Rome 2009

Best ways to improve this book:

Tear out pages. All in all I loved your book and I have already bought the 2009 book for my trip back in March 2009

Margaret Hall in Knoxville, tn USA 09/23/2008

No need to improve as long as the changes are put in the updates section. That's why I am letting you know while it just happened to us. It is so hot here in July that any change that requires more walking is something that I would like to know.

Cheryl Monteith in Houston, TX USA 07/20/2008

I don't know if you have one already, but a downloadable guide to the touring sites would be super for an IPOD. It was hard to read your fabulous info while walking through dark churches, and I had read everything ahead of time. Add these 2 restaurants: Trattoria da Giggetto at the Portico D'Ottavia in the former Jewish ghetto. Fabulous food, magnificent ambiance esp. at night. I would also add Taberna Ulpia at the Foro Traiano: it overlooks the market, is spectacular at night. Wait staff was wonderful. Ambiance is very romantic.

Wendy A. Paterson, Ph.D. in Buffalo, NY USA 07/09/2008

Would it be possible to review agencies that rent apartments?

Lisa in Berkeley, CA USA 07/08/2008

Can you guys work on making a more complete index? That's my one big complaint with this book. I frequently wanted to find some bit of information and couldn't because the index just didn't list it. :-(

John Weiss in Boulder, CO USA 06/23/2008

Better maps!

Ann Blalock in Katy, TX USA 06/22/2008

Add more simple drawings to the maps for major landmarks. A drawing of the Arch of Titus would have helped to find the ticket booth. Also, mention that most attractions are impossible to navigate without an audioguide. One example of this is Pompeii, which only has numbers at each location that correspond to the audioguide and map.

Rosemary in Forest Hills, NY USA 06/19/2008

My husband travels to Rome for business; one of his favorite restaurants is Ristorante Vecchia Roma at Piazza Campitelli; telephone 06 6864604; www.ristorantevecchiaroma.com.

Jean Hoffmann in Pleasant Prairie, WI USA 06/05/2008

Include information about how to book the Scavi Tour. Anyone planning three months in advance should receive this tip.

Sue Koehler in Pittsburgh, PA USA 05/20/2008

just to update the Forum and Vatican tours

Triona in Cork, Co Ireland 05/18/2008

Just keep up with updates - the book is fabulous. We will always use a Rick Steves book when we can, and we are going to look into the tours for places we don't feel comfortable going on our own. THANK YOU for helping to make our trip so memorable, efficient, and easy!

Meredith Esham in Bethesda, MD USA 04/30/2008

Check out CristalHome on Via La Spezia This was the apartment we stayed in. Excellent value, on the bus route. The owners provided tons of excellent info on getting around, markets to buy your own supplies. It was clean and well taken care of. A good one to consider including in your next update.

Cathy Garvey in Baldwinsville, NY USA 04/27/2008

An addition to my previous post: Please explain in the Rome 2008 guidebook what you mean by "bring coins for light" when you are visiting a church. The colorful mosaics in many churches can be lit up by spotlights if you put a coin in the light box, usually located in the front or back of the church. From my experience, a coin of any euro denomination will buy about three minutes of light, making for some great digital camera pictures. Many people (including me!) were looking at the mosaics in the dark until another tourist dropped a coin in the light box.

Joseph in Harlingen, TX USA 04/21/2008

Put the locations of the McDonald's restaurants in Rome on the color map of Rome located at the front of the Rome 2008 guidebook. They had the ONLY bathrooms that I could find and were VERY helpful as I walked EVERYWHERE around the city. PS - The color map was GREAT, I never got lost using it. The tour of the lower church and Temple of Mithras in the Church of San Clemente, with all due respect, is an absolute MESS! I never did see the fresco of St. Clement and Sisinnius, despite looking ten minutes for it. And the Temple of Mithras is more extensive than your guidebook suggests. I found a room with water running out of the wall (marked Spring Water) and wondered if it had been a recent discovery or was cenral to the Temple itself - it would be nice to know. On the Trastevere Walk, along the Trastevere Back Lanes, WHERE is the "stubby remains of a tower sandwiched between apartments?" A picture in your guidebook would help clarify it. Overall, I used the Rome 2008 guidebook EXTENSIVELY and found it to be a GREAT resource for my week in Rome. Nice job, Rick and staff, THANK YOU, and I WILL use your guidebooks in the future!!! I feel Istanbul calling me for next year...

