1 So You Want to Roam in Rome
Take this book along! Nobody could ask for a better travel guide!
2 Foot Solider
This is the book I took into the streets with me in Rome. It has the best maps, very thorough descriptions and gorgeous pictures/architectural diagrams of the major and minor sites. If there was additional information I had gleaned from another book, I would post-it-note it into this one. At 432 pages it is a little heavier than the normal DK Guide, too thick to fit into a back pocket, but the one guide to take with you during your explorations. Excellent for pre-trip planning and hotel selection. A very practical, attractive, useable book.
3 good for site-seeing & info, recommendations not good
I bought this book before going to Rome on a 2 month internship during the high tourist season of July and August. As a student, I wasn't going on a luxury vacation, but I wasn't searching for the bargain basement, cheap vacation either.
All the information, pictures, and historical tidbits for sight-seeing is very well done and useful. The area-by-area maps also help in planning a day of sight-seeing.
The maps in the back are a little confusing since they are spread over 10 pages, but they're good enough to not get lost.
My main problem with the book are the shop and restaurant recommendations. I would recommend trusting your own intuition for finding restaurants. There's quite a few very good ones where you can have a full meal for under 20 euro in Trastevere and near the Spanish Steps. For comparison, the lowest cost bracket in the guide book starts at 25 euro and most prices were significantly higher than what the guide book stated.
I would highly recommend learning a little Italian before going since it will make the shop owners much friendlier and the conmen around the tourist attractions a little less persistent. The language audio CD's are a buy since you can listen to them on the plane.
4 Make Eyewitness essential part of your travel fun
DK's Eyewitness Travel Guides are our best travel companion during our tour of Europe. Full of tips, pictures, maps, site info, history, local reference ... every page is not only helpful but beautiful. The layout anf format is very innovative and reader friendly, a ture standing out from any other travel books. It was interesting to see that almost everywhere we went, we saw other people (tourists apparently) holding and checking the same DK book on the street.
The coverage is comprehensive and growing year after year, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice ... every city we went have its own Eyewitness serie. We studied them before our trip, consulted them during our trip, and kept them as memo and photo book after our trip. They are simply essential part of the travel fun.
I recommend buying indiviual city/area book wherever possible instead of the country book. For example, buy Rome, Florence, and Venice books instead of Eyewitness Italy (unless your destination doesn't have its own Eyewitness). That way you get more detailed and targeted info.
5 Great book for remembering your trip
Beautiful book for getting excited about going or to remember your trip by when you return. Also bought Rick Steves guide book which I found more practical with common sense advice and better sized for carrying around Rome without a purse or back back. Before and after Rome trip I used this book. In Rome I used Rick Steves.
6 best guide out there
After looking through all the guides at the bookstore, we chose this one because it provided the most information in the most readily-accessible manner. We carried it around with us during our week in Rome and found it immensely helpful. Judging from the copies in the other tourists' hands, this is the most popular guide out there, and for good reason.
7 Outstandingly strong, still the leader
Eyewitness has transformed the face of a modern style guide and raised expectations worldwide, the guide to Rome is a good example of a one-stop book for your trip. If you are taking only one book to Rome (however, I will suggest that the Eternal City deserves more than that; I used it together with City Secrets and Access, with a very good result), Eyewitness Rome should probably be that book.
Very, very good maps and detailed, visually captivating and supremely usable charts of the main attractions are the strongest point of this book. In the obvious places like the Sistine Chapel and St Peter's it beats other guides hands down: the truth is, you will probably have very little time and the viewing conditions will be far removed from ideal, and the Eyewitness charts and pictures (often dismissed by snobs as too glossy and too nice) will be just what the doctor ordered.
Eyewitness Guide is far less detailed, even superficial, where less popular points of interest are concerned. This is where your second (or third) book will come handy.
I like brief but confident details of history, illustrated timelines and especially the lip-smackingly beautiful images of the Italian food.
