5 comments about Streetwise Florence Map - Laminated City Street Map of Florence, Italy.

1. We purchased this map from AMAZON only weeks before our trip to Italy. Either it was incorrect from the start or has never been updated since its publication....or there are one way gremlins afoot at the publishers!!After trying every approach into central Florence using this map we realized that at least HALF of one way streets are WRONGLY MARKED! Finally we chucked the map and followed the actual street signs and found our hotel.



2. Driving directions can change on a dime (see previous review), but walking the streets, so to speak, rarely changes. There are maps with more detail, but this map is an essential. Lightweight, laminated (waterproof), pocket-sized, and with almost all the detail that most Florence visitors need. Fully-opened, it is still small and easy to use. A handy gazeteer lists many streets and monuments, with map grid locations. There are some very tiny streets/alleys that are hard to make out, but that is true for almost any pocket-sized folding map.



3. I have purchased several Streetwise for various cities. I found ALL of them to be useful. For Florence, it was particularly useful because the streets in Florence are narrow and not straight. You can easily get a bit lost - but not if you have the Streetwise map with you. You can use it to quickly get your location, and to see where the nearest piazza, church or museum is located. It also takes you across the Arno to the Piti Palace and Boboli Gardens. It is easy to carry and for someone who has progressed to bifocals -- easy to read.



4. Great map. Used it a lot. Needed my reading glasses to see the small print.



5. I have been to many European countries and I always buy a streetwise map before I go. These maps are convenient, folds up easy to fit into a purse or backpack, very accurate and laminated. While in Florence it rained often. The map constantly got wet and was dropped in puddles a few times. The map held up great and I do not go to any new place with out one.

5 comments about Mediterranean by Cruise Ship: The Complete Guide to Mediterranean Cruising with Giant pull-out color map..

1. I expected more from this book after reading some of the reviews. I do really like the diagrams of the ports and some of the maps seem helpful but other maps are bad with scale and distances just plain wrong. I have also found many spelling errors... who edited this?
   My biggest complaint though is the pictures outnumber the information. Some pages have 4-5 photos making each one so small you can't see much of interest in them. And the photos aren't that good to begin with, many actually look like scanned postcards.
   This book seems to be a very unprofessional attempt at a travel log. There are other books on the market which do a much better job... don't buy the book just for the diagrams of the ports!



2. If you go on a Mediterranean cruise...buy this book..if,like me,you really enjoy immersing yourself in a book about the trip of your dreams..buy this book...It is a perfect combination of facts,history and beautiful pictures and maps.The "must see" sections turn an overwelming siteseeing tour into one that is relaxed and enjoyable.My daughter and son-in-law are flying to Rome next month..she is looking forward to "borrowing" my book...it has wonderful suggestions for a Roman holiday....how romantic is that!...I would not go to the Mediterranean without this book..it would be like trying to make a delicious italian cream cake without reading the recipe..



3. This is a good book. Nice color pictures, lots of information on history, architecture, what to see in ports, where to eat and maps. A nice small enough to carry in you purse book.



4. I am planning my first trip/cruise to Europe and I was hoping for a more in depth look at the museums, restaurants, sights, etc. More than anything it was a history lesson... But, overall it had good information and it a nice "catch all" guide.



5. This book is a great help in preparing for a cruise. It contains a wealth of information on cruising, but an unexpected & very interesting section is the "History of the Mediterranean.

5 comments about Streetwise Barcelona Map - Laminated City Street Map of Barcelona, Spain - with integrated metro map including lines and stations.

1. An excellent map - easy to read and to fold. Highly recommended.



2. I bought this map for my son and his wife, as they are in Barcelona at this very moment on a vacation. They were very pleased with the map and I'm assuming it is helping them to get around very nicely, I will know more when they get back.



3. I visited Barcelona in December 2007 and used the Streetwise Barcelona available at that time. Apparently the map has subsequently been updated (in Jan. 2008), but the one I used had at least one confusing error, and one irritating design/layout problem. The error is where the map showed the location of Gaudi's La Pedrera; the icon had the right shape to emulate the building's curvy shape, but it was placed one block over from where the building really is. Also confusingly, the map showed a separate location for Casa Mila (one block over), the icon for that being a plain little square shape. In reality, Casa Mila and La Pedrera are the same building, but the map had me quite confused on that point for awhile until other literature steered me right. (Where the small boxy "Casa Mila" icon is located on the map is where the organically curvy La Pedrera/Casa Mila really is.) The layout problem: normally with the Streetwise maps, you flip them over top to bottom to continue the map on the other side. But with the Barcelona map, you had to flip it side to side to get to the rest of the city, which was not conducive to continuity of the map. Overall I really love the Streetwise maps, they are so handy to carry and easy to use, and the laminating is a great feature. I trust that with the update of the Barcelona map they have corrected the problems I mentioned.



