Time Out Milan: The Lakes and Lombardy (Time Out Guides)

As a frequent traveler, used this for a short visit to Milan also scheduled on short notice. Found it very valuable in both pre-trip planning (figuring out layout of city, street maps, metro map, restaurants) and also "on-the-ground" while actually in Milan. Referred to it numerous times during trip - the links from the text to the street maps are excellent. (It's just like your "London A-Z"...plus recommendations.)

Much more useful/informative than either Frommer's or (surprisingly) Lonely Planet, which both often lack perspective because of their target traveler-markets. This covered both ends of the spectrum nicely.

Consider this as a serious alternative to the more-established travel publishers. Happy trails.

(Updated May 2009: Used the latest edition for another trip to Milan, contains excellent updates. Probably the best feedback: Colleagues in Milan found the info very accurate and relevant, so I gave them my copy. Five stars.)

This guide provides information on history, sightseeing, eating and drinking, arts and entertainment, and trips out of town.

Although the maps are detailed, they are divided into four sections of Milan, and as a result, are difficult to navigate. In-fact the way that this guide is structured makes it difficult to find out where anything is. Sights, restaurants, and hotels are also divided into four section, which made them difficult to locate and cross-reference on the maps.. The font size in the maps is so small that I needed a magnifying glass to see the street name. As well, the Metro map was equally difficult to read. Since the maps are located in the back of the book and the essential locations are located in the center of the guide it was awkward to use. In addition, any essential locations were not numbered on the map and an index would have been useful. The map coordinates were provided, however when walking in a crowded city this became challenging...Read more

This is the only book I have bought for travel that I thought did not help. We spent 5 days in Milan and I used the book for 1 day. We did not enjoy Milan as one can see all the sights in 1 1/2 days. There was not as much detail as in other travel books we have ordered. I think this was a waste of money for us.