No comments about Blue Guide Central Italy with Rome and Florence, First Edition (Blue Guides).

4 comments about Michelin Green Guide Rome (Michelin Green Guides).

1. I have used the Michelin Green Guides on many trips to Italy. They have always provided accurate information in an easy to use format. I particularly like that they are small enough to pack in a suit easily. This might not sound like much to you. But I am a one carry-on suitcase kind of girl, so I don't have much room to spare for lots of travel guides. I always have at least one Michelin Green Guide in my suitcase for each new adventure.
   
   The writers do a nice job of provided walking directions through Rome to maximize your sightseeing opportunities. I love to walk around Rome. It is such a beautiful city that can only be truly appreciated up close. Just be sure to wear comfortable shoes. The street are very uneven and unless you have gel inserts in your hard soles shoes you feet might give out before you do. I have been known to walk 10 miles a day in Rome without trying to. It is very easy to get carried away and just want to see more.
   
   Be sure to check out a few of the outdoor markets that are outlined in the book. These are so much fun. I like them almost as much as the museums.
   
   The floorplans of the museums that are provided are very useful and I would recommend copying those before you leave to have with you if you don't plan to take the book.
   
   One overlooked sight in Rome that I love is the Baths of Caracalla. If you are there in summer check to see if they are having the outdoor concerts at night, they are worth attending. Even without the concerts the scope of the Baths is worth seeing. It is fascinating what the Romans were able to accomplish in AD 212.
   
   I would highly recommend the Michelin Green Guide to Rome to anyone that is planning a trip to Rome, be it their first trip or their tenth.



2. I've browsed and borrowed several guidebooks, and the ones I relied on for taking with me and walking around with (as opposed to pre-trip research) were Fodor's, and Michelin's Green Guide for Rome. The latter has no restaurant or hotel information, but excellent historical and cultural notes--more than some people want, perhaps. My only criticism of it is that the index is not good: some listings are under the Latin or Italian names, (many churches are found under the listing "chiesa" for example),some are under the English translation names, and some important topics or sites are not actually listed in the index at all, but they do appear in the book. Topics are well-organized into walking itineraries.



3. Caravaggio's Conversion of St. Paul, in the church of Santa Maria Del Popolo, is a deathless masterpiece. People of all ages, from all countries of the world, stand in front of it in silent awe. Some of them weep. This is what the Michelin guide has to say about this painting: "The effect of the divine light illuminating St. Paul on the road to Damascus should have been sublime but it falls first of all on the hourse, which is out of proportion, before touching the foreshadowed figure of the saint." Oh, excuse me, Michelin man, it's a shame you weren't around in the 17th century so you could give Caravaggion lessons in proportion! Then there's the column of Marcus Aurelius, which as been transfixing travelers to Rome for nigh on two thousand years now: "The overall appearance is spoiled by the lack of entasis two-thirds of the way up the shaft, which would have avoided the impression of concavity." Spoiled! And here I was, along with maybe a hundred million people before me, thinking the spiraling reliefs of victory and disaster were something pretty damn special and reasonably unspoiled to see. And please forgive me for not having any idea what the heck "entasis" means. The star rating system of this guide will only lead you to the places you already knew you should go and see--the guide gives one or no stars to places that are not only magnificent, but which will be, even on a July afternoon, cool, silent and empty of the multitudes. The Rough Guide to Rome is a much better book. Or just follow your nose, your eyes and your heart--in the Eternal City, they can't steer you wrong.



4. The Michelin Green Guide is still the best. The history and tours will turn you into your own expert guide. The star system lets you select the best spots to visit within your time frame. It will fit in your pocket, but it is not a light weight guide. Durable and easy to use, it is a classic.

2 comments about The Italian Wine Guide: The Definitive Guide to Touring, Sourcing, and Tasting (Dolce Vita).

1. Tbis book gives all the information needed to actually visit Italian wine regions and the wineries themselves.
   
   Wineries in Italy are generally not set up to receive tourists as in Napa. Prior arrangements usually need to be made just to visit, not to mention an actual tour and on-site tasting.
   
   The book is organized by region with specific address and contact information for some (but not all) wineries. You might not be able to find the exact winery that produced an obscure bottle that you found at Trader Joe's but you can find one near it and probably just like it.
   