Joseph in Harlingen, TX USA 04/18/2008

Have periodic updates of the actual accommodations you're recommending. I highly doubt that Rick Steves would recommend the hotel we stayed at if he were given the same accommodations--perhaps the RS group is given better, cleaner, rooms when the hotel knows they're coming.

Jenny in Highlands Ranch, CO USA 04/11/2008

I downloaded the MP3 tours you had for Rome and I really, really enjoyed them! You should really be selling these (combining somehow with the book?) It was much easier to enjoy the sights with the commentary - easier than reading from a guidebook constantly - (and the pictures helped me make sure I was looking at the right thing as well!) If you had more of these for the walks, etc, that would be fantastic (though - and this just a really polite suggestion - maybe some of the goofy humor could be toned down...just a hair...)

at $0.99 ea, I would be a little fussy about buying them, at $0.49 each from itunes or somewhere similar I would be really happy to give you the additional money.

Thanks for making my trip so fantastic! Everything in the guidebooks was really helpful; I particularly enjoy the suggested walks.

Tim Johnson in New Castle, DE USA 04/08/2008

You hint at the drawbacks of Rome, but I might explain them a bit better (temper expectations). First, I'd try to scare away more parents from bringing their kids (they should go to Paris instead). Rome is a really tough town to visit with children. I think about age 12 is the minimum age for most. Getting around is generally tiring, the streets are trecherous, and the Romans don't try to make their museums interesting to kids. There's also the museum admission "problem":: officially, unless you're an EU citizen, kids have to pay the regular adult price (extremely expensive -- like $15 at the Colosseum). This absurd policy is strictly enforced about half the time. If the kids are over 10, it's probably best to buy them the 20 Euro Roma Pass, as they also get a 3-day transit pass worth 11 Euro alone (all adults should definitely buy the Roma Pass to reduce their expenses). For kids under 10? Buy the pass, or try to get lucky and sneak the kids in!

I'd also tell folks that the current weak value of the dollar (one Euro equals $1.52) makes Rome very expensive. A modest dinner for 2 at an inexpensive trattoria is about $75. Candidly, even at your "recommended" restaurants, the food might be better at your local Macaroni Grill (I know that sounds provincial and harsh, but I think it true). I've had great Italian meals in Italy, but I think having great Italian food in Rome now at a price that you'd feel good about paying would be very, very hard.

Because of this, I would stress the street food options a bit more. You should put the exact location of the Testaccio food market on your local map. This is a fun market to provision your breakfast or lunch from, and the prices seemed very affordable to what you'd typically pay in the heart of town.

Overall, given the poor value for money in Rome and, as you say, the somewhat "brutal" touring conditions, I think most Rick Steves readers would be happiest with 2 full days in town to see the sights and then head elsewhere. This isn't really a city to relax and linger in.

Dave in Philadelphia, PA USA 03/04/2008

Every time I go to Rome I learn a little more that you just have to go with the flow to a certain extent. However, there is a fine line between being easy to get along with and getting taken advantage of. I would tell people to question and try not to be a schmuck. I'm planning to write an "expose" about watching the gladiators at the Colusseum up close while my friend was inside. Quite the eye opener!

April Smith in Stonington, CT USA 02/24/2008

A few more day trip ideas.

Liz Phelps in Pittsburg, CA USA 02/18/2008

I know most travelers go for "shopping and Culture" but I'd spend more emphasis on the Museums and ancient sites that an American simply can not replicate in the States. I would also include more day-trip ideas from Roma to Florence,etc... The train system is incredibly easy to use and cheap.

Rocco Curro in Newark, DE USA 02/14/2008

Be sure to include warnings about the Metro system, mainly Termini. My grandma had her wallet stolen and I caught someone trying to pick my pocket. Make sure you tell people to be on guard.

