Author Description

These compact and fact-filled guides to major cities around the world are beautiful and easy to use. With more than 600 color photographs -- more than any other guide in this size -- these books combine the inside information of an Access or Gault-Millau guide, the practical information of a Michelin or Rough Guide -- about where to stay and eat and what to see -- in a seductive highly portable volume.<p>Each guide is divided into seven sections with brief and lively descriptions for each entry: "Arriving and Getting Around" points up the way of getting into a city and then once you are there, the most efficient local transportation; 47 entries in "Where to Stay" has a wide range of hotels; 47 restaurants are listed in "Where to Eat"; jazz clubs, theater, night clubs, and other after-hour places are among the 24 entries in "After Dark"; 107 museums, monuments, and architectural sites are included in "What to See"; "Further Afield" takes you on 18 excursions out of the city including the Veneto; "Browsing and Shopping" which guides you to 49 stores and tells you what they have to offer. In the map section in the back are 5 double-page spreads of the city area by area with dots corresponding to all the entries in the guidebook.<p>The City Guide to Venice takes you from such grand hotels as the Gritti or Cipriani to the smaller La Fenice or the romantic Ai Due Fanali; to a strong selection of restaurants from Harry's Bar and Antico Pignolo to more modest ones like Corte Sconta. Not to be missed is a drink at the Gran Caffe Florian on Piazza San Marco or a visit to the Church of San Bartolomio to listen to music played on ancient instruments. This guide takes you shopping for exquisitefabric, glassware, masks and costumes, furniture and paper products<p>Each Guide takes you fearlessly and efficiently into the heart and culture of the city. Smart, incisive, sharp and sleek, these guides are as practical as they are beautiful.