Do not expect this book to give you too much guidance about finding everything on the cheap: it is not a backpacker's guide and does not pretend to be one. Guidance on hotels and restaurants is adequate but not awesome, it is evident that this is not the main point of the book.
While I am complaining, do you think they could get rid of this annoying cliche title: "Survival Guide". What do you think it is, a jungle? How many tourists die trying to book a hotel and order a meal? Try to think before writing, and you'll be fine. And a little bit of livelier language would not hurt, either, because sometimes the style is so cautious it seems it was written by libel lawyers.
But again - overall a very good book, make it your first purchase before setting off to Rome.
8 Complete Guide with Beutiful Visuals
I have to confess up front. I love these books. I must have a dozen. I really like the Paris book, Rome, and the one for Prague, and Stockholm, and South Africa, and .... You get all the detailed material similar to other great travel books plus you get great visuals.
On a cold day back here in the USA (or Canada) or elsewhere, have a glass of wine and sit in a nice chair or in the garden on a warm day and read this book. For a moment you will be back in traveling. The photos are that good.
As I said, the photos and descriptions and the cutaway drawings are excellent and more than make up for any lack of small detail. But there is lots of detail here. The book includes the history of the city and many details on the art, art galleries, parks, culture, historical figures, cutaway views of historical buildings, and many other things of interest. The history is summarized at the beginning of the book with historical time lines and cross referenced to the culture and political figures. A solid effort - lots of stuff to see and absorb.
It has the other things too such as maps, accommodations, transportation, and the rest.
You will be pleasantly surprised with the depth and quality of this book and it makes a nice souvenir to refresh your memory when you get home.
Jack in Toronto
9 THE essential Rome guide
I had the good fortune to enroll in a class in graduate school that allowed me to spend over three weeks in Rome and its immediate environs. During that time, I was treated to lectures from architects, archaeologists, historians, and the like. Despite all my touring with know-it-alls, I found myself returning to the Top 10 Rome Guide to re-orient myself - where exactly were we when we saw that? Its maps are superb and the compact size makes it the only book you are really willing to carry amidst the Roman summer heat. I would reccomend the book to any would-be travelor, even an experienced veteran.
N.B.: some of the entrance prices for museums are no longer accurate - add 3 to 4 Euros each to adjust.
10 I swear by the DK Eyewitness Guides!
For years I've sworn by the DK Eyewitness Guide to Florence and Tuscany, and now I'm reading with great pleasure the DK Guide to Rome, which I will visit this year for the first time. Thanks to DK, I already feel as if I've stood at the top of the Spanish Steps, or in the Sistine Chapel staring up at Michelangelo's ceiling. The text is wide-ranging, succinct and informative; the gorgeous pictures whet your travel appetite; and the enclosed maps, phrase book, hotel and restaurant recommendations, etc. are abundantly helpful. When I go to Rome, the DK guide will be the only guidebook I carry.
11 perfect for quick trips and even more
I recently spent two days in Rome with this book as my only guide and it was perfect. However, you could fill up a much longer trip just with the itineraries and suggestions from this book. I didn't even have time to hit all of the top 10 and there are probably over 50 different important sites recommended, described, and mapped out in this book.
My favorite feature in the book is that in addition to the more general listings of restuarants, there are restaurants grouped by location right with the descriptions of the different sites. So, for example, if you're standing outside the Pantheon, as I did, thinking, hmm, it sure would be nice to get something to eat right about now... There's a list of restuarants in a number of price ranges that are located around the Pantheon, for example. Makes it easy either to plan out days either ahead of time or to make spontaneous decisions.
Personally, I wish I had done a bit more reading and research before I went. The information in this book is not very in depth, as you might expect from a top 10 book. However, there's no need to tote along a history book in your suitcase, and this little book does give surprisingly good overviews and juicy tidbits.
