"Mike Lane" wrote in message
lworld.com...
When we drive through France we rarely book hotels in advance, normally
relying on the Logis de France handbook to find suitable accommodation
where
ever we happen to find ourselves at the end of a day. We find that large
towns are normally quite difficult to drive into (and park) and so we tend
to
pick hotels near smaller towns or villages when we can. We find the Logis
organization excellent for this as the guide gives exactly the right kind
of
information to choose a place to stay. (For anyone who doesn't know, the
Logis guide is a free publication from the French Tourism Department
published annually).

In May we are planning a trip to Venice (and beyond) and I was wondering
if
anyone knows of a similar guide or handbook that will give this kind of
information about accommodation in Italy and/or Switzerland. What I am
trying
to find is definitely *not* the "100 Charming Places to Stay in Italy"
type
of guide. These are just too picky and don't have nearly enough entries.
What
we like to be able to do on our travels is at around 3 pm wherever we find
ourselves, to be able to look up 2 or 3 hotels within 20 or 30 miles that
we
can try. So I am looking for something with a large number of entries (the
Logis has around 3000 for France).


snip

Most towns except the smallest have Tourism Offices that can help you find a
place to stay.

Marianne