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Books : Italian Riviera and Piedmont (Cadogan Guide Italian Riviera & Piemonte)
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Rating: 
- best of a small bunch
There seems to be only 2 or 3 books around which cover this region of Italy in any detail. This one is clearly written with the most passion and genuine local knowledge.
The historical background to the region is very detailed and, for a travel guide, not too dry. The suggestions the writers make e.g. places to eat, historical buildings, markets, I have always found to be accurate and trustworthy. The book is laid out intuitively too, starting in the west and working east through the region making places easy to locate.
I think the key to really enjoying this region is exploring. This guide makes good suggestions but I've usually found there's quite a lot more to discover than this book lets on. Perhaps that's a good thing.
One complaint about this book (and other guides to this region do a far worse job of this...) would be related to the quality and usefulness of the maps.
Many places simply aren't deemed worthy of a town centre map, a shame, especially with bigger places, such as San Remo. The maps that are supplied, Genoa for example, are detailed but practically unusable because there's no grid or key. The guide may mention a fine restaurant on a certain street but how are you going to find that street? (And Italy has lots of small, hard to find streets!)
- best of a small bunchThere seems to be only 2 or 3 books around which cover this region of Italy in any detail. This one is clearly written with the most passion and genuine local knowledge.
The historical background to the region is very detailed and, for a travel guide, not too dry. The suggestions the writers make e.g. places to eat, historical buildings, markets, I have always found to be accurate and trustworthy. The book is laid out intuitively too, starting in the west and working east through the region making places easy to locate.
I think the key to really enjoying this region is exploring. This guide makes good suggestions but I've usually found there's quite a lot more to discover than this book lets on. Perhaps that's a good thing.
One complaint about this book (and other guides to this region do a far worse job of this...) would be related to the quality and usefulness of the maps.
Many places simply aren't deemed worthy of a town centre map, a shame, especially with bigger places, such as San Remo. The maps that are supplied, Genoa for example, are detailed but practically unusable because there's no grid or key. The guide may mention a fine restaurant on a certain street but how are you going to find that street? (And Italy has lots of small, hard to find streets!)