THE MAPGUIDES IN A NUTSHELL
- A detailed, pocket-size series of city guides.
- A unique and patented binding concept, where pages unfold to reveal other pages.
- A clever combination of text, photographs and cartography.
- Beautiful, clear, large-scale map.
- Published in 17 countries and 15 languages.
- 8 million copies sold worldwide.
WHAT'S IN A GUIDE
- New in 2012 Introduction to the city.
- New in 2012 A spread at the front of the guide highlights the 10 sights not to be missed.
- New in 2012 A spread at the back suggests the best things to do in the city, with photographs.
- 6 to 10 fold-out maps + 2 fold-out spreads (Practical information and Hotels).
- Details of between 60 and 100 recommended sights and between 120 and 170 addresses of
restaurants, cafés, theatres, music venues, shops, markets etc., organised by area.
- All the practical advice needed.
- A list of the best places to stay, from budget hotel to luxury palace.
TITLES RELAUNCHED IN FEBRUARY 2012
TITLES RELAUNCHED IN APRIL 2012
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
Once upon a time a brilliant bookbinder, Rodolfo Zanardi, was always seen fiddling with small pieces of paper - folding, unfolding, refolding - trying to work out how he might get a big image to fit in a little book, until one day the idea came to him. Sewing wasn't an option, but what about glueing together folded pieces of paper to make a bigger page?
His company and that of his long-term partners Editoriale, printers in Trieste, and Gallimard, publishers in Paris, were already working on a series of travel guides. The unfolded page being twice as big as the standard one, it was ideal to accommodate a large-scale map. Special machines had to be built but it wasn't long before the now patented 'octavius' project was born.
Today the MapGuides, as they are called in the UK and US, are published in 15 languages and have sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
WHY THE MAPGUIDES
Forget the flimsy, unwieldy map from the tourist office you can never get to grips with, which disintegrates after it's rained on it once. Forget the exhaustive and very useful - but very heavy - guidebook you end up wishing you'd left in your hotel room. Forget you can't read a map on your small smartphone screen. Forget you haven't been given an iPad for your birthday. A MapGuide is the most portable and practical all-in-one map-and-guide available today.
And it's easy to understand how they work: early in the guide a general map shows the division of the city into areas and pinpoints the 10 sights you really shouldn't miss if your visit is short.
Two pages cover each area: one highlights our favourite restaurants, shops, bars, tearooms and markets in that district, and the other - which you discover when you unfold the restaurant page - features a map of the area and the sights not to be missed there. These sights are illustrated, carry a brief description and marked clearly on the map.
At the front and back of the guides are two horizontal foldouts - the first with practical information on the city, the last with hotel reviews and transport information. To top things off, each guide now has a useful street index at the end.
At the back of the book a fully illustrated spread highlights the best experiences to be had in the city.
In all, between 120 and 170 addresses, regularly updated, plus some 60 to 100 not-to-be-missed sights and a list of a 20 to 30 carefully selected hotels in all price ranges.
Whether you are away for two days or seven, these compact guides are the perfect travel mates.