A tiny hint aside from the book, I found that many of the sites in Rome did not take as long to see as I thought. The Collosseum, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, were all surprisingly quick visits, it doesn't take long to appreciate and there isn't a great deal of detail to go into. Of course, this all depends on your tastes. I would have spent longer at the Vatican than I did, taken a couple tours. Also, be advised that the Sistine Chapel keeps weird hours from what I understand, so plan around it. And as for the Forum, or Il Foro Romano, nothing is labeled, and there are no official tours as far as I know, so learn about it beforehand if you want to fully appreciate it. That is my completely off-the-cuff, amateur and unsubstantiated advice. : )
12 perfect for quick trips and even more
I recently spent two days in Rome with this book as my only guide and it was perfect. However, you could fill up a much longer trip just with the itineraries and suggestions from this book. I didn't even have time to hit all of the top 10 and there are probably over 50 different important sites recommended, described, and mapped out in this book.
My favorite feature in the book is that in addition to the more general listings of restuarants, there are restaurants grouped by location right with the descriptions of the different sites. So, for example, if you're standing outside the Pantheon, as I did, thinking, hmm, it sure would be nice to get something to eat right about now... There's a list of restuarants in a number of price ranges that are located around the Pantheon, for example. Makes it easy either to plan out days either ahead of time or to make spontaneous decisions.
Personally, I wish I had done a bit more reading and research before I went. The information in this book is not very in depth, as you might expect from a top 10 book. However, there's no need to tote along a history book in your suitcase, and this little book does give surprisingly good overviews and juicy tidbits.
A tiny hint aside from the book, I found that many of the sites in Rome did not take as long to see as I thought. The Collosseum, the Pantheon, the Spanish Steps, were all surprisingly quick visits, it doesn't take long to appreciate and there isn't a great deal of detail to go into. Of course, this all depends on your tastes. I would have spent longer at the Vatican than I did, taken a couple tours. Also, be advised that the Sistine Chapel keeps weird hours from what I understand, so plan around it. And as for the Forum, or Il Foro Romano, nothing is labeled, and there are no official tours as far as I know, so learn about it beforehand if you want to fully appreciate it. That is my completely off-the-cuff, amateur and unsubstantiated advice. : )
13 Very informative and useful
I've used the Eyewitness Travel Guide to London and really liked it so I gave this one a try. I was not disappointed. You must buy the Rome Guide instead of the whole Italy because you'll definitely want to take it out with you everyday. With the guide I was able to do my whole trip just taking the bus. With the bus pass I was able to hop on and off, very important in Rome because there's something to see around every corner. The guide is easy to use. It's great for people who likes to have a day to day plan but also good for those who just likes to see as you go. The only thing missing is a fold out map. It's a little difficult to use the map when it's divided into so many pages.
14 Nicely organized, and I didn't get lost..
I checked out several guides at the library before ordering this one to take on my trip. It is very nicely organized, with lots of pictures and descriptions. Very easy to skim through and pick out places to see, and to map getting there. It's also a convenient size to fit in backpack or purse -- and I saw many tourists hiking about with the same tourbook. I highly recommend this one.
15 Dorling Kindersley captures Eternal Rome
I bought this book for my daughter before she went on her trip to Italy. Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guide books are excellent. Their quality is unmistakable. The colorful layout of this book with maps, illustrations, photographs and text really captures the spirit of Rome and is an excellent source of information. She found it to be invaluable.
16 Rome holiday
I just came home from a short holiday in Rome, and my days there would not have been the same without this Eyewitness Travel Guide. The book is filled with colorful informations, with maps and pictures, and it is very easy to follow the streets of Rome using this book.
The chapters are divided into areas of Rome, and the book is perfect when you want to plan your days visiting the different areas. The book also has a very good informative section of where to eat, what to eat, where to stay and so on.
All in all a handy book you can hardly live without when you travel in Rome.
Britt Arnhild Lindland
17 the best
Well, I am Italian, I lived in Rome and this is really the very best guide you can find on Rome. It's accurate, updated and shows you what to expect, what to visit and how to enjoy your vacation.
18 Great Travel Guide, Beautiful Coffee Table Book!
Summary:
Every Dorling Kindersley Guide has been a great and interesting book... and delightful to have and use, even if you are not traveling to that location, but are only interested in learning more!