4. Spent 5 days in Barcelona in a wonderful apartment in Barri Gottic...this map was indespensible. Very sturdy,easy to read,lightweight,easy to store in backpack pocket. Perfect size print and useful key.



5. This map is an excellent resource for tourists who prefer independent travel in Barcelona. My wife and I used this map exclusively while touring Barcelona and it was well marked with all major attractions as well as having a complete listing of all street names and places of interest. Well worth the price.

5 comments about Rick Steves' Europe Map (Rick Steves).

1. My son and I went to 5 countries in Europe and wanted a full map of Europe. This map is reinforced paper without being bulky, so it travels well. Easy to read and has larger city maps included. A great addition to the city-specific travel guides.



2. The map was a bargin for the price, but if you want a full map of Europe, go elsewhere. This map does not include eastern Europe and Bosinia, Albania, Macedonia, Greece (which is the main problem becasue Greece is a popular tourist destination) and more.



3. I got this thinking it would get me started on planning my trip to Europe. I had a list of things I wanted to see. When I got the map I was so happy to see that all the tourist attractions were ALREADY MARKED on the map! They were clearly labeled and easy to locate and read. Great product...well worth the money!



4. This map is OK, not what I was really looking for. This map is best utilized as a general European map to help you plan for your trip. In terms of having enough detail to be incredibly useful, you would be better off with a map that was more country or region specific. It is just a little to general to be of any substantial benefit while travelling.



5. Although I haven't traveled with it yet, this map is very lightweight, moisture resistant and folds nicely to tuck away in my backpack. Looking forward to putting it to the test in Italy & Switzerland.

5 comments about Michelin Italy: Tourist and Motoring Atlas (Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas : Italy).

1. Map is has an easy to read scale and user friendly spiral book binding. Although I almost always have my GPS with me, this map is great to get an overview of routes, serve as a back-up when the GPS malfunctions, plan alternative routes and see what other interesting places are near-by.



2. This is our second purchase of the Michelin Italy Atlas as we used the first so much that pages were torn and missing. We find it to be one of our better map guides for traveling in Italy.



3. I haven't field tested this atlas yet, but I like it already. Its very light, so it won't be a burden in my carry-on. It has detailed maps of a lot of towns too.



4. Rick Stevens says the traditional road atlas needs be 1/300,000 or larger scale in order to be useful for guiding drivers on the road. This atlas has the right scale.
   
   I have a GPS navigator (Tomtom GO 720) which works very well in Europe, I almost thought the traditional atlas was no longer necessary. But after two instances occurred to me during my 2-week driving in Europe (June 2008), I am very glad I had brought this atlas with me as a backup to my GPS.
   
   In the first instance, a scenic mountain pass identified by the GPS was closed midway, I must rely on the atlas to reroute. In the second instance, the entire traffic on our side of motorway stopped completely due to a traffic accident ahead. I had to rely on the atlas, ignoring instructions from GPS, and driving through country roads to reach my destination.
   
   The paper and printing quality of the atlas is first class. It's a worthwhile investment. Take it with you even you have a GPS already!



5. I hoped that the Michelin Italy Atlas was a good paper (pages), but the pages are very fine (fine pages), not good to travel by car (pratical).
   
   Thank you.

5 comments about Streetwise Prague Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Prague, Czech Republic - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map featuring ... - trams, streetcar routes (Streetwise).

1. This map is convienient (like the others in the series) because you can fold it in half and stick it in your pocket without it getting all ripped up. However, I ended up referring to other maps as well to verify where I was going. The Prague map is particularly inconvenient in that it divides the Stare Mesto (the central area where most tourists spend their time) in half, such that I frequently had to turn it over as I traced my path.



2. Worked out perfectly for our recent trip to Prague. We used it every day.



3. There are maps with even more detail, but this map is an essential. Lightweight, laminated (waterproof), pocket-sized, and with almost all the detail that most visitors need. Fully-opened, it is still small, unobtrusive, and easy to use. A handy gazeteer lists many streets and monuments, with map grid locations. There are some very tiny streets/alleys that are hard to make out, but that is true for almost any
   pocket-sized folding map. I buy a Streetwise for any city destination.



4. In typical Streetwise fashion, this is an excellent map that is key to exploring the city of Prague which has many confusing streets with confusing names.
   
   This is a map not a guide and while it does point out places of interest it is obviously meant as a map first and foremost. None of the free maps I found came close to be as legible and understandable. The fact that it is a trifold lamninated map makes it very easy to keep in your jacket and use.
   
   A definite must have for Prague in my opinion.



