PE

I know there are a lot of guide books out there on Rome...fodors, frommers, the idiots guide to, lonely planet, eyewitness travel, Rick Steves, Experience Rome to name a few. Does anybody have a favorite? Looking to buy a book for an upcoming trip to Rome and not sure which one to get. Thank you!

zeppole

Time Out -- but ignore the food recommendations.

michele_d

Hi PE,
I really like Rick Steve's guides for the simple fact that after reading his books I feel that I already "know" the places I read about. He gives very basic information that the new traveler really needs to know about new destinations. We used his guides exclusively for our three month/7 country trip to Europe last year.
Have fun,
Michele

TCC

Not really a "guide book", but we love
City Secrets Rome
Rome as seen by artists, architects, poets, actors, etc.
Lot's of fun to read.

alan43

When we visited Rome, we used the Cadogan guide to Rome. Knowledgeable, witty and accurate. It includes walking tours, maps etc. Found an excellent pizzeria using the guide. found it helpful on the sights we visited. I always try to find a Cadogan guide to a place I visit.

appletea

we like the eyewitness guide. it has great visuals and divides it out by area.

zeppole

I agree that the Cadogan guides are excellent for Italy. My recommendation for Time Out is because it divides Rome into its neighborhoods, but if you are spending less than a week in Rome, you might prefer one without that kind of organization.

PE

Thanks for all your replies so far! We are spending 5 nights renting an apartment near the Spanish Steps. It will be my 19 year old son and myself. I've been to Rome before (a few years ago), but my son never has been. He's always wanted to go to Italy and is spending this summer doing a study abroad program through his college (Ohio State) in Lecce, Italy.
Pam

springchickentx

My Rome "bible" is Discovery Channel "Insight City Guide Rome." Has small foldout map with restaurants noted on it and the book has detailed area maps. About 3/4" thick. We used the map every time we went walking about.

Midnightsun

Different guides offer different things. The DK Eyewitness guides have lots of visual information (enough to make you feel you've already seen some places before you get there and then leave you wondering how you missed some details). Rick Steves does a great job with strategies on how to visit museums, neighborhoods, and other main attractions. He is not much for fine food and doesn't seem to care too much about where he stays, so I use Fodors Guides (and this forum) for those recommendations. Mostly I'll consult those before traveling so I can make reservations. The Access guide to Rome (Wurman) has lots of information by neighborhood and is very good to carry around on walks. I think it was last updated in 2005. You're in a great location, and you'll find a lot by wandering. Our best tip from our last visit to Rome (when we were only there for two days): Try to get to Trastavere for pizza at Dar Poeta. Trastavere at night is great fun, and Dar Poeta has one of Rome's best pizzas.

charnees

I like City Secrets: Rome, too. It's organized by neighborhood and mentions all kinds of out-of-the-way places that are vey intriguing.

Sue878

We use both Fodors for info, but we take Rick Steves book with us, or I should say we rip out the pages take those with us.

canalatbourbon

I had a Fodor's Italy and my 2 travel companions had Rick Steves. The Fodors was far superior to the Rick Steves in the amount of information provided (almost twice the size too)but the Rick Steves provided more info on places to eat and stay. However at the end of the trip they both said they would have preferred to have the Fodors for the info on the cities and sights.

billbarr

For me the Blue Guide to Rome is my favourite especially for both art and historical accuracy.

Paul1950

We've always liked the no-nonsense Michelin Green guides.

LowCountryIslander

If you are interested in restaurants I found "Food, Wine, Rome" to have very good restaurant/market/speciality food shop information. It's a pretty thick/heavy book, so I just read through it before my trip and pulled out the information on restaurants I wanted to go to.

Also, one book I never travel to Rome without is the Knopf Map Book for Rome. It is a compact book of fold-out maps of neighborhoods in Rome. I prefer it because it fits nicely into my purse pocket and although the pages fold out, it is not an unwieldy map flapping in the breeze as I try to navigate about the city.

minorc

I also liked the knopf map book for portability and basic info like opening and closing times, and the maps are great. But it's a good idea to use more in-depth resources on your particular interests ahead of time. I was not happy with the restaurant recs in Knopf, we sought out a pizza place in the book which was the worst meal of our trip. But I've usually found that we do better scoping out restaurants on our own. You will see lots of people eating outdoors so you can see if the food looks good, if it's crowded, if the menu looks good,etc. Get off the beaten track a bit and you'll find family restaurants with great food.
I also agree that Rick Steves is great for practical information, just don't limit yourselves to what he recommends, there are lots of small churches and museums and neighborhoods to see in Rome that he doesn't include.

PE

Thanks for all your recommendations! I always do a lot of research before leaving on a trip, but also like to have a book or two with me while we are on a trip in case there are last minute things I want to look up.

Zerlina

For last-minute look-up in a portable format, I like Access Rome (already mentioned). But it will not give you things like opening times (which, in any case, sometimes change before publication date).