The Guides are well organized in a logical and easy to follow manner. They are beautifully illustrated, well developed with accurate information (it is unusual for hotel and restaurant information to be that accurate), have enough history to help the reader understand the people and cultural background, and have a lot of useful travel information and useable maps in the appendixes.
Specifics:
The guides are organized as follows:
How to use this guide
Introduction to Historical and Geographical information
Geographical Regions
............Introduction / History of Rome
............Specific City Areas
........................Introduction to street by street area
........................Detailed pictorials of area buildings
........................Architectural drawings, pictures, cut-aways of buildings
........................Specific stops, historical monuments, churches, buildings, etc.
............Six guided walks
Travelers Needs - includes full list with rankings and notes
............Hotels
............Restaurants
............Shops / Markets
............Entertainment
............Rome for children
Survival Information
............Local Info.
........................Tourist info., Etiquette, Personal Security and Health
........................Currencies, Telephones, misc info.
............Getting to Rome
........................Planes, trains and automobiles, signs
........................general map, sectional maps with index
............Travel Info.
........................Maps, tours, currency, etc.
............General Index
............Phrase Book
Discussion:
The book begins with "Introducing Rome", including a complete map, a review of Rome, Rome's history, and Rome thought the Year - including events, etc.
Areas with an "At a glance" overview, then has subsections of specific blocks, or forums, then specific locations, churches, historical monuments, bridges, galleries, etc.
The really great attraction to this book is several fold; it is:
............Very complete
............Easy to read
............Beautifully and artistically completed
............Good shopping, safety and other tips
............Gorgeous photographs too numerous to list.
Architectural reviews include various views, and cutaways; given greater understanding and better perspective. They are all attractive, if not works of art - honestly.
The travelers' Info. offers good and valid info. on prices, currencies, customs, important words, etc. I used the reviews on hotel's restaurants and nightclubs, etc. and found they were useful and accurate, and helpful with my touring and site decisions
The books are so well thought-out that it has multiple maps, with various lookup tables, and the book's flaps are designed to be used as bookmarks for map pages.
Conclusion:
Each book in this series is a great help, and beautiful collectible resource. As the President, CEO of an International Meeting Planning Corporation we have many resources and techniques to learn about places we have meetings / groups at as well as the cities and sights. But, as a traveler, this book really is top notch and I would recommend it to anyone going on a personal trip, or wanting to learn about a city, or location. We have used some of these books to augment our research to investigate cities for our groups.
19 One of the three best maps of Rome.
One of the three best maps of Rome. Recently (through fall 2001), I bought just about every map of Rome I could find. The best three maps are Rome [called by Amazon.com Rome: FlexiMap (Insight Map Series)], Rome City Map [called Eyewitness Travel City Map to Rome], and Rome, Destination Map [called National Geographic Rome]. Based on content, usability, accuracy, and durability, Insight's FlexiMap is best, with the other two close behind and tied for second and third best. The maps are about the same price.
20 best travel guide
I recently (summer and fall 2001) bought every map of Rome and travel guide to Rome I could find. This is the best travel guide of the lot. Everything is great. Physical format and quality, maps/photos/illustrations (almost all in color), completeness, cross-references, index, price....
21 The Best Travel Book for Rome
A friend bought me this book for my trip to Rome last spring. This was by far the handiest travel book I have ever used. There were hundreds of color pictures so you could see exactly what a building/statue/monument looked like. Plus it had great architectual pictures to show you how a building was constructed (this is particularly interesting for the Coliseum and the Pantheon). The text was clear and concise, provided a lot of information. The maps were accurate and easy to use.
I skimmed this book on the plane trip over, and thanks to the numerouse pictures I was able to identify a lot of the lesser known sights in Rome when I accidently stumbled across them.
My husband and I didn't have a planned itinerary, so we just looked through this book the night before and would decide where to go the next day. Then we would use the maps in the book to navigate the city. It was so easy.
