Rick Steves' Rome 2007 (Rick Steves)

List Price: $17.95 Discount Price: $17.58

Customer Reviews:

Not the best choice [Posted on 2007-07-02]
I took this guide on a recent trip to Italy, along with the Eyewitness and Blue Guide books. Rick Steves' books are designed for the traveler who wants a decent overview of a particular place, and as such they're not at all comprehensive. I understand that and it's a fine approach as far as it goes, but it makes no sense in a city like Rome to leave out the Aventine Hill altogether, as Rick does. We stayed on the Aventine because it's the quietest and least hectic part of central Rome, a short walk from the ancient heart of the city, and it has some fine hotels and beautiful ancient churches. If I'd never been to Rome and had only Rick's book with me, I would have missed it altogether. Rick is very good on practical tips such as finding the best museum passes, avoiding pickpockets, and navigating the world of rail passes (he also sells some great travel gear), but I prefer to have a more comprehensive book that lets me decide what I want to see, even if that means sacrificing detail. With that in mind, I prefer the colorful and user-friendly Eyewitness Guides for broad overviews and good city maps, and Blue Guides for historical, artistic, and architectural detail.

Another thing that bothers me about Rick's books is the tone and style of his writing. Many people love him precisely for that, which is fine, but I find his writing style grating and in many places his history is just plain wrong. He's particularly bad when dealing with Christian history, a very important thing to get right when dealing with Rome! Finally, the maps are not very helpful unless you're sticking with Rick's itineraries exactly.

The only thing that made this book worth having on my trip was the inclusion of contact information for English-speaking doctors who make hotel visits, which unfortunately came in very handy. Everything else I could have found on his website without buying the book. Overall, I found this book unhelpful and left it behind in our last hotel.

Used this book on trip June 5-29, 2007 [Posted on 2007-07-07]
We tore out the sections we needed with an exacto knife and therefore could carry them in our fanny packs for just that day of sightseeing.

So glad we had it... [Posted on 2007-07-09]
This was a great book to have with us on our trip to Rome. If we happened to leave it in the room we were lost without it. Needless to say that only happened once. Gave a great 'tour' which included just enough commentary and even anecdotal accounts that were interesting. We really enjoyed the information on the Roman Forum...We aren't group tour type of people but don't feel we missed anything...actually heard alot of the same stuff thats included in the book. Also gave great travel hints etc that were very useful...and seeing alot of other travelers with the same book makes it a popular choice.

A huge time saver on my trip (June 29-July 3) [Posted on 2007-07-15]
This book paid for itself with just the information about the Vatican Museum. It is dismaying to see a 4+ hour line to visit the Vatican Museum and the Sistine chapel. Fortunately, by reserving months in advance (as the book suggests), we just walked right in.

This is just one example, because the book is full of tips on the best time to visit each attraction and how to skip the long lines. Worth every penny.

A Practical Guide to the Eternal City [Posted on 2008-01-16]
My husband and I honeymooned in Italy in June, 2007. This was our first trip abroad so it was imperative for us to choose a good guide book. Rick Steves' guide to Rome proved to be an invaluable tool for our trip, especially in the planning phase.

Strengths:
- Great for pre-trip planning such as locating a hotel, getting around the city, deciding which sites to visit, etc. We stayed at Gulliver's Place and L-O-V-E-D it.
- Especially helpful is his section on planning your sight-seeing based on the number of days you will be there. His ratings of most important to least important things to see were, for the most part, spot-on. We relied upon his recommendations for our week-long trip heavily.
- His walking tours were great fun and gave us a more in-depth look at Italian life.
- He provides enough information on the history and development of Rome to highlight important sights to see. This was useful.

Weaknesses:
- I found his hand-drawn maps to be especially hard to use. My husband and I wound up lost in one section of the city and were not able to find our way back using his maps alone. At the beginning of the book are "real" maps but they were not as helpful as the free map we received at our bed and breakfast.
- This book does not contain stunning photography and graphics. I was a bit disappointed in this area.
- Once in Rome with an outline of daily activities, I would recommend using a different guidebook. We really found the Eyewitness Travel Guide to be great for this. This book present Rome by its different neighborhoods and has a 3-D map of sorts that was really quite helpful for determining where you are in relation to where you should be! Plus, it has beautiful pictures and well-presented background information.

Overall, this book is wonderful for planning but not as great for actual use while in Rome. Buying this guide in conjunction with at least one other will guarantee a safe, happy and, most of all, FUN trip!

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