   The book is a heavy softcover octavo with glossy pages and many pictures. There are also paid advertisements for wineries and vinotecas grouped with the editorial content. This is not a drawback but is helpful to know which places actually welcome visitors (some don't). The famous Sassicaia winery at Tenuta San Guido in Toscana for example, does not. I found that the binding is poor and pages have a tendency to fall out but I may have gotten a bad example. The book is somewhat heavy (about two pounds) but on balance I would say worth actually carrying with you on your trip to Italy.
   
   The Touring Club of Italy is an organization similar to AAA which publishes maps and guidebooks in addition to offering other travel services. They have a useful website (in English and Italian) at touringclubdotcom.



2. If you are serious about Italian wine and/or food this is great book to have in your library.
   
   The book does a nice job of explaining the wine varietals from particular regions of Italy. They also tell you which years are outstanding, very good, fairly good and unsatisfactory by wine. This book is very helpful for a trip to your favorite wine store.
   
   If you are interested in wine tours while in Italy the book gives descriptions of wineries and which one offer tours and whether you need to make reservations or not. I also appreciated the wine store names, addresses and phone numbers that are listed by region. My husband appreciated the similar listings of golf courses. Their listings of antique fairs were also useful.
   
   When I was booking our last vacation, I compared the hotel and restaurant suggestions with other guides and found that they were similar. It is always nice to have multiple sources for information.
   
   I think that this book has something for everyone. If you never plan to visit Italy this book is very useful with its general information about Italian varietals and which years to purchase.

5 comments about The City of Florence: Historical Vistas and Personal Sightings.

1. The City of Florence is a wonderful introduction to the riches of this fascinating city. Lewis tells the story of the development of Florence from its earliest days to the present, complete with engaging anecdotes that bring history to life. My favorite is an excerpt from the meeting of the committee charged with deciding where to place the statue of David. Woven into this is Lewis' own story of living off and on in Florence for the last 50 years: the neighborhoods, the business owners, the museums and the Vespa drivers. The traveler will find information on the best restaurants and cafes, the most interesting shops and the best ice cream. The literary traveler will find anecdotes about writers who have lived in or near Florence. A useful, delightfully presented wealth of information and entertainment; a must read if you're planning a trip to Florence.



2. On a recent trip to Florence, walking along Via Maggio, I suddenly stopped, turned to my wife, and gestured to the intricately decorated gray facade looming up before us. "It's the House of Bianca Cappello," I declared, awestruck. "I read about her in that Lewis book..." Indeed, the story of Bianca Cappello is one of the most memorable in this well-wrought book by R. W. B. Lewis. Compared to the typical "Florence: Cradle of the Renaissance" or whatever, this is a totally different take on the city. It's personal. It's intimate. And by not trying to be comprehensive, it dares to be fun. If you ever imagined yourself living in Florence, but it wasn't a practical possibility, Lewis has done it for you, and splendidly. Come on in and get to know the neighborhoods of Florence, meet the shopkeepers, stroll the back streets. Oh, certainly you'll need your Michelin, your Insight Guide, or your Baedeker when you visit the city, but be sure to read Lewis's charming book before you get on the plane.



3. R.W.B. Lewis was a professor of American Literature at Yale. He died at the age of 84, in 2002. Although Lewis lived in the United States, Florence was a city that he and his family visited for much of his life. Lewis spent some time in Italy growing up. During World War II he was in Italy with the OSS (the forerunner to the CIA). Lewis was on a boat which was sunk by the Germans and he managed to swim to land and evade capture until he reached the allied lines. Lewis was in Florence again after it was captured by the Allies. He returned over the years with his family.
   
   Lewis' The City of Florence is both a biography of Lewis' experience in Florence and the history of the city. Lewis' historical sketches cover the city from medieval times to modern times (Lewis describes one of the modern floods of the Arno, the river that runs through Florence).
   
   The City of Florence is not a travel guide. Lewis explored Florence in a random fashion, as anyone does when they live in a place. He discusses some of his favorite museums and places to walk, but it would be difficult to plan a trip based on this book. Instead what you get is some of Lewis' feeling for the Florence he loves.
   
