30 of The Best Travel Books For Italy
Are you planning a trip to Italy? Looking for the best travel books for Italy?
Perfect! If you have read any of my Italy posts you will know I am a huge fan of Rick Steve’s books. It is the best guidebook for Italy out there. However, I am not going to be biased in this post. There are so many other great Italy travel books we are going to explore.
One reason why I highly recommend getting an Italy travel guidebook is that it will help you know what the highlights of each area are and specific tips and tricks to help you navigate the area. I also love that there are food recommendations.
In this post, I am going to list the best Italy travel books for the most popular places to visit in Italy. I will also give a recommendation for the overall best Italy travel guide if you are visiting lots of locations.
These travel books for Italy will make your vacation so much better, I promise!
Let’s explore your options for the best travel books for Italy and get you planning for your trip!
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Best Travel Books for Italy (The Entire Country)
If you are planning on visiting more than one city in Italy, I recommend getting an Italy guidebook that will cover the entire country.
On our last trip to Italy, we went to the following cities:
- Venice
- Florence
- Siena
- Pisa
- Lucca
- Gaeta
- Capri
- Amalfi Coast and Pompeii
Rick Steves – Travel Books for Italy
We wanted a book that would guide us throughout our trip. We decided to go with Rick Steve’s Italy book and thought it was amazing.
One thing I liked about this book is that there are insider tips to help you skip long lines. There are also amazing food recommendations.
We tried to pick out food on our own and it was terrible. When we opened our book and took Rick Steve’s advice we were blown away with his recommendations. Overall, this is the best travel book for Italy.
Fodor’s Travel Guide
The Fodor’s Guide is full of pictures and maps. If you are a visual person this book may be a better option.
However, this guide is not as in-depth as Rick Steve’s book. It does highlight some sights, restaurants, and hotels but it is more of an overview of each area.
If you want a very visual Italy travel book this is for you.
Best Italy Travel Books for Venice
If you are planning on visiting a specific city and then journeying somewhere else in Europe an individual travel book for Italy that specializes in a certain area is a better option for you.
Venice Italy Travel Guidebooks
Venice is an amazing place! From the singing Gondoliers to the narrow alleyways, Venice is an amazing adventure. What I love about guidebooks is that a detailed explanation is given so that you know exactly what to expect.
If exploring the top sites in Venice is a priority make sure to do your homework and plan ahead. I recommend reading your travel book for Italy before you actually go on vacation. You will also want to consider a day trip to Burano and Murano.
Below are the best Italian travel books for Venice. These Venice Italy guidebooks are great options!
Best Italy Travel Books for Milan
Milan, the capital of fashion, is located very close to the lake country. Lake Como is one of the most popular spots to visit. An Italy travel guide for Milian is very helpful because you will most likely venture out of the city for day trips from Milian.
Plan Ahead with Italian Travel Books
Milan has many beautiful buildings and sites to see but did you know that you need to get tickets to the “Last Supper” months in advance?
These Italy guidebooks help you navigate and plan ahead for some of the top attractions in the city. If Milan is your destination these Italy travel books will be your go-to!
Best Italy Travel Books for Cinque Terre
There are five towns included in the area known as Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a rugged coastline on the Italian Riviera and consists of five beautiful hillside towns: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
An Italy travel guide for this region is helpful to plan out where you want to spend most of your time as you explore the area.
Best Italy Travel Guide to Plan Cinque Terre
As you plan your trip to this area of Italy, knowing exactly what each town is known for and how long you should plan to spend at each stop is essential. These Italy guidebooks will help you plan your adventure with ease.
Best Italy Travel Books for Florence
Florence and Tuscany offer a variety of art, food and wine, and history. If you are looking for broad experience, getting a general Italy guidebook for “Things to do in Florence” is a good option.
These travel books for Italy will help you navigate Florence with ease!
Florence Italy Guidebook
If you have studied art, Florence provides the opportunity for a deeper experience, and you may want a Florence, Italy guidebook on specific art that you will find in the area.
For more general questions about where to stay and what to eat, a traditional Italy tour book is a great idea.
Best Italy Travel Books for Rome
Rome is probably the most visited city in Italy. There is history, religion, and architecture. Getting the best Italy travel book is very helpful in Rome! It is absolutely a huge city! The maps alone in these Italian travel books are super beneficial!
Best Travel Books for Italy with Audio Tours
One advantage to the Rick Steve books is that audio tours come with them. You can put in your headset and listen to tours that are included with your book purchase.