I highly recommend this book to anyone travelling to Rome. I plan to use the Eyewitness Travel Guide series from now on when I travel.
22 The only book you need!
This book was great! This book will give you a bunch of tips on how to get around Rome, the people's customs, places to see, where to eat, and much more.
I went to Rome in March-01 (it was my first time to Europe). There are a lot of great historical buildings and sites that we encountered. This book was a great reference manual. When you are in Rome, if you could find out the name of what you are looking at, this book will most likely have something on it (within reason of course).
For major attractions, this book is a must. For example: If you plan to see the Forum, you will need this book, otherwise you will just be looking at a bunch of ruins and not understanding what you are looking at.
In many instances this book will act as your tour guide (although I recommend paying the extra $5 or $10 for a guided tour whenever you can). In any case, you will get your money's worth out of this book!
23 About The Best Guide Book on Rome from Dorling Kindersley
DK Eyewitness Travel Guides books are synonymous with Quality. Their quality reminds me of the quality that Whitman put into their Story Hour Series books that my dad has from when he was a kid. I have seen other DK books and they really do make a quality product. The high-quality paper they print on makes the photographs and text appear brilliant. This tour book on Rome contains just about everything you can think of and then more. Places to visit, places to dine, maps, hotels, history, currency, transportation and much more are all attractively detailed. This is a great book if you are thinking about or are planning a trip to Rome. Even if you are not taking a trip this is a good book about the city and culture. I highly recommend Dorling Kindersley (DK) books.
24 Here's The Key to A Successful Trip to Rome.
We have quite a collection of these Eyewitness tour guide books. We've never traveled without one. If you're planning on going to Rome sometime, get this book. You'll be glad you did.
Besides the walking tours, and the 3D mpas, there is the handiest section in the back that discusses in detail the various aspects of Roman/Italian life. Check out the section about Italian money, with great pictures of the coinage. The hotel listings are not complete, but they provide a good offering of whats available. Use them, or explore on your own. There is also a very descriptive section of using the phone, gettting from the Airport to the Termini station, complete with photos of the terminals.
To make this short, the Eyewitness books, Rome in particular, are great tools prior to and during your trip. We have 8 different cities/regions and they get used, even for reading after the trip when we look and the maps/photos and say "Rememeber that" or "we were there"...
Get one now, and be well prepared.
25 Strong contender for best guide to Rome
This is an excellent book in an excellent series. I used it in my first trip to Rome in 30 years and found it well organized and with excellent directions, addresses, etc. The drawbacks - it focuses tightly on central Rome. It lists a modest number of "further afield" attractions, but the maps don't give adequate coverage to the areas outside central Rome. The street, bus, subway and tram maps are not up to date after many changes for the 2000 Jubilee, and the area shown doesn't include maps for areas not in the heart of the city. As an example, the subway stop for the Vatican Museum is off the edge of the maps! In particular, there is no map of the entire subway, bus and tram network, so there is no clear sense of how to use the system to get to locations away from the center. Still, if you saw everything in the guide, you'd know a lot about Rome!
26 Wonderful for a first-time visitor
I bought the Millennium Deluxe edition which came with a big fold-out map and a handsome leather cover, which kept me from looking too much like a tourist. Even so, my boyfriend joked that I was spending more time with the guide than I was with him! Both of us were first-time travelers and the DK guide answered nearly every question we had during our ten-day stay in Rome. We explored quite a bit on our own, but the guide never gave us a bad recommendation. Particularly useful were the guides to main attractions, especially opening and closing times, which can vary quite a bit according to season. The only thing I found lacking was the information on trains and buses, so if Rome is just one stop on a multi-city tour, you may want to pick up supplementary information on that topic. But if you are staying in Rome for a week or so, keep in mind that it is very easy to get places by walking...we never took a taxi or bus during our stay.
27 stolen by a Roman
An Italian friend of mine who had laughed at me during previous trips for my devoted attention to the Michelin guide handled the Eyewitness guide to Rome for a few minutes and then said "You are making me a present of this when you leave."