   Lewis never does write about exactly why he loves the city. Perhaps he considers it obvious. For example, why Florence and not Siena. Lewis even likes Florence in August, when most Florentine residents flee the city if they can. He does not comment on Florence's notorious traffic and he comments only a little on the struggle to preserve Florence in the face of modern development.
   
   If you are planning on visiting Florence, The City of Florence is probably worth reading to get a feel for the city. Lewis' historical sketches of Florence are engaging and would also be a good preparation for a visit.



4. The author relates his love and appreciation of Florence, mixing his own personal experiences with historical background. It is not specifically a travelogue or guidebook, but more of a memoir, but it would serve as a useful companion on a trip to Florence or as informational reading beforehand. Not the best book out there, but a worthy addition to any Italophile's library.



5. 
   Before, after and during your visit to Florence, read this book, which is a marvelous book-long song of praise for the most famous city of the Italian renaissance. The late R W B Lewis lived there off and on for twenty years and he relates not only the stories behind the famous sites of Florence, but also the hidden history, background and some of the experience that make it such a charming place to visit. Even if you are not going to visit Florence, read this book and you will feel as if you had been there.
   
   One of the many things I like about this book is the way that Lewis--a former OSS officer in World War II and a celebrated Yale professor--changes from historic accounts, to architectural criticism, to every day life in Florence and environs. We get off the beaten path and out into the countryside, away from the tourists and into some of the best little shops and squares Florence has to offer. We learn the stories of the Medici and their rivals, and the impact that these clashing great families had upon the churches and monuments of the city. We can almost taste the wines, foods and other delights of the city as Lewis enjoyed them. All of this in very elegant prose.
   
   Best of all is Lewis timing and variety. Just as the reader begins to be a tad sated with the history, he switches to talk about local shops and their friendly proprietors, and then at the exact moment you are ready to move on, Lewis moves on to a very scholarly but still eminently readable discussion of this or that palazzo, piazza or church. For this liveliness alone the book is a joy. And it is clear that Lewis loved Florence--every page is infused with a place that never failed to fascinate him, and therefore fascinates us, too.
   
   Richard Warrington Baldwin Lewis was born on Nov. 1, 1917, in Chicago, Illinois, and was the son of Episcopal minister Leicester Crosby Lewis and Beatrix Baldwin Lewis. After preparing at Episcopal Academy and Phillips Exeter Academy, he earned his B.A. in 1939 at Harvard University and his M.A. in 1941 at the University of Chicago, where he also received a Ph.D. degree in 1954. During World War II, Lewis enlisted as a private in the U.S. Air Force and became a second lieutenant, serving in the Middle East, North Africa and Italy.
   
   He commanded a unit in Italy and received the Legion of Merit Award in 1944 for service behind enemy lines. After the war, he continued as a commanding officer of the Northern Italy War Crimes Investigation Team and was discharged from service in 1946 with the rank of major.
   Professor Lewis taught at Bennington College 1948-1950 and was dean of studies at the Salzburg Seminar in Austria 1950-1951. He was a visiting lecturer at Smith College 1951-1952 and a resident fellow at Princeton University 1952-1954, then joined the faculty at Rutgers University as a professor of English. He served there until his Yale appointment in 1959.
   
   At Yale, he served a number of times as director of graduate studies in American studies and also chaired the department. Appointed the Neil Gray Professor in 1977, Lewis' joint appointment in English and American studies at Yale reflected his abiding interest both in American literature and in American cultural life. He was also the author of a celebrated biography of Edith Wharton.
   
   If you find this review helpful see my other reviews on travel, art and history books.

5 comments about The World of Venice: Revised Edition.

1. ... I read [this] book prior to a week-long trip to Venice. This book quite simply accomplished none of its objectives. It is a poor "guidebook" and is poorly written and uninteresting in terms of a travelogue--to quote Simon: "Abysmal with a capital A." The history and art of Venice are covered better in books from those genres. The only upside is that it is short. Yuck, what a waste of time. My advice is: get a novel about Venice if you like novels, a guidebook if you want that, an art book, or a history book. At least you'll get something out of those--this one tries all of these and fails. Actually, in terms of a travelogue, "Vendela in Venice" far surpassess any other Venice book I have seen. Although I originally bought it because it is considered a children's book, it is not dumbed down at all and adults will enjoy it...