This is very helpful in Rome as there are ruins such as the Colosseum and Roman Forum. Having a guide is essential in knowing what exactly you are seeing.
My vote for the best guidebook for Italy in Rome is Rick Steves because of the audio tours.
These are the best guidebooks for Rome!
Best Italy Travel Books for Naples, Amalfi Coast, and Southern Italy
I am not an author of a Italian guidebook but one thing I know is that you do not want to drive along the Amalfi Coast unless you are a “living on the edge” type of person or have a death wish! J/K The Amalfi Italy guidebooks will help you know what transportation is best and how to book it!
Know Before You Go
This area of Italy is one of the most beautiful parts. You will not be disappointed. Reading up on this area you will find that there are ruins such as Pompeii and Herculaneum. As well as beaches in Positano. Knowing where to go and how to get there is extremely helpful in this area because the roads tend to be a little more dangerous.
There are also many day trips from Naples that are amazing. Capri and Ischia are some of the best! There are many travel books for Italy for this part of the country.
Warning
There are parts of Naples that are dangerous as well. I don’t think your Italy guidebooks are going to tell you that. Be careful and aware of your surroundings!
Best Italy Travel Books for Sicily
If you are planning on visiting Sicily, I would recommend getting a book specifically for this area. Sicily is a little different than other areas of Italy.
Italian Guidebook
As I read my Italy guidebook, it says that petty crime is more prevalent. If I hadn’t read that I would have never known. I highly recommend a Sicily Italy travel guidebook so you can stay safe and enjoy the beautiful areas of this part of Italy.
Italian Language Phrase Books
Are you nervous about not speaking the language? Getting a phrasebook can be very helpful. Even if it is only to read certain street signs or say a friendly hello.
Italian Travel Books
If you have time before your trip, I recommend going to the library and getting some audio-Italian language lessons.
Phrasebooks come in handy when you need to catch an Uber or order food.
Best Italy Travel Books for Transportation
There are a few ways to get around Italy. We decided to do a combination of train travel as well as renting a car and completing a road trip. This allowed us to see more of Italy than train travel alone.
Cruise
A Mediterranean cruise would allow for lots of coastal stops but also allow you to see the major cities such as Venice and Rome.
Italy Road Trip
We drove from Northern Italy down to Southern Italy but did not want to take the time to drive back so we flew from Naples to Venice. This was a great way for us to be able to see and do more with our time in Italy!
Planning out your transportation is a great idea! Here are a few Italy travel book recommendations for transportation.
Are you Ready to Get a Italy Travel Book for Your Trip?
If you are a planner like me you will love reading and doing all the research. These are the best Italy travel books on the market. I know you will love exploring all the pages!
Make an Itinerary
Make an itinerary for what cities interest you most. This is your next step. If you want a little help I have a free complete Italy guide with itineraries for nine cities, hotel recommendations, food recommendations, and some helpful travel tips. As helpful as my guide is I still recommend getting an additional guidebook!
Plan Your Trip
Plan Plan Plan! Now that you have some solid recommendations go purchase one of the best Italy travel books and start reading! This will help you narrow down what interests you most. You will not be disappointed with Italy! Have so much fun!
Is Planning Overwhelming?
If this is all overwhelming, I recently partnered with a Tour Guide Company called TravelStride that will plan your entire trip for you! If that sounds nice you can look through all of the tours they offer.
If you do not want your entire trip planned for you but would still like to do tours in each area Viator has some amazing options!
Travel Italy
If you have one week in Italy it is possible to visit lots of cities. We started in Venice one of the most romantic Italian cities. A Romantic Venice getaway was perfect. Then headed to Florence, Pisa and Lucca, and Siena. After visiting Tuscany we headed to Gaeta, Naples, Capri, the Amalfi Coast, and Pompeii.
If you are looking for another reason to visit Italy or some great Safety Travel Tips for Italy, be sure to check out my other posts.
Facebook Community
If you have any questions be sure to join my Facebook Travel Community This great community can help answer any questions you may have about your upcoming trips. Plus, I try to add any great deals or promotions that companies send me!
Such great info! I’d love to go to Italy. It’s always been in the back of my mind, but I started thinking about it even more when I had an exchange student from Italy on my speech team last year. Hopefully, I’ll get there someday!
I love reading books about the areas that we will betraveling too. It is great to learn about local customs.
I agree! I don’t want to do something wrong!