28 Buy This Book More for the Pretty Pictures...
han what you need to know when you go to Rome. Although this guide is better than the Eyewitness Venice/Veneto guide, which I also used, I still find it wanting. For instance, although the guide tells you about the "star" attractions at each site, it can leave you up in the air about the lesser lures. For example, in the section on St. Peter's it mentions that the Vatican treasury and the grottoes are there along with the usual suspects such as the "star" Pieta, but if there is a word in this guide as to what a visitor could expect to come across should they choose to visit the treasury or the grottoes, I couldn't find it, and thus couldn't make any judgment as to whether these might or might not be worthwhile seeing. I also found the descriptions of attractions lacking in the detail that I would have liked and which would have lent another layer of richness to my visit.
I did use a recommended hotel and it was an outstanding value, but I had better luck with eateries by trusting my own nose. The subway map would have been more helpful had it also have had all the stops on it, although with some perseverance and some street map flipping you could find the stop to where you needed to go. For the most part, I did not rely on the maps in this book to find my way about the city, so I have no strong feelings for them one way or the other. However, as in the Venice/Veneto guide, the map section could be vastly improved by overlapping the various templates and by having an overall map showing the location of the individual maps in the grand scheme of things.
29 You can find everything with this book
With this book you wo`n't get lost in Rome, buy it and go to Rome. In my last trip this was my guide...
30 Fantastico!!!
I found this book to be very interesting, user-friendly, and very descriptive in learning what to do and see while in Rome. I loved it!!! The summaries were short and to the point but very informative. Dorling Kindersly focuses on the highlights of each historical place. I embraced this book as one of the best travel-guide books. I will definitely want to add others to my travel collection.
31 Don't leave home with out this guide
Dorling Kindersley makes the best travel guides hands down. They are extremely well illustrated, have extensive and detailed maps (thank god, because I tend to get lost very easily and it is even easier to get lost in Rome), up to date information on hotels (rates, rooms etc), restaurants (costs and reservation policies), and sites to see. This is a more detailed look at Rome than their Italy book, which is also fabulous. The travel guides have wonderful pictures, well researched histories and facts about Rome (not just about the city as it stands today but a whole history of Rome from it's glory days), what wines and foods that one should try, detailed walking tours, information on famous art (there is a great section on the Sistine Chapel and all of the figures you will find in each panel).
The book also covers the best places to shop (and there are SO many in Rome), where to get good deals on leather and other wonderful things. The book give you wonderful ideas on how to see the city in a limited time or really enjoy it if you are there for more than a few days. The book also covers things to do that many tourists might over look as well as telling you what is worth your while and what to skip.
The book also covers customs, money changing, travel information - you name it! This is one of the best guides available on the market.
32 OK but not as good as alternatives
The map is better than paper and good. But, it lacks updated metro stops and is not as thorough as the "Let's Go.." map. We bought both maps and the "Let's Go.. was preferred by our group. The "Eyewitness .." map is fine if you have no other travelguides . But it wastes the entire back of the map with "helpful" but limited suggestions or sights. So, for a cheap map + travel guide, its OK. For a better map, go for the "Let's Go.."
33 Preparing or Reminiscing, this one takes you there.
Before moving to Rome, I purchased 3 guide books. Having never been to this particular city before, and preparing to live there, I was looking for something that would assist me to not just read about Rome, but to feel it, and to anticipate it.
The Kindersley guide fulfilled my needs and more. With by far more color photographs than any other guide book I've seen, one is able to glean a visual idea of each destination. Also, in my opinion, the 3D maps of certain sections are extraordinarily unique and useful. The factual information is complete and accurate, with suggestions for the budget, palate, and imagination.
They only drawback to these guides that I can see is the lack of in depth information on local nightlife. A younger person looking for insider information on hotspots may need to turn to a second source.
That said, I remain a true convert to the Kindersley guides, whereever I roam.
