DK Eyewitness Travel Guides Italy
The Eyewitness Travel Guides are known for their comprehensive and detailed pictures, drawings, floor plans, neighborhood maps, and illustrations. It's a great planning tool even though it's not updated yearly as some of the other guides are. My only complaint is that it is a little heavy to carry around.
Fodor's See It Italy
See It Italy includes lots of photos and maps. The bulk of the book covers the "Sights" broken down into 9 regions. The book also has sections on Understanding Italy, Getting Around, What to Do, Out and About, Eating and Staying, and Planning. It's a little heavy to carry around but a good resource for before you go.
Frommer's Italy Day by Day
Frommer's Italy Day by Day has more than 100 self-guided tours with maps, history and cultural information, photos, and reviews of restaurants and hotels.Lonely Planet Discover Italy
Lonely Planet Italy is written by a team, each with an expertise in one city or region. This guide has a fresh, updated look and is more compact than the regular guidebooks. It includes Italy's top itineraries and experiences, trip planning, a calendar with seasonal highlights, insider information, maps, tips, and top regions and cities.Italy for the Gourmet Traveler
Here's a book I've used frequently since the first edition came out in 1996. An updated fifth edition came out in May, 2010, and it's still one of my favorite books for travel planning. Fred Plotkin gives a culinary overview of each region with restaurant and food information for 300 towns and cities in Italy that includes must-see towns in each region, festivals, and in-depth looks at classic towns. This is not your typical travel guide (no hotels or top attractions) but a good book to read before you go and take note of places you want to eat or visit, especially if you're interested in food or getting off the beaten tourist path.
Fodor's Italy 2012
Fodor's guide includes unique sections with insights from locals and recommendations from other travelers. It also includes tools for trip planning, tips, cultural background, photos, and maps in addition to descriptions of what to see.
National Geographic Traveler Italy
National Geographic Traveler is full of beautiful photos and good information about Italy. The book is divided into sections by region and has maps, a section on history, and a travel wise section. The next edition is scheduled to come out in March, 2012.
Let's Go Italy - the Student Travel Guide
The Let's Go books are written with student travelers in mind and aimed primarily at the budget traveler. They have great information about traveling by public transportation, useful even if you're not on a budget. Also available in a kindle edition.
Italy: Instructions for Use
This is a great book to take to Italy! Nan McElroy shares her years of experience as a traveler in Italyas she covers common travel situations and answers questions about traveling in Italy that you might have before you go or when you are there.
A Travel Guide to World War II Sites in Italy
Italy has many interesting World War II sites. This compact, well-written book covers major museums, monuments, and battlegrounds associated with World War II and includes a historical introduction, visiting information, and travel directions for each of them. Also in the book are maps and haunting photos from the war.
Made in Italy
Laura Morelli's book is a shopper's guide to Italy's best artisanal traditions. A great book for shoppers as well as those interested in Italian traditions.
Rome Guidebooks
Travelers often include Rome as part of their Italian itinerary. If you're planning to visit Rome, take a look at these guidebooks. We also have recommendations for Florence Guidebooks.