5. The map is convenient to use, and the lamination keeps it from getting destroyed from use. But it is relatively expensive considering you can get the same map in your tourist guide or for free from any one of a number of places once you get to Prague.

5 comments about Streetwise Rome Map - Laminated City Street Map of Rome, Italy - with integrated metro map including subway and railway lines, stations.

1. This map is wonderful!!!! It was a great asset to our trip. It is laminated and folds easily so you don't have to worry about it getting ruined. I would highly recommend this map to anyone going to Rome.



2. Has most of Historic Rome but not much of the out lying area. Have bought two to use on different trips.



3. Just returned from eight days of walking in Rome. This is the only map we needed to find our way to everything that was of interest to us. It seems that just about every street and alleyway is listed and shown to scale (which is not the case with the free "tourist" maps). Experienced the joy of just wandering around following our noses to one interesting area after another, always knowing that our trusty "Streetwise Rome" would come to the rescue when we wanted to reach a particular destination. We ventured to the Borghese Gallery, the Vatican, to Trastevere, Palatine Hill, the Colosseum, Piazza del Popolo, Spanish Steps, Via Veneto, the Baths of Diocletian and from and back to the Termini Train Station. Including having the map out in the rain on several occassions, it still looks like new. The best thing is, it is only 4" X 8.5" when folded in your pocket and so easy to flip open to use (unlike so many other maps that you must unfold in several directions).
   The map also has sketches of many of the sights you will be looking for to help you quickly find them. While we only used the Metro once, all the stations are clearly marked. If you want to spend less time folding and unfolding the map and more time enjoying the sights, you may find this product very much to your liking.



4. There's not much you can say about a Map. It Works. I've used this "Streetwise" series in many cities, and I find them very handy. You don't have to worry about the map tearing, or not being able to fold it back after using it. My only regret is that they don't have more cities. How about Istanbul Streetwise?



5. i love these things. use them all the time in the U.S., so i got one for a friend who was going to Italy. she said it was perfect.

5 comments about Streetwise London Map - Laminated City Street Map of London, England - with integrated London Underground map including tube lines and stations.

1. Great item, perfectly suited needs. Sent to someone coming to visit London so they could get it in their heads where things were. To be totally honest the London A-Z is better, but as it's the standard among locals I guess that's to be expected.
   
   Good item, no worries about it. I'd buy it again. x



2. We just returned from nine days in London and I have to say that this map is the most useful thing we brought with us. It's laminated so that it didn't get ratty like our tube map. (There is also has a tiny tube map on it.) It was easy to slip in the front pocket of my swing pouch and it's small enough so that we didn't look so much like tourists unfolding a giant map when we had to consult it. The map had all the tiny streets in Covent Garden, the City and other areas, so I'm not sure what another reviewer had a problem with. As for covering all of London, maybe you'd need a different map if you were visiting the outer neighborhoods, but for all of the major and minor tourist attractions, this was more than adequate. It's like expecting a tourist map of New York City to cover the outer reaches of Queens and Staten Island. They're technically New York City but the majority of attractions are in Manhattan and the nearest parts of the boroughs. I would definitely buy this map again and I have already purchased a Streetwise Paris map for our upcoming visit.



3. Too small a map for my taste. It just hits the high points and you better bring some reading glasses.



4. You're going to need a map in London. This is a well crafted graphic, easy to read and understand, and appears to be constructed well enough to withstand lots of references, and probably lots of exposure to London weather.



5. Although this small, laminated, folding map will fit in you pocket or bag it was hardly ever there. On my recent trip to London I usually had it in my hand along with the London Mapguide. It is perfect for tourist wanting to see as much as possible within the city. It is very detailed with all the famous landmarks highlighted & color coded. It also has a list of the streets & other places of interest in ABC order with their position on the map, along with a subway map. Highly recommend!!!

5 comments about The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World.

1. The book is initially a smartly written account of John Snow (a multitalented doctor known for his experiments with ether) & Co. and their battle against the then-invisible cholera bug as well as the contemporary city administrators. Word of the book is "miasma". Great retelling of one of the great stories about the use of rudimentary epidemiology, and the debate surrounding disease transmission in general in 19th century cities. I am not sure what happens after page 200 - the author proceeds to get on the soapbox and starts unsuccessfully trying to connect cholera to nuclear weapons, hence the loss of a star. Still worth a read.



2. This book is an excellent and detailed look into the work of a few men who worked to try to solve the cause of a cholera outbreak in London.
   
   It shows how the principal investigator used logic and reasoning and investigation skills to try to solve the mystery of what was causing the outbreak. It also goes into competing theories and theorists and the ultimate resolution of the cause of it.
   