34 Preparing or Reminiscing, this one takes you there.
Before moving to Rome, I purchased 3 guide books. Having never been to this particular city before, and preparing to live there, I was looking for something that would assist me to not just read about Rome, but to feel it, and to anticipate it.
The Kindersley guide fulfilled my needs and more. With by far more color photographs than any other guide book I've seen, one is able to glean a visual idea of each destination. Also, in my opinion, the 3D maps of certain sections are extraordinarily unique and useful. The factual information is complete and accurate, with suggestions for the budget, palate, and imagination.
They only drawback to these guides that I can see is the lack of in depth information on local nightlife. A younger person looking for insider information on hotspots may need to turn to a second source.
That said, I remain a true convert to the Kindersley guides, whereever I roam.
35 Worth It
I highly recommend the de luxe edition. In addition to the value of the content, the de luxe edition provides helpful laminated information cards, a detailed pull-out map, and an attractive cover.
36 Beautiful Guidebook, but AS THE ROMANS DO Has More Soul
This is a sweet little guidebook if you are a tourist and are looking for factual information, but if you want something that gets into the heart of the city and its people--what it's really like to be in Rome and enjoy it like the Romans do, I would recommend AS THE ROMANS DO: THE DELIGHTS, DRAMAS AND DAILY DIVERSIONS OF LIFE IN THE ETERNAL CITY by Alan Epstein. I would give As the Romans Do five stars and a thumbs up. A Must Read
37 AWESOME!
Do not go to Rome without this book! I read this book before going and was able to get an idea of what Rome was about, but when I arrived, this book did not leave my hands! This guide divides Rome into sections. We set out agenda according to sections in the book. The street-by-street map was invaluable and we were never lost. I am the worst with directions, but I knew extactly where I was during each day. With the maps, I navigated instead of my husband! The cut aways and guides to the various museums and attractions were also invaluable. We were able to walk into any attraction and know what the star features were and not have to miss a thing. We did not have to buy the extra tour books in each museum because our Eyewitness Guide gave us all the information we need and then some. Not only was I the navigator, but I was our personal tour guide. With the book, I was able to read out loud to my husband and tell him about everything we saw in Rome. There were many other tourist with the Eyewitnes Guides in their hands and I was pleasantly surprised to see the book in so many different languages. A tourist even came up to me at the Trevi Fountain asking me where I got the book because she saw so many people with it, and she was disappointed when I said I got it in the States because she was ready to pick up a copy immediately.
You can forget the credit cards, but DO NOT LEAVE HOME WITH THIS ONE!
38 Must have
Great book. The walking tours are wonderfull. Anybody going to rome must buy this book. Better than any other guide I've ever used.
39 From a Holiday Present to A Vacation
I received the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Rome for Christmas, along with several other books in the DK series. Happily, I spied a bargain travel package to Rome the next weekend, signed my wife and myself up, and haven't put the book down yet. The detail on each neighborhood and major sites is giving me a chance to plan each day and to prioritize dozens of sites. The immensity of Rome and the expansive lists of sites in the book assures me that I'm going to see exactly what I want, but I've been able to experience, at least through the descriptions, evrything that I'll miss. The reason I took one star off is that it's great for planning, but I most likely will leave the book at home and take a short list with us. The two drawbacks I've found are (1) the maps are too tiny, leaving out a lot of cross-street names to really be useful on site, and (2) the walking tours don't seem as interesting as in other DK books (I followed several of the London tours and have been fascinated by reading the Paris tours). I feel that I'll be better off with a notebook of plans, addresses,etc., a better set of walking guides, and a pocket-sized, more durable map. But, I'll also have a great keeper of a souvenier when we get home.
40 ideal fireside reading
What needs to be said about this book is that it is not simply a travel guide. It makes delightful fireside reading for us stay-at-homes. As such, it would be an ideal book for a Christmas gift. I would recommend the leather-bound edition, which is a treasure in appearance as well as content. It gives you the magical feeling of actually having experienced Rome yourself.