2. Jan Morris has written a wonderfully personal guide to a city she loves and has a real rapport with. I read it long before I went to Venice and then I read it again after I finally went. Either way is a great way to vicariously imagine what Venice is like or to wander again over the paths and canals that made your visit a memorable one!



3. I am addicted both to travel and, increasingly, to writing about travel. Of the excessive number of books and articles I have read, this may be my favorite piece of travel writing of all.
   
   I visited Venice for the first time at the end of a brief trip to Italy, in the company of my love interest of the time. We had left but little time for Venice, first because she had told me it was small and quickly seen, and second because so many had warned me away from the place as being too touristy, too smelly, malfunctioning.
   
   I was thus unprepared to fall for the fabled city as I did. I'll spare readers here my poor attempt to capture how I almost immediately felt about the place; photos don't capture Venice and my amateurish prose won't either. You truly have to be there in its unique atmosphere of urban quiet, amid the constant undulation of the water lapping against its stone streets, to feel the unique feel of the city. And you must linger there long enough to discover its small, unguarded treasures, off the beaten path of the tourist guides. And you have to have a sharper sense for self-expression than I do. Fortunately, Jan Morris qualifies on all counts.
   
   The next time I went to Venice, it was alone, after the breakup of a relationship I had thought was heading into marriage. This time I was ready; I had devoured Garry Wills's book on Venice (also quite good, by the way) and arrived ready to tunnel into the city's true heart. It was one of the most rewarding travel experiences I have ever had, my first full day there being the best. The view at dawn was stunning; the silhouettes of St. Mark's spires, domes and sculptures seemed just a few feet away when I opened a creaky window as a deep cobalt blue sky was just starting to brighten. But again, enough from me. . .
   
   Staggering around Venice for a few days as giddy as if I'd found a new love, I went browsing in the bookstore for souvenirs on my last day before departure and found Morris's book. I had known only Morris's histories and till that time did not know of her great career as a travel writer.
   
   Morris's Venice was the perfect find. This is a travel book for those who deeply love a place, or at least who know what it is like to deeply love a place and to want to possess all of it, to locate the hidden gems, to develop firmly held preferences as to which streets are best to walk along, and all the other pastimes that entertain the enthusiast.
   
   Morris's book brings the scenes of Venice to life with an immediacy that is rarely encountered. Here she is on St. Mark's square: "The great Piazza of St. Mark, on a high summer day, is a rich medley of sounds: the chatter of innumerable tourists, the laughter of children, the deep bass-notes of the Basilica organ, the thin strains of the cafe orchestras, the clink of coffee cups, the rattling of maize in paper bags by sellers of bird food, the shouts of newspapermen, bells, clocks, pigeons, and all the sounds of the sea that seep into the square from the quayside around the corner. It is a heady, Alexandrian mixture."
   
   She nails St. Mark's Basilica, too, "descended from Byzantium, by faith out of nationalism; and sometimes to its high ritual in the Basilica of St. Mark there is a tremendous sense of an eastern past, marbled, hazed and silken." Oh, yes.
   
   The visitor to Venice eventually discovers the small out of the way places, too, like San Giorgio della Schiavoni: "It is no bigger than your garage, and its four walls positively smile with the genius of this delightful painter, the only Venetian artist with a sense of humor. Here is St. George lunging resolutely at his dragon. . here is St. Tryophonius with a very small well-behaved basilisk; and here the monks of St. Jerome's monastery. . . run in comical terror from the mildest of all possible lions."
   
   I could go on, but I would risk some copyright infringement law, I'm sure.
   
   Admittedly, this book is best for those who have been to Venice or who are planning a trip, but I assume that covers the vast majority of the people who link to this page. For these readers I unhesitatingly recommend this marvelous book.



4. Still one of the great classics about Venice. Author Morris presents the big picture but also fills in the small details that add color, character, history and life to this incomparable city. My only criticism is that the photos are poor and too few in number. Also Recommended: John Julius Norwich's 'A History of Venice'.