Adrian Sligh in Amory, MS USA 12/10/2007

Please be more specic about holiday closings.

Kim in Omaha, NE USA 12/09/2007

Keep looking for more ways to beat the crowds, avoid lines and find the public wc's. The info we feel most differentiates Rick Steves guides from others is this "reduce the hassle" stuff.

Jim & Megan Taylor in Seattle, WA USA 10/09/2007

As an aside, I drink a lot of water and found the tip about filling up a bottle at the fountains helpful. However, ordering "acqua del rubinetto"---tap water---at restaurants often didn't work. 25% of the time they would acknowledge the request but not bring the water, 25% of the time it was not a problem and 50% of the time they would argue or actually refuse to bring tap water. I finally gave up after the 5th day as it wasn't worth the effort.

Greg Morris in Tarpon Springs, Fl USA 09/28/2007

A good map would be great - those tiny streets can be confusing. Also better directions on how to obtain the train to Pompeii, we got it, but more direction would have helped.

julie pasqual in Jersey City, NJ USA 09/09/2007

In the tips section (page 38)remind travelers that many shops and restaurants are closed in August, particularly after the first week of August. It is not a good time for shopping in Rome. And we found that three of the eateries you recommended were closed for the month after we had bothered to find them.

JoAnne Sulak in Leesburg, VA USA 08/16/2007

Better maps

Kate in Redondo Beach, CA USA 08/11/2007

Metro closing times would have been helpful, even though walking 3 metro stops only takes about 30-40 minutes. Was not the first time I've walked across a European city at night.

I think your maps are great for the purpose they serve, but I would recommend getting a detailed city map to navigate (free tourist maps seem to work ok)

I'm a convert from Let's Go and Lonely Planet. I think your tips are a lot more helpful

Brian in Cleveland, OH USA 07/26/2007

Rick's books are excellent and I attribute us being good students of Rick's BackDoor philosophy of having a wonderful family vaction through France, Switzerland and Italy. Thanks Rick!!!

Jim Naylor in Everett, WA USA 07/23/2007

You need a three tiered system of maps: An overall regional map, then a city map that includes the NE part of Rome. And then the closer-in maps: Orient ALL of them to North, like everyone else does. Your hand written maps with strange compass alignments are near useless: North is North, set that to the top of the page. We've used your books for two trips to Italy. We've found most everything to be useful except for the hand written maps. And last thing. Public transportation in Italy is in practice, free to native Italians. I have only observed Tourists actually buying and stamping tickets. But do it anyway if you're a tourist. The fines, if you don't have a ticket only apply to you as a guest in their country. And if you try to do as the Romans do, not buying tickets, the person you pay the fine to probably isn't a real conductor anyway. So buy the tickets and get them stamped, even if no one else is doing so.

Francis Saffell in Springfield, OR USA 07/22/2007

I would echo the comments about putting in exact addresses and improving the maps. Overall, though the guidebooks are excellent. I would recommend using other guidebooks for planning the trip. Use the ones with more photographs. Use multiple sources for information on what to see, history and art information. You will get a different emphasis and will be better able to decide what you want to see. But for what to have in your hands while touring around Rome, the best guidebook is Rick's.

kath in los angeles, ca USA 07/16/2007

Still the most current up-to-datre and rtelevant guidebook on the market. Keep up the good work and maintain the annual updates.

Marsh Mendez in Fremont, CA USA 07/12/2007

The directions on getting from one place to another were quite confusing. If you are not familiar with the area, it can be difficult to understand exactly where you are supposed to go (especially the Vatican Museum and the Night Walk).

Darrin in Glendale Heights, IL USA 06/21/2007

My wife and I took a few different guidebooks on our honeymoon to Rome, and we found this one the least valuable (I like Eyewitness Guides best for the general overview and Blue Guides for detailed information on sites). In fact, we hardly used it and the only reason it redeemed itself was because it included a telephone number for English-speaking doctors that came in very hands when my wife came down with a terrible flu. My major beef with Rick's book is that it's not comprehensive: we love the Aventine Hill, for example, and stayed at a wonderful hotel there while in Rome, but Rick doesn't even mention it as an area worth visiting; it has many beautiful churches and some grand views of the city, and it's a short walk to the Metro and the ancient heart of the city. If all you need is highlights for a short trip, this book is ok, but we prefer something that gives us more options and lets us decide what we want to see.

