As the Louvre is just so darn big, you need this book if for no other reason than to whittle down the museum to what interests you. New York City's Met. is big, but frankly, the whole Met. would be one half of one floor, of one wing, in the Louvre. Most Knopf guides are very detailed and thoughtfully written and this is no exception. Indispensible for your visit(s) to the Louvre.

I received this book as a gift when I left to study abroad in Paris a few years ago. I went to Paris to study art and I found this book to be an excellent guide to this fantastic museum. It is so interesting and informative. And when you are done visiting the Louvre, you have an excellent souvenir!

A treasure trove of images and information making it almost redundant to go to the Louvre itself. Too bad there are not guides like this for the Musee D'Orsay and other museums of Paris. It seems that the guide should have been expanded to include the other museums since the Knopf city guide book gives the others so little space.

On my first trip to Italy, I spent 8 nights in Venice with this book and was not disappointed with any aspect of the descriptions, histories, and cultural commentary of the book, however, this was my first time booking a 'recommended' hotel and got burned bad. This is why in all the Knopf books I have reviewed, I consistently state that unless you are talking about a world class place, like the Cipriani, you must use another resource to get your hotel and restaraunt picks. While I love the Knopf guidebooks for Cities, Venice is a little 'tough'; compared to Rome, Paris, London, Dublin, or Munich and New York (Cities I have been to or live in). Therefore I offer the following caveat to the traveler beyond recommending this book unconditionally. Venice is tough, and really is a theme park. What I mean by this is the following: Venice lost half its native population from like 1920 to 1980. It then lost half of what remained of its native population from 1980 to 2000. Venice, (the main islands), has no industry, employees, or even citizens left not completely relegated to tourism. And the tourists do come. There were so many Americans in Venice that it felt like a mall on Long Island. The result is that every Venetian you meet is, shall we say, a little edgy having to deal with hoardes of foreigners from 7 am till 2 am, 7 days a week! I saw more locals being abused by tourists in Venice than anywhere else, so the locals get back at you with scams, charging for every little thing, and otherwise looking to shave am extra buck off of you at every turn. Most of the time I do not mind this, because frankly you couldn't pay me enough to do their jobs, but the only time I have every really been fleeced was in Venice. No Cote D'Azure, or Miami, or New York, clip joint could compare to Venice

The Knopf guide really does not go into this, and I guess it really can not, but watch for the following and frankly, I dont mind paying, believe me, but I balked at a lot of the following:

1) Paying for every church you go into. Paying within the church to stand on the balcony, and then pay again to go into the crypt. Paying to light up every painting in the church you might be interested in looking at.
2) Paying every time you check your coat, and then charging you extra to hang an umbrella. The Venice casino was a JOKE for doing this.
3) Any gondolier by himself looking to give rides is double, if not triple charging.
4) Hotels will claim to be air conditioned, then charge you per night. If you dont buy the a/c they will fill your room with skeeters by leaving the windows wide open through dusk when you are outside eating.
5) The Jumping off point into the City from the mainland has 500 scams. Do not let your rental agent hire you a water taxi cause you will be charged way over. Any boat, car hire, porter, that is away from the main action is scamming.

I have always found that going into a small out of the way place with locals is part of the fun of being away, but Venetians do not want to socialize with you, the tourist, for the most part, while you are on the main islands. You can go out to the Lido for the day, or stay in a beach hotel there, and everyone is their good old normal self again. But do stay in Venice for a few nights, because despite all this, Venice is unique in the world, and you will feel like Othello when you walk around at night, or early in the morning you see a cat sleeping in an old well.

To avoid a lot of this, stick to Rick Steves. I think Rick is great in general, but his Italy books are indispensible. I wish to God I had it in Venice. But I have no regrets, because I felt something unique there. For a fleeting glance, like taking a gondola at night with a full moon, when, in the back of some palaces you see the old water entrance and egress, you see in the light, or how the shadows look, and you hear no cars, you see something identicle to the way it was 800 years ago. In most of Europe you cant do that. In Venice you can!