5. This is not a travel guide of the pedestrian Where to Stay? What to Buy? What are the Main Attractions before I move on to Florence and Rome? variety. It is an homage, a paean, a rhapsody to one of the most hauntingly beautiful places in the world. In revealing the most intimate secrets of La Serenissima, the most Serene Jewel of the Adriatic--secrets that only a lover would know, Morris captures the melancholy evanescence of a city that is preposterous in concept. Its light-refracted palaces, adorned by lace-fretted windows, seem suspended between sky and water. As insubstantial as glass, Venice resembles a dreamscape that has somehow transgressed the laws of gravity.
   
   I am a chronic lover of Venice; I have experienced it from the tops of the Campaniles of San Giorgio and San Marco to the bottom of the Grand Canal (Yes! Just like the movie, except instead of being rescued by a handsome Venetian, I was fished out by brawny German tourists--what with my shearling jacket, corduroys and camera equipment it took three of them. I then suffered the green slime-covered humiliation of slopping back across the city to my hotel in the Frari, much to the glee of passing urchins.).
   
   After reading Morris, though, I began to look at Venice with new eyes: Morris showed me where to find "the madcap menagerie" of sculpted lions, monsters, crocodiles and a myriad of other beasts, as well as enlightening me on the subtleties among their infinite attributes; Morris inspired me to scrtinize the walls; peer into the crannies; notice remarkable fragments of sculpture, including the bocche di leoni--renaissance mailboxes in the shape of gawping lion-heads, conveniently placed on the sides of churches for disgruntled members of the public to denounce their enemies anonymously. Morris taught me to savor the change in seasons, to delight in the restless play of the water as I stood on the quay of the Giudecca Canal contemplating the impossible magnificence of a rainbow arching over the bacino, from the Campanile of San Marco past the Campanile of San Giorgio (And there I stood without a camera, since it had rusted after my Grand Canal misadvenure!).
   
   Morris taught me that Venice is a living entity of reflected light shimmering under the bridges; of muffled sound, except for lapping water and the plangent cries of terns. Morris taught me that this charmed city is the source of infinite possibilities, be they as simple as floating silently back and forth along the Canal Grande in the front seat of a vaporetto and breathing in the salt-caressed air, or ambling through Venice's singularly-deserted back streets; and--the greatest gift of all, Morris taught me to be blind to the gaudy profusion of souvenir shops; to be deaf to the great gaggles of tourists glutting the Piazza San Marco; to be immune to the insistent hawking of gondaliers, whose importunings stalk one "down the quays" . . . 'like an improper suggestion" [196].
   
   As the author suggests [102], "past and present are curiously interwoven" in Venice. In a city where the very plaster peeling from its crumbling ancient bricks has a story to tell, the erosions of Time become irrelevant.

2 comments about Lonely Planet Tuscany & Umbria.

1. 
   My partner and I used this guide for our trip to Tuscany (Toscana) in June 2006, and we found it very serviceable. The places we visited were Siena, Florence (Firenze), Assisi, Perugia, Orvieto, and Volterra, among others.
   
   Lonely Planet's guide gave us all the options available for getting to and from each city and town in the region. Whether by train, car, bicycle, or foot, it provides enough information to help you get there and back without too much trouble. This is in contrast to the Let's Go guidebooks which provide more information about staying in the towns themselves than about how to get there. This guide helped us with taking the train from Rome (Roma), and renting a car in Siena and making daytrips to Assisi, Perugia, and Orvieto.
   
   The information on hotels is sufficient but I'd recommend doing a little research online about places to stay BEFORE you leave. LP guides give you a sampling of hotels and inns and a little blurb about each, but don't expect too much information on them. The quoted price ranges can be a little off, but LP assumes one is travelling during the peak season (July-August).
   
   The information on restaurants is okay, and LP provides a decent listing of places to eat in whatever town you may be. It was either hit or miss for us. A few of the places LP recommended turned out to be duds but a few were spot on. One of the hits was a little taverna in Assisi that served linguini with black truffle sauce--yum!
   
   As far as sites and attractions go, don't expect a wealth of information. LP gives a brief history/description for all the major sites but a lot of minor ones are either only touched upon or passed over altogether. One would be better off using the Michelin Green Guides for more detailed information about specific sites and attractions, as those provide a plethora of names, dates, and events that make them more akin to history books than travel guides.
   
