TRAVEL GUIDES AND INDEPENDENT ADVICE

The classic guide book series for history, art and architecture. Beautifully presented, meticulously researched, clearly laid out.

“designed for the traveller who desires to understand more fully what he or she sees”

Award winning maps | Detailed floorplans | Architectural drawings | Expert glossaries | Reliable recommendations

“the best travel guide I’ve ever purchased …
Apart from my passport the only other thing that has gone around the world with me has been a Blue Guide …
in an era of brief and meaningless descriptions, this book stands out …
Best guide book out there for Rome, tells you everything and more, on loan to 4th person now, all impressed …
Wish there was a guide like this on every city I visited …
he best guide on Venice! …
im already a fan of the blue guide rome which has been a great source of knowledge for me during 2 trips to rome, i now have the florence guide and its equally superb …
We had other folks surreptitiously listening in when I’d read out the descriptions as we went; much of the content of other guidebooks seems to be cribbed from the Blues …
full of detailed background and interesting information (Blue Guide Central Italy) …
The updated version is even better! …
Blue Guides are now back on track! This is absolutely the best guide book to Venice available today …
wonderful for digging out smaller or undiscovered treasures …
To my knowledge it is the only thorough, intelligent, reliable guide to those who want to find and appreciate the overwhelming riches of this city …
Brilliant guide for anyone interested in London and its hidden treasures …
Traveled all over Umbria and took this book (on my kindle) everywhere and referred to it often …
I know of no other guide which gives as full, detailed and expert a description (Blue Guide Central Italy) …
My only complaint is that they don’t publish more of them for other cool cities …
Very authoritative and accurate …
the guidebook of reference for the Eternal City …
have not regretted one moment of my long and happy relationship with Blue Guides …
this edition remains at the top of the list for the more discerning travellers to New York …
excellent detail that you will not get from most guidebooks …
a thorough and comprehensive travel reference, with details other books simply ignore …
Blue Guide to India was absolutely invaluable during my month long stay: authoritative, accurate, easy to follow …
One of the best books I have found for information on Sicily …
Damn near every thing you could ever see in Rome …
I carried your much improved and extensively detailed Lombardy guide book with me every day, everywhere …
found it to be the most helpful guide for the intelligent adult traveller of any on the market today …
Any Blue Guide should be required reading BEFORE embarking on one’s travel adventure”

New Blue Guides

Articles

We publish articles by Blue Guides writers and editors reviewing books and exhibitions and giving updates on the beautiful and historic destinations covered in our series.  We also share comments and updates on each individual title – do feel free to add your own comments or to contact us.

  • Elegant Tales of Intrigue and Decay

    Elegant Tales of Intrigue and Decay

    From Blue Danube: Tales from the Dual Monarchy, a collection of short stories translated from German and Hungarian is NOW OUT. The Dual Monarchy…

  • Where to find Blue Guide Venice

    Where to find Blue Guide Venice

    For reasons best known to themselves—actually probably not even known to them but only to a faceless and not very clever algorithm—Amazon UK choose…

  • Popes by the name of Leo

    Popes by the name of Leo

    White smoke above the Vatican recently announced the election of Chicago-born Robert Prevost as pope, the 266th incumbent of the Chair of St Peter.…

  • Electing a new Pope: The Conclave

    Electing a new Pope: The Conclave

    Farewell and Rest In Peace to His Holiness Pope Francis, who died on 21st April 2025. The task now must be to find a…

Read More from our Authors and Editors

Further Resources: Rome

Complete List of Popes
10 Top Popes
Pilgrim’s Rome
20 Key Dates in Roman History
A Dictator and Handful of Emperors

Recent Updates

Blue Guide New York

Update: Special Reprint Edition
Carol von Pressentin Wright’s classic Blue Guide to New York City, relied on by tour guides, residents and visitors alike since its first edition in 1983, is now available in a special reprint edition… read more »
See Blue Guide New York

What Others Say

“guide books in the grand tradition of thoroughness and objectivity” Georgia Review;
“the Blue Guides still hold the cultural high ground” Sunday Times;
“a gold standard for accuracy and depth” Daily Telegraph.

Blue Guide Venice – Recent Amazon Review

The best got better
“You know what to expect from a Blue Guide – a solid and detailed survey of the art and architecture, free of pretension, fashion and recommendations of what’s ‘happening’. And so this new edition is satisfying and unsurprising, except it’s now illustrated fully in colour! And not just the photos – the maps, plans and drawings get a clarifying colourful spruce up too. It’s like a Dorling Kindersley guide mated with a Blue Guide. Almost, there’s still more text than pics. Anyway, this guide is now even more the best to get.”
See Blue Guide Venice

Further Reviews

Blue Danube

Blue Danube, a sister imprint to Blue Guides, focuses on literature, history and travel in Central Europe.

Find Out More