Knopf Mapguides: Rome: The City in Section-by-Section Maps Paperback – June 8, 2020

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.

My wife and I spent 10 days in Paris in July 2013 and we carried this little book everywhere we went as it weighs next to nothing. The beginning of the book showed the arrondissement and the corresponding pages. We love how the pages flip up to just the section we were exploring. It also has the metro lines on the back of the book.Note, however, treat this book for what it really is ... it's basically a well organized map. It has a tidbits of must and should-see places for each sections and some recommended restaurants, but for all intent and purpose, this served only as a map for us. We did our Paris planning by visiting various websites and utilizing other Paris related travel books.One final note, when we were travelling, we were never completely lost. We always knew where we are at any particular point and where we're going. I'm not sure if this map was meant for you to get completely lost in Paris (e.g., take the metro and get off at wherever your heart desires) and figure out where you are. I'm sure you can figure it out quite easily, but the book doesn't have a list of all the street names and corresponding pages like a true atlas does. But people in Paris are friendly ... just figure out which arrondissement you're at, open up the map and say, "Bonjour, I'm a lost tourist, can you tell me where we're at?" :)Buy this book and enjoy your trip.

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.

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).

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.