   The maps in the book are really good; they are accurate and easy to read. For all the major cities and towns covered in the guide, LP plots out the locations of all the hotels, restaurants, and attractions they mention. In this regard they are exactly like Let's Go (and all other guides, I imagine).
   
   In my opinion this Lonely Planet guide is not the definitive book on Tuscany, but when used with other guides it can be an invaluable resource for your trip to this wonderful region of Italy. Pack it with you when you go--and don't forget the sunscreen!



2. This is a decent overview, but lacks in-depth directions and full details of the area. I found key areas and towns missing. Also, not a lot of hours are printed in detail. Lack of editorial reviews or even hints as of what is good and what is not. I'm getting a second book to supplement this.

No comments about Fodor's Naples, Capri & the Amalfi Coast, 4th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides).

4 comments about Fodor's Essential Italy, 1st Edition: Rome, Florence, Venice & the Top Spots In Between (Fodor's Gold Guides).

1. I've been looking at a bunch of guides for planning an Italy trip this summer, and this is the best so far. It's not as big as other guides, but it's got as much information about the places I'm going as the other guides do, and it also manages to throw in little things that are unique, like an interview with a winebar owner in Venice, explaining the local winebar customs and no-nos.



2. I used Fodor's to map out my itinerary to ensure I saw everything I wanted to see and experienced Italy in all its glory. It explained the "must sees" very well and concisely.
   
   The map was handy but not as good as other maps purchased in a book store which had more detail right on the map of the places to see so we did not have to carry the book around.
   
   Tips on how to avoid the long lines were very accurate.



3. I just graduated college and decided to go on a backpacking trip through Europe. We spend about a week in Italy, and this book was somewhat helpful, but not ideal.
   
   The food suggestions were generally for slightly higher budget travelers, and the organization didn't really fit our travel style.
   
   If you are backpacking or just a young person looking for a good travel book, our group had a good experience with the MTV Europe (MTV Guides)book. It was kind of bulky, but we used it nearly everyday.
   
   If you are considering this book or something from the Eyewitness series, I would definitely go with the Eyewitness book. It may be more expensive, but it will be vastly more useful. In Rome I ended up purchasing Rome (Eyewitness Travel Guides) from a bookstore, and wishing I would have just bought the whole Italy book off Amazon in the first place.
   
   Bottom line, if you are cheap or on a budget, I would look at other books, but this will get the job done if you are looking for some nice places to eat and stay.



4. I've never been disappointed with a Fodor's guide until now. Although the information is very good, as usual for Fodor's, the maps are terrible. In particular, the pullout map is almost useless; many streets are shown, but not marked with a name -- and why does a guide for Rome, Florence and Venice not have a pullout map for Florence? Even the maps within the guide itself are disappointing -- names are printed in black, but the maps themselves are in orange ink, making them hard to read, and once again they lack enough detail to find your way in a strange city. Fodor's should check Rick Steves' Italy guide to see how to do a map. If you choose this as your only guide for an Italian trip, make sure your first action in any of the three cities is to buy a good map! (I particularly recommend the Berendtson map of Venice, and the Editricelozzi map of Rome.)

3 comments about One Hundred & One Beautiful Towns in Italy: Food and Wine (101 Towns).

1. It is a beautiful book with excellent photography. I was disappointed in the fact that there were no recepies associated with the towns. I was anticipating a great cookbook/winebook, but had to settle for a coffee table book instead.



2. Wonderful book full of color photos, the only disappointing thing is that there were no recipes provided.



3. This book was a birthday gift for a dear friend who has visited Italy several times and who thoroughly enjoys its delicious cuisine. She loved it! The book is filled with beautiful photos and interesting information on the little towns of Italy. My friend has it on her coffee table for all to enjoy. A great gift!

5 comments about Frommer's Rome (Frommer's Complete).

1. I have just returned from my second trip to Rome, and I used this book as my primary travel guide. I have also used this series in other cities. Compared to other series, the Frommer's guides stand out in that they focus more on hotel and restaurant recommendations than on historical or practical information.
   