John Knutsen in Berkeley, CA USA 06/08/2007

Don't be scared off from travelling with children in Rome. So much is accessible to them, especially if they have been just a little bit educated before leaving. We are relatively unexperienced travelers ourselves and took our three young children with us in September. We only had two weeks to prepare before going. Before we left, we took them to authentic Italian restaurants, found gelato, watched Rick's DVD and older films set in Rome to get them in the mood, got a phrase book/dictionary/cd set from the library and listened on the way to school each day. In order to not be overwhelmed by the language, they were each assigned about 6 phrases that they would be responsible for knowing for the rest of the group... like, "Where's the bathroom?" or "Can I have a fork, please?" or "Fire!" and even "My sister will need an extra plate to share my food." When travelling with families in Rome remember two things: Most taxis cannot take more than four passengers, so get a transit pass right away and force yourself to learn the system the first day - it gets easier everyday; and rent an apartment instead of staying in a hotel. The accommodations will be much cheaper, the food will be much cheaper (allowing you to cook some meals at home), and will likely plant you in the middle of a really great neighborhood! If you're lucky, you'll get one in Trastevere. Stay there and take the #8 Tram right into the heart of town. It's covered on your transit pass, runs every few minutes, and takes about 3 minutes to get to Piazza Argentina and connections.

Lewis Family in Federal Way, WA USA 05/25/2007

Try to find more restaurants not around the recommended hotels; we stayed near Termini station and had trouble finding any recommended restaurants.

Megan Stoner in Jackson, MS USA 05/25/2007

Provide a little bit better maps and explain about unmarked streets and those that don't appear on city maps.

Mark E. Lamb in Melbourne, Fl USA 04/26/2007

Teach us how to pronounce gelato and gelateria - That is the best ice cream my husband and I have ever tasted! (combination of coffee and pistacio Yum)

Lee Lamb in Melbourne, FL USA 04/23/2007

Nothing. We are a convert from Fommer's. This was our first Rick Steves' book and will not be the last. BTW, we noticed your book all over Rome.

PAUL BESSINGER in TINTON FALLS, NJ USA 04/13/2007

I can't see any way to improve. Keep doing what you do, with the standards you have. I used the Rome, Venice & Florence books to guide myself , my wife, her sister & our brother-in-law through these cities & was told I should lead tours when I retire. I gave the credit to your guidebooks for the advice & the background on places & art & history I would otherwise not have known to share. We didn't go exactly "by-the-book", but meandered a bit, falling into parts of your recommended walks & things to see, finding ourselves wandering into serendipitous events. Thanks for making our trip such a great time.

George Easton in Westlake, OH USA 04/04/2007

other restaraunts of note: Galeassi in Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere - fine pasta lunch Enoteca Capranica - great muscat grappa TAZZA D'ORO - national coffee treasure!

Gary Carson in Aransas Pass, tx USA 03/24/2007

a little more information on where the electric bus stops are and more information on shopping

Annie in Chan, NY USA 03/03/2007

You should provide a warning about the Appian Way. The book implies that you can walk the Appian Way from Church of Domine Quo Vadis to the Tomb of Cecilia Metella. Well we did, but it was a death defying walk. Between Domine Quo Vadis and the Catacombs of San Sebastian the way is bordered by walls on each side with about 2 feet for walking space and traffic going 50 to 60 miles an hour. Because people were walking on both sides of the road the traffic occassionally verred in our direction so closely that we litterally had to turn our bodies so our backs were against the wall to keep from being hit by mirrors on the sides of the cars. I considered this the most dangerous thing I have ever done. But once we had started there was almost no turning back. We couldn't cross the street because the traffic was to heavy. If we had turned around we would have had our backs to the traffic. I kept thinking the road must be about to open up but it kept going and going.

