune, this book from Rizzoli publishers includes 17 walking tours. It covers familiar sites and off the beaten path choices, top picks, and excursions outside Florence.3. Cafe Life Florence
Cafe life is something you will want to experience while in Florence. Joe Wolff visited cafes in Florence and gives you his recommendations. His book is more than just what cafes to visit; he goes into great detail about each cafe, its owner, history, and nearby sites to visit. Great black and white photos, too.4. National Geographic Traveler Florence & Tuscany
A fairly comprehensive guidebook with 240 phots and 22 maps. The book has detailed site descriptions, walking tours, visitor information, and insights into history, background, and culture. It covers Florence in depth and has about 100 pages on the rest of Tuscany.5. Dk Eyewitness Travel Guides Florence and Tuscany
Eyewitness Travel Guides have lots of beautiful pictures, drawings, and detailed descriptions. They are great for planning but are usually a little heavy to carry with you each day.6. Streetwise Florence
While this is not a guide book, it does make a good travel companion for walking around Florence. The detailed map shows major buildings, making it easy to orient yourself and it's laminated for durability.7. Let's Go Map Guide Florence
From the publishers of the Let's Go Guidebooks, Let's Go Florence is a small guidebook and map combination that is easy to carry around. 32 pages of text provide essential information while the 11 maps help you get around Florence.8. Access Florence and Venice
If you're going to both Florence and Venice this is a good book. It covers hotels, restaurants, and sites by area.