The Knopf Guide Venice provides a colorful picture-packed in-depth guide to Venice and the surrounding attractions of the Venice Lagoon. Like all the Knopf guides there is an extensive introduction giving the historical background to Venice. The individual tourist attractions are described in great detail with copious illustration. I wish more photographs were used rather than drawings. This minor fault is common to all the Knopf guides. There are good sections describing Murano, Burano, Lido and San Michele (the Cemetery Island) as well as the obligatory tourist attractions.

A visit to Venice is a jarring experience; Venice being like no other place on earth. The real 18th century (and older) architecture seems almost fake, you have to pinch yourself to be reminded that it's not a new Disney ride: "Pirates of the Adriatic." The Knopf guide prepares you for all this if you have the foresight to read it in advance, before taking your trip. There is too much to take in during the typical brief tourist visit. There's great advice about what to try to see with itineraries for a 1-day, 3-day and weeklong visit. A great piece of advice is to get a feel for Venice by staking out a seat in the rear open area of a waterbus. If you buy an inexpensive multi-day pass, this gives you a cheap but comprehensive tour of the city and let's you get off and on repeatedly wherever you like.

Venice hotel rooms are small and expensive. You will pay more for a small walk-in-closet-sized room than for a comfortable room with sitting area in Room or Milan. Despite this, I think it is necessary to stay overnight rather than make daytrips from outlying suburban hotels in order to get the true flavor of the city. Walking through Venice at night makes you feel like a character in Othello; you won't get that if you have to leave at the end of the day. The Knopf guide does include some hotel recommendations but it's very limited. A better bet for choosing a hotel would be the Michelin Red Guide Italy. The Red Guide just gives listings with abbreviations describing the accommodations. The Knopf guide can give you an idea about the neighborhood your hotel is in before making a specific choice from the Michelin Red Guide.

I just got my own Knopf Guide for Venice. No more having to renew at the library. While the Eyewitness guides are great for zeroing in on a desired sight, the Knopf series has much more detail about the place in question. I like to buy and read the Knopf guide about 6 months before I leave for my trip so I have plenty of daydream fodder, and then take the Eyewitness for when I actually get there.

The Knopf will take you to places that the regular tourists don't know about. Once you get there, if you've read the book, you'll know much more about these places than even some of the natives! My favorite things: The historical photos in the front, the drawings and photos of art (I especially enjoy these after I come home and am feeling nostalgic), and the hotel and restaurant listings in the back.

The Knopf guides series are unique. They combine colorful pictures, in-depth historical background and detailed descriptions of sightseeing attractions. They are handsomely bound on bright glossy paper. I preferred the old style of plastic semi-hard binding that has recently been phased out. There are so many great places to visit in the Bay of Naples that they couldn't cover it all and include everything but it's better than any other I've seen.

Guides such as the Michelin Green Guides series will devote just a few paragraphs to an attraction. Such guides have the advantage of being organized in a more orderly way that's much more conducive to touring by car.You can read a few sentences about the place you are about to see before you get out of your tour bus or rental car. The Knopf guide instead would be better read at home even before taking any trip. The wise traveler would be best served by having an in-depth guide such as this or the Rough Guides series and a guide with brief descriptions like the Michelin guide.

The Naples guide contains excellent separate sections for Pompeii (over twenty pages), Paestum, Capri and Herculaneum.
If you are an archeology buff like me this is a great improvement over the 1 or 2 pages that other guides devote to these important but overlooked historical sites. The three delightful Greek temples at Paestum are older than the Parthenon in Athens and less than 100 miles south of Naples on a flat plain (no climbing up a hill as in Athens).

A minor negative point is the use of drawings where photographs would have been more useful; this seems to be true for all of the Knopf guides I've seen. An aerial photograph to give the lay of the land of a city or historical site would be more useful than a drawing that is of uncertain accuracy.

After reading the other reviews of this book, I decided to buy it and I am glad I did. It gives a wonderful account of the history and traditions of this remarkable area. I would recommend it highly for anyone planning to stay in Naples for more than just a short vacation and for people who are just interested in learning more about not only the monuments and churches, but also the rich culture.

