Rick Steves Pocket Florence

by Rick Steves, Gene Openshaw

Make the most of every day and every dollar with Rick Steves! This colorful, compact guidebook is perfect for spending a week or less in Florence:

City walks and tours: Five detailed tours and walks showcase Florence's essential sights, including the Uffizi Gallery, the Duomo, and Michelangelo's David at the Accademia, plus specific recommendations for each neighborhood

Rick's strategic advice on what's worth your time and money

What to eat and where to stay: Sample artigianale gelato, chat with locals over a glass of Chianti, and enjoy the Old-World ambience of a Florentine bed and breakfast

Day-by-day itineraries to help you prioritize your time

A detailed, detachable fold-out map, plus museum and city maps throughout
Full-color, portable, and slim for exploring on the go

Trip-planning practicalities like when to go, how to get around, basic Italian phrases, and more
Lightweight yet packed with information on what to do and see, Rick Steves Pocket Florence truly is a tour guide in your pocket.
Spending more time in the region? Try Rick Steves Florence & Tuscany.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2013

About the author

Rick Steves is an American travel writer, television personality, and activist known for encouraging meaningful travel that emphasizes cultural immersion and thoughtful global citizenship. Born in California and raised in Edmonds, Washington, he began traveling in his teens, inspired by a family trip to Europe. After graduating from the University of Washington with a degree in European history and business, Steves started teaching travel classes, which led to his first guidebook, Europe Through the Back Door, self-published in 1980.
Steves built his Edmonds-based travel company on the idea that travelers should explore less-touristy areas and engage with local cultures. He gained national prominence as host and producer of Rick Steves' Europe, which has aired on public television since 2000. He also hosts a weekly public radio show, Travel with Rick Steves, and has authored dozens of popular guidebooks, including bestselling titles on Italy and Europe at large.
Beyond travel, Steves is an outspoken advocate for drug policy reform, environmental sustainability, and social justice. He supports marijuana legalization and chairs the board of NORML. He has funded housing for homeless families and donates to anti-hunger and arts organizations. In 2019, he pledged $1 million annually to offset the carbon emissions of his tour groups.
Steves is a practicing Lutheran with Norwegian ancestry and continues to live in Edmonds. He has two adult children and is in a relationship with Reverend Shelley Bryan Wee. Despite health challenges, including a prostate cancer diagnosis in 2024, Steves remains committed to his mission of helping Americans travel with greater purpose, empathy, and understanding of the world. His work reflects a belief that travel, done right, can be both transformative and a force for peace.

Reviews

[Sleepydrummer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Size matters when one is traveling, this pocket guide is 180 pages of practical information on Firenze/Florence. Mine is slightly heavier due to all the colorful annotations and index cards I’ve scattered between the pages. Bike rides in Lucca, transportation out of Peretola Airport, and Trattoria Tito’s steak and homemade biscuits are just a few.

Travel guides for research end up staying in the hotel because they weigh more than the Sculpture of David. Mr. Steves concisely presents us with a portable printed guide of Florence.

Forza Italia 🇮🇹❤️2020

[Tri Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic and useful travel guide for Florence! The book is a nice, convenient size with plenty of useful color maps, including a larger tearaway map. I really enjoyed the chosen color pictures that were in the book. The commentary is informative, descriptive, and humorous.

The core of the book is split into five self-guided tours.
1. Renaissance Walk (A tour of the historic centers of Florence)
2. Accademia Tour (A tour of the Galleria dell'Accademia)
3. Uffizi Gallery Tour
4. Bargello Tour
5. Duomo Tour

After the tours, Rick Steves goes into details about other sights, sleeping arrangements, food suggestions, and some miscellaneous practicalities.

A centerpiece of the planning for the Florence part of my Italy vacation!

[Helga Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great comprehensive guide by Rick Steves. This book gives great tips to plan my trip to Florence Italy next spring. I was able to reserve my hotel room and also a side trip in Tuscany. It gives tips to the great Renaissance history and art and the best way to see Michelangelo’s’ David. He gives practical advice on public transportation, dining and it has a great pullout map to carry around. This will be a useful guide to carry along to see this beautiful city.

[V.A. Hezaran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another stellar, essential European guidebook from the master!

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really helpful on my trip

[Maryellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource for visiting Florence. It's a perfect size for carrying around. I wish the map were a bit more detailed, but it's useful.

[Kenneth Bromberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to go, with a guidebook you can stick in your pocket. Not up to date on everything, such as use of the Firenze card.

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful for our trip!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick Steves is a great travel book writer.

[Sherill Leonardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-researched, comprehensive guide to the sights, sounds and dining of Italy's seat of Renaissance history and art. Packed with gorgeous photos as well as up to date information, this pint-sized travel guide provides a great introduction to a truly luminous city. The myriad tips on practicalities (think public transportation, internet access, phone, etc.) coupled with an excellent pull-out map make this a "must-pack" item for your trip.

[Renzhong · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book gives great tips on trip planning and things to see. Only a few of the items in the guides to museums have slightly changed (or can be different) on the visit, otherwise, it's a very good audio and written guide for the casual traveler. If you're a serious art and history buff, you may need something with more detail.

[Jenny]

The kindle version was nice but I preferred the ease of navigating the actual paper copy. It’s small enough that it’s worth it to bring it along to spout of fascinating, intelligent details to family members.