Kerwin in Atlanta, GA USA 02/04/2007

You did your usual terrific job in Rome 2007. Wouldn't dream of going anywhere without you! Keep up the good work...

Cindy in Beavercreek, OH USA 02/01/2007

I would add more information on the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin. This is the church that has the Bocca la Verite, or Mouth of Truth. There is a long line out into the street for a photo op, but it is barely mentioned in the guidebook (under things to do with kids). It has become one of Rome's top tourist attractions,and is only a 10 minute walk from Capitol Hill, or two stops on the bus. (Walk down the steps from Capitol Hill and cross the street. Take any bus, pass the Teatro di Marcello, and the church is up on the left. You can't miss it because of the line of people.)

Charles and Maria Sleefe in Lynbrook, NY USA 12/12/2006

Better integrate the "sights" chapter into the rest of the book. Also, have alternate 3 and 7 day plans (some for destination geeks like me, and some for the shopping/restaurant/relaxing set).

Ryan Ellis in Washington, DC USA 12/08/2006

1. Include Florence in the list of suggested day trips. If you fly to Rome for a week, you can spend a much more memorable day in Florence than anywhere else, and it is only 95 minutes ride by Eurostar (29 EUR).

2. Typically, Rick's tour of a museum represents an excellent introduction. Please recommend other publications (for specific sights) that can give an advanced tour.

John Petrovic in Portage, MI USA 12/01/2006

The book was so helpful. The tip about the Colloseum tickets save hours.The format and "Rick-isms" are the best.

Joseph Barone in Princeton, NJ USA 11/21/2006

Accommodations and Restaurants: They are numbered on the maps, but there are no numbers next to their text entries in the book which would help make a 2 step process a one step process. A "Food at a Glance" summary (like your "Rome at a Glance" summary)of restaurant hours, locations, prices, would be helpful. Reading 2 pages of text while on the go to decide what restaurant to choose got tedious and time consuming after awhile. Also, some of the hand drawn maps were difficult for us to understand, even though we were in Rome 3 weeks and walked about 70% of all of the roads in the core of Rome. But really, your book helped us save money and enjoy Rome to the fullest and we recommend it to everyone.

Glenn Stokes in San Diego, CA USA 11/14/2006

Just follow up on suggestions you get. Keep doing what you're doing. It works.

Bourne & Carol Rigano in Stillwater, NY USA 10/24/2006

Hard to say. This was a great guide book, and helped us immensely to explore Rome on our own. We could not have done it without this book.

May Anstee in Lombard, IL USA 10/08/2006

Have all hotel-type information at back of books (all of them) so once those arrangements are made, the section can be removed to make book lighter and easier to carry.

Joanne Fritch in Hayward, CA USA 07/29/2006

Relax about the potential rip-offs. We felt safer in Rome than Venice, frankly. A bit of common sense, taking and using only what coinage you need on a given day, and giving the "gypsies" a bit of space will get you through the bus, the streets, and the shops intact.

Glenda Grunzweig in Spokane, WA USA 07/26/2006

We had friends recommend a restaurant an the food was delicious. It's very popular with the locals. It's called Trattoria Otello alla Concordia. It's not far from the Spanish Steps, at #81 Via della Croce.

Julie in Santa Barbara, CA USA 07/25/2006

Better maps.

Rosemary West in Los Angeles, CA USA 07/16/2006

First, Rome is a city with so many beautiful sights and buildings. Your book does a nice job with the major sites. Perhaps picking up more of the secondary sights, even if it's just a location and a few sentences to put things in perspective. An example would be some of the many Lesser known museums such as Villa Medici. It is located at the top of the Spanish steps and has changing exhibits. It's close enough to the Borghese gallery to help round out the day. Second, consider upgrading your recommendation on the Palantine hill. We thought it was more than extra credit. Our two sons, 17 & 11 both thought the stadium, the courtyards and the view were fantastic. Thanks very much for a very useful book!

