Knopf Mapguides: Rome: The City in Section-by-Section Maps

I purchased this book for another city in Italy, useful, compact and a great tool for travel.

My wife and I spent a week in Paris and this was the book that we carried with us all the time. We walked everywhere, constantly unfolding the map of each section of the city to find out how to get to where we needed to go. PROS: 1. Compact - fits in purse or jacket pocket. Easy to unfold and refold each map. 2. Excellent map detail - shows all streets, Metro stops, important buildings and points of interest. Also has a separate Metro map. 3. Contains other useful information - not a substitute for a guidebook, but the back of each map provides short descriptions of major attractions, restaurants, etc. This is useful when you're in an area and you want to know what else you should see while you're there. CONS: 1. Metro lines are not shown on maps - the Metro stops are shown on the street maps, but sometimes it was difficult to relate the street maps to the separate Metro map. If the Metro routes were superimposed on the street maps, this would have been a lot easier (although this may be a difficult thing to do while keeping the maps readable).

This little book is a nice combination of guide and map. I'm somewhat obsessed with finding the perfect guidebook every time I take a trip ... I often buy more than one just to be sure I don't miss anything. While it's great to have that kind of information on hand, it's best to have on hand back at the hotel in my suitcase rather than weighing down my purse while I'm out sightseeing. I read through my big guidebooks, then made a few sticky notes with a few things I wanted to remember and stuck them on the relevant pages of this one to take with me. After all, who needs to lug a guidebook containing things like hotel information around all day? This is a great size for carrying in a purse. It's also small enough that my husband can be persuaded to stow it in his jacket. Even better! The book starts out with a double-page horizontal fold-out showing a map of the entire city divided into 10 sections. (Arrondissements are roughly shown but not drawn out.) Each section then gets its own two-page vertical fold-out, including a larger map. Points of interest are reviewed, including a number of restaurants, cafes, bars, shopping, and things to see. There are lots of color pictures on every page. The maps include Metro stops and there's also a Metro map of the city in the back. The section maps are MUCH easier to read than the little maps you can get from the hotels or at the Metro stations. Not only is the print bigger, but the maps themselves are not as unwieldy as a regular map. I felt just a little less touristy reading them. I sometimes wished there was just a little more detailed information, but that would make for a bigger, heavier book. Overall, I think they did a good job of balancing the need for information with a manageable size.

This is a TERRIFIC little pocket guide, once you've decided what you want to see. There are brief lists of the 'top ten' sights, and information on lodging and transportation, including a subway map. Where this excels is with the maps. For each of six major areas of the city, you open the guide to descriptions of the restaurants, bars, and shopping in the area. The pages feel very thick, almost like you're reading a young child's cardboard book. But like magic, the pages unfold UP, not from side to side, so you're looking at a double-page map that takes up roughly 3/4 of the page, with the bottom section highlighting the tourist attractions (museums, churches, palaces, theaters, piazzas) in the area -- brief descriptions, addresses, hours, phone numbers, and color photographs. The index lists several hundred sites you may want to visit, and references them back to the appropriate map. They have been incredibly efficient in cramming so much information into such a compact design. Very well done!

It's a nicely done guide for what it is, but I was expecting more map and less guide. Certainly useful for finding your way around if you're not looking for a specific street and address. On some panels there are many small streets that are unlabeled. In addition there is no street index. At least half the space is devoted to listing and describing points of interest, including some restaurants. This is a fine map for someone who wants to walk around and see the sights without getting lost. If you're looking for a map that will guide you to a specific location - hotel, restaurant, apartment, etc. - where have the street address this map will be hit-or-miss at best.

I did a week-long solo trip to Paris and got this to help me get around as I'd never been there before. I love to walk and found that using this map either before setting out from the hotel or while en route somewhere to be accurate and very easy to read. It folds up easily so it went into my small backpack without taking up much room. The streets are well marked as are the sites most visitors to Paris would want to see. If you're concerned about the data cost of using a smart-phone's GPS or suddenly you have no battery life left, this is a great option to have with you.

The best part of these guides are the sectional maps, very handy. Not certain how practical the shopping and dining recommendations are for most travellers. But a good overview nonetheless.

Excellent little book - pocket size, fold out maps, all attractions. Perfect for touring the sites.

These are the BEST. They are super lightweight and fit easily into a purse, ready to be plucked out when you are looking for direction in the midst of aimlessly wandering a foreign city! They are often older so the restaurant info and/pricing may not be up-to-date, but I am personally not concerned about that. My only wish is that they had them for more cities!

Brilliant!

I love this series of travel guides, and have had three versions f the Paris one over the years. The flip-out maps are the best, with just enough info about landmarks and spots to rest. Great way to orient yourself. Especially good guides for people who love to walk.