   The book is on balance an excellent one. I recommend it to anyone interested in medical and public health investigations, or in science, reasoning, and problem solving.



3. It's almost superfluous for me to review Ghost Map, a best-seller with its own webpage and Wikipedia article. So I will be brief. Steven Johnson is clever writer, a young man whose thought provoking story of the London cholera epidemic of 1854 contains a number of profitable ironies and digressions.
   
   The weakness of the book--which no doubt many enthusiasts regard as a strength--is that Johnson is so consumed with communicating Big Ideas that the narrative peters out before the end of the volume, leaving behind a dusting of trendy theories that can make such works successful in the short run and quickly dated thereafter.
   
   For example, Johnson considers one of the lessons of the ghost map story to be the demonstration that there is no moral component to disease. Yet today things "illegal, immoral and fattening" are more-than-ever suspect causes of premature death. Even Johnson's bête noir, the miasmic theory, has made something of a comeback with increased concern about air pollution. Ironically, Johnson's story, which the Chicago Tribune has called "the triumph of reason and evidence over superstition and theory," concludes with an attempt to enshrine its own superstitions and theories.



4. In the summer of 1854, the Soho neighborhood of London was struck by a devastating outbreak of Cholera. Public officials and medical experts, who were stuck in the conventional wisdom that disease was caused by harmful "miasmas," looked in all the wrong places for the cause of the epidemic. But, there was one man who challenged the consensus of scientists and turned the entire understanding of diseases on its head - Dr. John Snow. This is the story of one man's bravery in using his brain, and letting the facts speak for themselves, even when those in power didn't want to hear it.
   
   I must say that this is one of the most interesting books that I have read in a long time. The author does an excellent job of bringing that long-ago era back to life for the reader. I think that he did an excellent job of telling the story of Dr. Snow and the epidemic in an interesting way, avoiding the temptation to write the narrative in a dull, academic manner.
   
   Plus, I was so intrigued by how history repeats itself over and over again. Could it happen again where a "consensus of scientists" can be used to trump meaningful, unbiased inquiry? Oh yeah!
   
   This is a great book, one that I think will interest anyone interested in diseases and history, or indeed anyone who likes a good story. I loved this book, and no not hesitate to give it my highest recommendations!



5. I just finished Steven Johnson's "Ghost Map". Not to be rude, but how does this stuff get published? For Pete's sake, the name of the book is ghost map, and there is not even a copy of the ghost map in the book.
   
   The book itself lacks any kind of literary punch. Ostensibly about John Snow and cholera, in which there is probably an interesting story if told with focus, Johnson rambles pointlessly around campy urban planning doggerel.
   
   I guess Johnson's reputation is so unassailable that editors don't bother to read what they publish. And that is what the book lacks, an editor.
   
   The worst part is Johnson's attack on the foolish orthodoxy of the miasmaists, while he dutifully regurgitates the junior-high platitudes to Darwinist orthodoxy, when doing so adds absolutely nothing to the story, except to confirm his own Party loyalty.

5 comments about Streetwise Paris Map - Laminated City Street Map of Paris, France - with integrated metro map including lines and stations.

1. People stopped us and asked if they could use our map because it looked so much better then theirs, and it was!!!!!!!!!! Won't go anywhere without one of these!!!!!!!!!



2. This map was by my side the whole 10 days in Paris and I pulled it out constantly! I love the lamination and heavy duty construction. The only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars is because the most northern, southern & eastern sections of Paris seem to be missing from the map. I would prefer the map to have the whole complete city, including a tiny piece of the outskirts because there were times when I traveled to the outer edges of Paris and the map couldn't help me. But, I will say that the detail on this map is excellent! It was the only map we saw that had every little tiny street name on it which is very important in a crowded place like Paris. I highly recommend it!



3. We use Streetwise maps whenever possible when we travel and find them to be the best we've run across. I love the fact that they are sturdy and laminated and don't fall apart. They are clear and accurate. The Paris map has the Metro/RER insert which is handy when you want to travel light and don't need all the information of the full route maps.
   
   You can't go wrong.



4. This is about as complete a map as I think you can find. I tend to use a lot of maps, but always found myself going back to this one whenever we needed to navigate somewhere. We just got back from Paris, and I was able to find every single street I ever looked for on this map. I found the maps of the Metro stops easier to read on this map than the official Metro map.
   
   The only drawbacks - the layout is a bit odd. They chose to center the center of the city, which makes sense, but for the North part you have to flip over, and for the South part, you have to flip over. Just a little unusual. Also, there are no Bus markers, if you were looking for that.



5. While the content of the map was great, the size and lamination would not allow it to fit into my purse. Actually ended up carrying the paper brochure map around from the hotel the whole trip, which also allowed for circling destinations easier.