I’m mostly a Rick Steves travel guide person when it comes to Europe but I also have delved into Lonely Planet on occasion. I personally just love reading about and traveling to Italy.
I am huge Rick Steves. I love detail!
What a great idea. I used to love going to Barnes and Noble before a trip and browsing the travel books. Love it!
I love Barnes and Noble too!
Our family loves the Lonely Planet books as they have some great ones for children too. I’ll be saving this post to come back to when we visit Italy someday. Thanks for the recommendations!
Oh good. I need to get a few lonely planet books.
These are some great books. Personally, I am a Rick Steves fan. I love following his FB page too.
I am a huge fan! His books and tours are so helpful!
I enjoy Rick Steve’s books too. Before our trip to Italy my grandson and I bought a book of common phrases in Italian and downloaded a language app. It was fun to learn a bit of Italian.
That is awesome. We did that when we went to Germany.
Great list of books! Italy has been on my bucket list for a long time! I’m excited to buy a few of these! Thank you!
Oh good! I hope to be really prepared the next time I go!
I get so excited when it’s time to buy a travel book and start planning a trip! I usually scan a variety of books at the local bookstore, but then usually go with Rick Steves when going to Europe. We often use Lonely Planet for travel to Central and South America. They are great for identifying smaller not-to-miss places, like the best place for ice cream, best place for music, etc.
That is awesome! Finding the hidden gems!
This is an awesome resource! Hoping to get to Italy sometime in the next few years. I love books by Rick Steves and think he makes great recommendations!
His food recommendations are amazing!
Thanks for sharing! I love reading books about places I want to visit before going.
It makes it so much better for me to know what there is to do in each place.
So many great travel book suggestions. I’ve yet to visit there but definitely on my list.
It is a great country. I plan to go back few more times!
What a great post! Such useful information and I agree, Rick’s books are great!
They are great! Thanks!
What a comprehensive list! Let the planning and dreaming begin!
Exactly, a great place to start when planning trip to Italy.
Great list of books! I will know everything there is to know about Italy!
I think my favorite part from Rick Steves is food recommendations. Amazing!
Great ideas! My son and daughter-in-law are planning to go to Italy in May. I will share this with them. I love the photos! Thanks for the great book reviews!
May is a perfect time to go to Italy! We went a few years ago! So beautiful!
Venice is my favorite city in Italy. I want to spend a month there when I retire.
I know I want to spend a month in Italy too!
These trip planning books seem like they’d make planning a trip to Italy a lot less overwhelming. Thanks for sharing!
It makes the trip so much easier!
I would love to go to Northern Italy. I love how these books are broken down into smaller regions!
If I was visiting just one city, I think it would be better to just get that book.
Thank you for the suggestions. I would love to travel to Italy, and when I do, I will surely get one of these books. Thanks for the recommendations.
They are super helpful!
I have never heard of Rick Steves books… but I definitly have a small collection of Lonely Planet books for various locations! I love travel books and may have a small addiction LOL. We are hoping to go back to Italy someday, as the kids have only been to Hubby’s hometown, and need to see some of the larger cities.
Rick Steves is master of Europe. He gives great advice.
These are really excellent sources of information!
Thanks!
What a great list of resources. A jam packed post for sure. Thanks for the information.
Good place to start planning a trip,
Good to know what travel books are worth it!
For sure!
What a great, comprehensive list of travel books for Italy! I would love to page through all of them! 🙂
Me too! I am the ultimate planner!
Thanks for this great list of resources for traveling to Italy! I’m bookmarking this post so I can refer back when I finally get to book that dream trip of mine!
oh good! yes I hope you get to go soon!
I am a consummate planner when we travel. Have never thought about guidebooks. I may just have to add them to my repertoire.
It was very useful in Europe!
I’ve spent quite a bit of time over the distancing reading and researching Italy – cannot wait to travel there in the future!
I love how you include transportation. I have no plans to travel right now. Thank you for the information.
A transportation plan is important!
These are great books to use when I finally get to travel to Italy someday! Thanks for putting this together!
Hopefully, it helps!
What great tips! I can’t wait to be able to get to Europe again!
I know me too! I am planning an epic trip!
This is such a good idea – if you can’t actually travel yet, it makes sense to read about the places you plan to go!
Exactly, to me that is the fun part!
So many great gift ideas. My daughter is dying to get to Italy, so I need to mark some of these as Christmas and/or gifts before we plan a trip.
Italy is wonderful. I am excited to go back.