Best guides, maps and books for seeing Italy.

I have looked through every possible map and guidebook and figured out which ones were the most helpful to me.

First, there's the AAA Spiral Guide series. They're a spiral guide, which means they lay flat. That's very convenient. The spiral spine is protected so they won't catch on things and get all wonky.

They start off with a "Magazine" section which includes historical perspectives written as short, straightforward articles. Topics include historical profiles of artists and political figures, areas that have been included in films, how frescoes are painted (highlighting important ones to see) and lists of weird & wonderful as well as best of's. Best views, best abbeys, best scenic drives, best markets, best piazzas, best ice-cream, best evening strolls, best beaches. And that's just the first chapter. Following are chapters about what to do in your first two hours after arrival which includes all the practical information about money exchanging and transportation. Following are several two- or three-day itineraries with photos of key places with tips and information sidebars that are even better than the DK series of books and guides. Then great walks and drives are covered with clear maps. The Practicalities chapter is full of great charts and graphs about documents needed, weather patterns, time, currency, websites, sizes, business hours, holidays, safety, telephones and postal services, health info, etc. etc. etc. This is followed with a decent atlas for this size of book. I'm so impressed with this series.

I couldn't remember the name of the chocolate, chocolate-chip gelato treat or the bar in Piazza Navonna recommended by my guide last time I was there. The Rome guide reminds me it's Tartufo at I Tre Scalini. That alone was worth the price of the book for me. I would've walked in there and not known what to ask for (I can't remember Italian words and get the syllables all out of order even when I do remember them).



The maps I like (for their illustrations and novelty) are MapEasy Guidemaps. They are covered with short blurbs highlighting things to see. They're coated, so not likely to succumb to liquid damage on a first spill.



I also love the City Guidemap (Z Guides) series, which I bought before my last trip. They fold down (easily - you could almost do it one-handed) to 3" x 4.25". Each includes a list of sites to see and a day's itinerary, metro maps and other close-up maps of piazzas, food reviews, building diagrams and tips on the back. Unfortunately, they appear to be out of print. A damn shame.



I got the Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas. It's extremely comprehensive in ways that other maps aren't (showing tunnels, toll roads, mileage) but now that I have a GPS with European maps, I don't know if I'll need it. It's large at 8.5" x 11" and almost 200 pages, so it might be overkill.



My favorite language help book is still Italian at a Glance. It includes grammar an pronunciation guide, but most of the book is divided by context and is full of vocabulary and phrases that you might need while driving, eating, shopping and go into enough detail so you have a plethora of phrases for the pharmacist, the doctor and the mechanic. All in a small book that came with a nice plastic cover.



I have at least a dozen other books that include many from the DK series, walking and food tours and other books that highlight oddities, but the books above are the go-to ones for me.

I also picked up a book about Travel Writing that'll keep me focused on travelling as a writer (and photographer) and not just a tourist.