You'll love this book if you're the type of person that also enjoys reading National Geographic. This guide is packed with wonderful art, drawings, maps, photographs, and interesting text. It's really much more than a typical tourist guide. It helps one have deeper understanding of Napoli through an exploration of history, culture, geography, and geology. It's an especially great selection for those people planning to call Napoli home.

RW - US Navy

I used this guide in 1998 while touring the Yucatan and its fantastic pyramids. While preparing for a spring trip to Guatemala, I re-discovered this guide and will use it throughout the Maya Highland areas of Guatemala. In addition, I use portions of this guide to teach my freshman-level anthropology students about Maya Traje. If you are a traveler and not a tourist, this is the guide for you! Of all of the guides I have used for Southern Mexico and Guatemala, this is the best.

This is one of the most user friendly information packed guides on the Maya Route I have found! the 3D style maps give a good indication of the kind of territory and the transport networks in the region.

I coupled this with Footprint's Central America and Mexico Handbook and lonely Planet's Guatemala, Belize and Yukatan guide and I reckon I am set! The other 10 or so guides will be relegated to the bookshelf or garbage!!

This wonderfully illustrated portable guide is a wealth of information not normally seen in the regular travel guides. Such information as the geography, animals, different ethnic groups within the Maya, how the commuinities are structrured, festivals, musical instruments, furniture, food, and alot more. The format for the guide is 2 or more pages on each topic, lots of drawings, or paintings, or photos (new and old). The book uses lots of colour, is fascinating to go through even after you have read it. It has some helpful tourist information as to hotels, shops, restaurants, but is not a primary source for booking reservations information. If you have any interest in this area or these people, this is a great book to have for a really good price. It is a treat to look at.

In ancient Greece, dance was seen as a gift. Dance is simply a series of movements performed in patterns and set to music. Every human society has some form of dance. It is a way to pass on history, exercise and express yourself in a way words can't.

In this colorful guide, the magic and beauty of dance is shown in step-by-step sequences and full-color photographs. The costumes are spectacular and children can see the costumes, learn the stories of the great classical ballets and discover why Javanese dancers "flow like water."

Dances include:

Ballet
Tonga - poetry interpreted in dance in the Pacific Island of Tonga
Flamenco - Spanish
Ghost Dance - Native American
Morris Dance - England
Gharata Natya - Classic Indian Dance (if you enjoy this - watch Lagaan)
Orissi, Eastern India - originally performed by temple dancers
Georgian Ballet - the costumes are amazing!
Modern Ballet
Ballroom Dancing
and many more...

There is a section on footwear and they show how a ballet shoe is made. They explain the process of creating costumes all the way from the drawings to the finished product. Makeup and set design is briefly discussed.

A section on famous dancers and choreography shows what it takes. Finally, they discuss dance crazes through time.

A trip around the world in dance!

DK eyewitness books are some of the greatest non-fiction books around. The distinctive white background and high-quality photography gives this book an edge over any other nonfiction picture book. And -- these pictures are real! They're beautiful photos of all things related to dancing, accompanied by informative captions and text.

Learn about many different styles of dance, costumes and shows, performers, and many other dance-related topics (all augmented by beautiful museum-quality photos).

If you know someone (young or old) who is fascinated dancing, then you must introduce them to this book! It's a great lesson about dancing, and a beautiful book.

This book is excellent for the education of all types of dance. The pictures are colorful, the information is accurate, and it keeps the readers attention. It covers a variety of dances, and goes into detail about costumes and shoes. It is a good book for those interested in the art of dance, and dances from around the world.

Wonderful book covering all aspects of Bali from it's culture right through to the more popular destinations that are so sought after in Bali from the wonderful white beaches of Kuta through to the ancient village of the Bali Aga in Tenganan... what more can I say about this book. It sent shock waves through my head when I first read it. Everytime I read this book I feel that I need to see and explore Bali one day. Therefore just one of the great books ever produced on Bali alone... wonderful photographs and pictures as well as diagrams. Concise with every sections from the well known villages and areas that are off the beaten track. I give it the thumbs up for sure...