41 Informative, useful, and even entertaining
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. This book is widely used and for good reason--it presents a wealth of useful information in a terrific format. The colorful layout is excellent and the tips on everything from transportation to using phone machines is invaluable. The blurbs and photographs are very helpful and insightful. How popular is this book? While in Rome I saw this book being toted around by dozens of tourists, and the amusing thing was that often it was a non-English version. German tourists, French tourists, they all were carrying this around. The only thing from the book that wasn't up to par was the restaurant guide. I couldn't find some of the restaurants listed so it might be a little out of date in this area.
42 most informative , most helpful , highly recommended
I have spent four days in Rome with this guide and not an hour was wasted thanks to a couple of hours of careful studying at home. In sharp contrast with other traditional guides, eyewitness travel books give you a visual perception , a directional sense of where you stand in a city so you don't miss what is around the corner.
43 Earlier edition is near perfect!
I just returned from Rome with the earlier edition and it was wonderful. The large photos of everthing that was worth seeing and the logical break down of the city into different areas combined with a sturdy contstruction made it wonderful. My only complaint was the city map at the back. It was hard to use. I used the Street Wise laminated map was a perfect companion!
44 The best for a first time not so short stay
These guides (Eyewitness) have something other don?t, and Rome?s is -no doubt- one of the best within the best. They let you discriminate in many ways and/or be as comprehensive as you wish... even if you should get another more specific one in some matter.
45 One half of whats needed to really understand Rome
We recently visited Rome for the first time and used the Eyewitness Guide in addition to Cadogan's Rome. Together, these two books allowed us to plan an excellent vacation that brought together all the small pieces that make Rome an excellent travel destination.
46 The book is an excellent way to efficiently plan your trip
My wife and I purchased the book in Rome on our first afternoon in the City. From that point onward, we never left the hotel without it. It provided great information for us to plan our day's travels. All the maps gave excellent detail by region of the city.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who is going to visit Rome. And I have recommended it to a number of friends who are going over the next few months.
47 By far the Eyewitness Travel Guides are the best!
We used this guide book on our first trip to Rome and found it to be indispensible. The book is divided into color coded sections that provide a detailed map of each area and information on all its most popular attractions. It provides practical information that quite often saved us from making those ignorant mistakes none of us can afford on once-in-a-lifetime trips. Upon arriving at the bed-and-breakfast we stayed at, our host offered this very same guidebook for our use. In her opinion as a native Roman, it is the best guidebook on Rome. It was an endorsement that proved to be right on target.
We have collected and used Eyewitness Travel Guides to Paris, France, Italy, Rome, London, New York City, Greece and Spain. All of them are wonderful and simply the best.
48 Great pictures and good restaurant recommendations
The pictures in this guide helped us to navigate Rome and to learn about its history. I could not image touring the ruins of ancient Rome without this book. The maps are good, but more information on how to operate the local phones with a calling card would be good. The restaurant recommendations were right on and it is particularly helpful since the restaurant hours are also listed.
49 Best guidebook on Rome
Our first trip to Rome was a great success thanks in no small part to the "Rome (eyewitness travel guide)" by Oliva Ercoli, et al, Dorling Kindersley Limited, London. For example, the detailed street maps, located in the back of the book, allowed us to wander from the noisy and busy path of Rome's main streets and find our way around without fear of being lost. Additionally, Rome's many ancient sights were made easier to explore using the layered pictorial cut-away diagrams and descriptions in the book. The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St Peters Basilica, and the Roman Forum are just a few of the sights covered in wonderful color and detail. The guidebook does not neglect practical local information either. Hours of operation, phone numbers, and other needed information on hotels, places to eat, local transportation, currency, etc, were most valuable in planning our activities. When touring, the size and weight were not a burden and the sturdy construction withstood daily use without damage. Almost like a bonus, the many beautiful pictures contained in this impressive volume evoked frequent pleasnt memories once we were back at home. In summary, I would recommend this colorful graphic and text rich guidebook as an excellent take-along reference for both first-time and veteran visitors to Rome. Buon Viaggio, Frank Criddle