Evan Steinberger in Merion Station, PA USA 07/07/2006

I couldn't read the entire book and I don't know if you mention this somewhere, but we noticed specially in Italy (Venice, Florence, and Rome) and most of the train stations, How difficult it must be for a disable people to move around, the train stations and most of the hotels don't have any kind of ramps or any facility and it must be extremely frustrating, when people are not aware of the problems they are going to encountered when they make such a long and expensive trip. ....Thank You Rick Steves for all your invaluable help, planning our trip.

Anonymous in San Diego, CA USA 06/06/2006

Just keep updating it every year and you will be way ahead of the competetion....

Linda in Brooklyn, NY USA 06/03/2006

Add some info concerning getting from Civitavecchia Dock are into Rome. I used a private car, but it isn't cheap. I understand that there is a train station near the Docks, but info about it and the train schedules is difficult to find. Taxis at dockside are few and far between.

Charles Long in lawrenceburg, tn USA 05/27/2006

It is very good, but I think the maps could be better

Austin Winant in Woodinville, Wa USA 05/25/2006

Keep travelling Rick!

Sammye Lee in San Francisco, CA USA 05/23/2006

This book is great, but the cartoon maps are worthless. Take a look at the lonely planet rome condensed guide for an example of great maps. We ended up reading from Rick's book and using LP's maps.

Dan in Boulder, CO USA 05/21/2006

Check out Santa Cristina Restaurant on via della Cordonata, 21 (near via Maggio and via Nazionale, and not far from Trajan's column). Best Pasta Carbonara and best steak I have had in years. Also include more on walking Appian Way andseeing the Aqueducts. This sidetrip was one of my favorite backdoors.

Alan Scott in Missouri City, TX USA 05/11/2006

Maybe include addresses of sights such as churches. My taxi driver refused to take me to a church without the specific address.

Brigid Laing in Bellevue, WA USA 05/01/2006

Give us serrated pages so when we rip it apart to share with someone or to only carry a bit of it, we can tear neatly!

Pam Notebaert in Canandaigua, NY USA 04/22/2006

I think it would be tough to make it better. The handwritten maps may look unorthodox, but they are absolutely awesome.

SHANE LARSEN in HOLLADAY, UT USA 04/18/2006

Make the maps and neighborhood sections removable. We took all your advice about travelling light with hidden valuables, but I had to dangle a purse across my chest just to hold the guide book.

louise Phillips in staten Island, ny USA 04/01/2006

Although the small details of sightseeing in Rome were invaluable, we found the maps confusing. However, Rick's books were by far our favorite travel guide in Rome and throughout Italy.

karen garrison in afton, ia USA 03/31/2006

Keep going with the little details, they make all the difference. Examples: ignore beggars and taxi drivers; at the Circumvesuviana trains in Naples avoid the turnstiles by the ticket booth; take the bus from Florence to Siena then to Rome instead of the train; make museum reservations; hire Gaetano Manfredi for Pompeii (cell #338-725-5620; 3387255620@tim.it).

Rob and Helen Bell in Grand Rapids, Mi USA 03/27/2006

Give more precise directions to the sights. For example, the book might say a sight is "across the street" when it is really across the street and forty yards farther down on the right.

Gary Hagen in Boise, ID USA 03/24/2006

Try to give a stronger impression of how easy it is to get lost...no two maps are alike and NONE of them reliably match the reality. The streets twist, end, go up different levels and most of the don't have names listed. We got lost more times than was fun!

Mary Olinger in Richmond, VA USA 03/19/2006

Make it (and all you guide books) spiral bound. If this is not cost effective, make the left margin a little bigger so the book can be rebound at Kinkos or Staples. It is currently difficult to turn pages of a walking tour while wearing gloves and carrying an umbrella.

H Gellis in Brookline, MA USA 03/10/2006

Under the Vatican cost section, add that they don't take credit cards. It wasn't until we had spent an hour in line and entered the building did I learn this, and I didn't have €36 in cash on me. The nearest bank with cash machine is 2-3 blocks away. Fortunately the museum shop agreed to give me cash back on a purchase.

Daniel Ginsberg in Gig Harbor, WA USA 03/05/2006

The book is great. Maybe a more detailed map. I was always on foot, I need more streets labeled with name.

Mavis Warren in Albia, IA USA 01/07/2006