A first rate guide...I know because i live in Bali

A rare and wonderful travel guide that goes much deeper than the regular where-to-find-hotels-and-restaurants type. Beautiful layouts of photography and artwork complement short essays on everything from detailed explainations of complex hindu ceremonies to food preparation. The information here is amazingly accurate, and well presented with cross references to basic tourist information. This would be a great book to kill the time while waiting for your ferry in Padangbai, or in the Losmen at night trying to learn more about the miracle of Bali! Enjoy!

By reading this book, i realised how great the city of Birkali really is, and I was impressed by all of the great innovations and technological advancements that have come about from that great city. I truely reccomend this book, and i feel you should also look at the autobiography: "Devi Singh: The life of a true innovator." Go Blue!

Knopf has compiled a typically excellent guide that will be as useful and interesting to read after the trip as it is during. If anything, the guidebook is better as a post-trip reference manual than a guide becuase it is so packed with information, photographs and drawings. The information is accurate and detailed. Because it is not a typical guide (does not list attractions in a bullet-point sort of way), should be purchased if you are deciding to go to India or in addition to a more by-the-numbers guide.

Like all the Knopf Guides, I recommend it highly.

This book is worth purchasing if just for the drawing/maps. I've rarely seen their equal. The information about each fort, palace and temple is illustrated and the sections on artists and authors related works is wonderful. You see things so clearly you can make up your own mind where to go. Aesthetically pleasing.

If you read my review of the general Paris book, you know that I think it is the best, but the restaraunt/hotel information in the back of that book is dated, well here is the fix for that. Unfortunately I only had this book on one trip, my last, over the pond, however if you wanted to have dinner at a new and fascinating place every afternoon and night, this is what to use. My mom, an art deco fan, used this book to find the perfect restaraunt. I used it to find a restaraunt built into a 1000 year old basement, not to mention fois gras vendors! This book is worth every penny, as so much in Paris revolves around meals, and the meals and folks in the restaraunts are so interesting, you in fact, need this book. While large portions of France have lost their Catholicism, they still have one universal religion: FOOD! Pick this book up, a Bible!

I like the Knopf Guides in general for their luxurious illustrations, diagrams and their tangental information.In this guide such things as typical menus, historical data, elaborate diagrams (such as the fold out of Train Bleu) and literary references make it more than a guide indeed it properly sits on the nightstand as grist for exciting dreams of historical Parisian Gastronomy.

Richly illustrated book including descriptions of famous restaraunts as well as the history of the Paris restaurant scene.

I am leaving for France again this week and I can hardly put the book down.

In a mad search for a good book about NYC, I came across the Knopf version. It's silver cover caught my eye at first, but when I opened the book and saw the pictures, maps, restaurant summaries, etc. I was sold. This book not only helped me find my way around the city, but also helped me to figure out what I wanted to do on a day trip. One of the best things about this book compared to others is that it includes many pictures of the sites you are likely to visit. Most other books that I saw only included a description, I like to know what I am looking for.

Overall, I gave this book 5 stars. It really captures what I need to know about New York.

"Knopf City Guide: New York" is a thorough and winningly-portable guidebook.

The seven authors provide excellent advice on where to stay, eat, shop, and visit. All this is beautifully coordinated with a hodgepodge of maps, photos, and charts.

Though the pictures are generally small, they couldn't be brighter or sharper. Whether it's the opulent lobby of the Marriott Financial Center or the extraordinary biscuits and muffins at Sarabeth's, the photos are a joy to survey.

Just as colorful and helpful are the multitude of maps. You certainly won't have any problems finding your way around the city using their sterling graphics and location indicators.

Like all the Knopf City Guides, "New York" is a grand little guidebook.

I am a former book editor, and I admire the brilliant integration of illustrations and text on every page spread of these Knopf guides. The San Francisco guide is no exception. The city is covered from every angle, and every angle is done so well.

I love the new Knopf series of travel guides. They are visually strong, easy to use, give great overviews of everything from geography to ancient history to architecture to the standard restaurants, museums and hotels. I highly recommend this guide!