   With that in mind, the restaurant options in this edition seemed to be limited only to locations off major squares or else near the train station, offering very little off the beaten track or for budget travellers.
   
   The information provided for the attractions, such as the museums and ruins, etc. was accurate, although very basic: hours and prices but little historical information. Sometimes the guide would direct one's attention to a particular column or square, but neglect to explain its significance. The recommended restaurants were good, but there was more missing than was included. A guide claiming to offer information on "what's worth your time and what's not" did very little to justify the exclusions... and the fact that several of the recommended restaurants and attractions didn't appear on any of the included maps doesn't support the recommendation at all!
   
   Overall, the maps need to be more complete, to consistently reflect the textual content of the book. Furthermore, it seems suspicious for a guide with so very few included recommendations to have some that were across the street from each other, suggesting very lazy rather than comprehensive coverage of what the city has to offer. Moreover, the photographs on the cover were stock photographs, having nothing to do with any actual experiences of the writers, whose recent actual trip to Rome can only be the object of assumption.
   
   Also, some travellers may find it difficult to trust a guide which includes advertisements for web-based hotel finding agencies.
   
   I would recommend this book for anyone with more money than taste, or who is more interested in getting his or her passport stamped than in becoming educated about Rome, then or now. Just so you know: There's plenty of shopping on Via Corso.



2. Very strong on hotel reviews (25 pages), restaurant reviews (36 pages), plus the Frommer Best Bets for both categories. Maybe a little weak on the description of the sightseeing places of interest, being perhaps too brief sometimes, but the walking tours are very good, the shopping lists and traveler's facts are very solid and reliable.
   Very good pre trip book for hotel listings and walking tour ideas, not necessarily the book to carry with you in the street.



3. I bought this book about two weeks before I visited Rome and used it and its associated map as my guide through Rome over Easter weekend. I found the book and the map pretty difficult to use. Many major attractions in the book are not noted on the map, and many street names are missing from the map. It took me an inordinate amount of time just to figure out where the catacombs really were. Further, there are beautiful descriptions of things to see, but no pictures. That's a problem if you want to get an idea of what something looks like before you decide to invest the time in your itinerary to go see it. Further, in a city that has very few signs describing its buildings and sites (or the signs are in Italian only) you really need a book with pictures just to identify what you are looking at at times. This book is not good at that. The itineraries were sometimes confusing and conflicting. There is a section on an itinerary if you have one day which takes you through ancient Rome, then in a different section of the book the ancient Rome itinerary starts at a different location. If you really are new to a city, you probably want to rely on the book to suggest a good itinerary, not offer confusing and conflicting options. The book tended to jump around a lot. What I mean is, within a paragraph it would describe nice things to see which were nowhere near each other in the city. Overall, I was pretty frustrated with this book. Of the hundreds of tourists carrying guide books around the city that weekend, I didn't notice anyone with this book. It just seems you have to invest too much time trying to figure out the best use of your time (I spent several hours reading the book in preparation for the trip.) I think the biggest shortcoming is the lack of pictures.



4. I purchased this in preparation for our upcoming trip to Rome. Upon review, it is exactly what we need.



5. I found the 36 pages of restaurant review invaluable, especially with the pricing guides and hours of opening and if booking in advance was necessary. The self-walk tours was also very helpful as we did not want to go on large guided tours. The section at the start on what you must and must not bring, what precautions to take, was also invaluable. I was pleased to get such a large map to do my planning, but disappointed that none of the major sights was displayed boldly so that I could see how to link up a certain few within a given day. Nor were any of the recommended restaurants marked on the map. It was a book essential to planning and plotting my trip, but the map was too big to bring and unfold in the middle of a busy street. I thought the shopping section very disappointing. It was all where to avoid, or make do with people-watching, on the grounds of extremely expensive, but no tips on where else one should try - except the early morning markets. It would have benefitted from more photos, even small black and white ones, as many of the recommended sights are not signposted in Rome, or else only in Italian. However, it was an absolute must have and gave me many insights and opportunities that I would not have found in other books claiming to be as good. I know that the next city I vist, whatever it may be, I will immediately get the Frommer's guide (to that city) without even looking for others. Finally, a few common phrases in Italian would have helped.