Rick Steeves sometimes get a bad rap because many have seen his TV shows, which sometimes come across as simple and lacking detail. His books though are much more practical, and his hotel recommendations have, in my experience in France, Spain, and Italy, never missed. For whatever reason, his influence seems to be greatest on tourists to Italy relative Spain or France.

My biggest criticism about Rick Steeves is that he seems to have little interest in food, and his restaurant recommendations are not as good ( I follow the Michelin guide for those).

Rick Steve's books are all about saving your money. You should start by not purchasing this book. Potential purchasers should be aware that Rick Steve's books are aimed at a particular segment of segment of the tourist market, that is, those people who want clear and practical advice about how to get about Italy as quickly and cheaply as possible, ticking off the "essential" bits; but don't care very much about what they eat, where they eat, where they sleep or why things are the way they are. Last of all they want to spend their time with other tourists who think the same way. If this discription does not fit you, then there may be other books you might consider such as the Blue Guides or HV Morton.

Just got back from Italy and this was a must for me. I rust Rick Steves with all my European Trips. If you want to travel but are on a budget than this is the book for you.

I only ever *enjoyed* guides by Cadogan, and now Rick Steves.

Italy 2004 (buy the 2005) was indispensable for my 'parachute' 3-day visits of Florence and Venice this summer. With just a little reading you can arrive totally prepared, immediately have a ton of fun, and dig deep into the local culture while avoiding the tourist scrum.

Just a thought: try not to be too slavish to the Rick Steves method of everything, take chances. And be discrete. It's a pain to see everyone pulling the RS books out in every recommended restaurant, etc. Read before you go, or be discrete, and preserve the ambiance of old Italy. It's not that hard to remember how to order food is it?

Downside, I only felt a few things could NOT have been updated for '04, based on some drastic increases in price, and 2 or 3 recommendations going completely down hill, compared to the description. No big deal.

4.5 stars.

Rick Steves' Europe travel guides are the best since they're updated every year. I took the 2004 edition of this book with me on a two-week backpacking trip through Italy, and it was indispensable. I carried it with me at almost all times. Rick always offers great advice on what to see and what to skip, and you can count on great hotel and restaurant information. The physical size of the book is also perfect for putting in your cargo pants pocket, jacket pocket, or backpack. While the Rick Steves' guides don't include pictures to help you in your planning, the information is simply the best real world, "how do I do this" advice you're going to find in a guidebook.

The front of the book includes a color map of Italy with major rail lines as well as double-page city maps of Venice, Rome, and Florence. I never bought or needed separate maps of Venice or Florence and purchased a detailed map of Rome only in order to look up some very specific addresses. The maps in the book are great! You'll also find maps throughout the text with locations of the major sites, hotels, and restaurants listed in the book pointed out on the map. I purchased the Rick Steve's Italy fold-out map before my trip but never needed it.

If you're going to Italy, don't try to do it without this book!