Rome: The Complete Guide with Walking Tours of Classical Rome and the Vatican (Fodor's Rome, 1999) (Paperback)

~ Fodor's (Author) "Rome's population of more than 3 million lives in a sprawling urban district that is Italy's largest, extending southwest to the sea at Ostia..." (more)
Key Phrases: Piazza Navona, Santa Maria, Via Veneto (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Experienced and first-time travelers alike rely on Fodor's Gold Guides for rich, reliable coverage the world over.  A Fodor's Gold Guide is an essential tool for any kind of traveler.  Smart travel tips and important contact info make planning your trip a breeze and detailed coverage of sights, accommodations, and restaurants give you the info you need to make your experience enriching and hassle-free.  If you only have room for one guide, this is the one for you.


The best guide to Rome, packed with essentials
Close-up of the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Forum, plus museum treasures, the gardens, the neighborhoods
The top spots to shop -- Piazza di Spagna to Via Nazionale
Side trips to nearby towns and historic villas


Where to stay and eat, no matter what your budget
Renaissance palazzi, luxury hotels, converted mansions, homey pensions -- in every neighborhood
Elegant shrines of haute cuisine, family restaurants, enoteche, pizzerias, cafés, gelaterias, and pasticcerias


Fresh, thorough, practical -- off and on the beaten path
Costs, hours, descriptions, and tips by the thousands
All reviews based on visits by savvy writer-residents


15 pages of maps -- and dozens of great features
Important contacts, smart travel tips
Fodor's Choice
What's Where
Pleasures & Pastimes
Festivals
Complete index

From the Publisher

We've compiled a helpful list of guidebooks that complement Fodor's Rome. To learn more about them, just enter the title in the keyword search box.

Exploring Rome (3rd Edition): An information-rich cultural guide in full color; the perfect companion to a Gold Guide, $21.

Citypack Rome (2nd Edition): A pocket-size, full-color guidebook and a full-size map, all in one sturdy, plastic sleeve, $12.

Rivages: Hotels and Country Inns of Character and Charm in Italy (3rd Edition): Insider guides to Europe's unique places to stay -- color photos throughout, $19.95.

Languages for Travelers: Fodor's Italian for Travelers (Audio Set) (1st Edition): Information-packed, easy-to-use audiocassettes, $16.95.

Languages for Travelers: Fodor's Italian for Travelers (Phrase Book) (1st Edition): An information-packed, easy-to-use phrase book, $7.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Fodor's (February 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679002324
• ISBN-13: 978-0679002321
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,255,630 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're going to LOVE ITALY!, September 23, 2004

By	Richard R. Carlton (Ada, MI United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fodor's Rome, 5th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

I've been to Italy several times.....Rome, Venice, Florence, Bologna, Milan, some of the hill towns, etc. Here are my reviews of the best guides to meet you r exact needs.....I hope these are helpful and that you have a great visit! I always gauge the quality of my visit by how much I remember a year later......this review is designed to help you get the guide that will be sure YOU remember your trip many years into the future. Travel Safe and enjoy yourself to the max!

Fodor's
Fodor's is the best selling guide among Americans. They have a bewildering array of different guides. Here's which is what:
The Gold Guide is the main book with good reviews of everything and lots of tours, walks, and just about everything else you could think of. It's not called the Gold guide for nothing though....it assumes you have money and are willing to spend it.
SeeIt! is a concise guide that extracts the most popular items from the Gold Guide
PocketGuide is designed for a quick first visit
UpCLOSE for independent travel that is cheap and well thought out
CityPack is a plastic pocket map with some guide information
Exploring is for cultural interests, lots of photos and designed to supplement the Gold guide

Rick Steves' books are not recommended. They may be an interesting read but their helpfulness is very poor. They don't do well on updates, transportation details, or anything but the first-time-tourist routine and even that is somewhat superficial on anything but the mega-major sites.

Frommer's
These are time tested guides that pride themselves on being updated annually. Although I think the guides below provide information that is in more depth or more concise (depending on what the guide is known for), if your main concern is that the guide has very little old or outdated information, then this would be a good guide for you.

Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has City and Out To Eat Guides. They are all about the experience so they focus on doing, being, getting there, and this means they have the best detailed information, including both inexpensive and really spectacular restaurants and hotels, out-of-the-way places, weird things to see and do, the list is endless.

Blue Guides
Without doubt, the best of the walks guides.... the Blue Guide has been around since 1918 and has extremely well designed walks with lots of unique little side stops to hit on just about any interest you have. If you want to pick up the feel of the city, this is the best book to do that for you. This is one that you end up packing on your 10th trip, by which time it is well worn.

MapGuide
MapGuide is very easy to use and has the best location information for hotels, tourist attractions, museums, churches etc. that they manage to keep fairly up to date. It's great for teaching you how to use the public transportation system. The text sections are quick overviews, not reviews, but the strong suite here is brevity, not depth. I strongly recommend this for your first few times learning your way around the classic tourist sites and experiences. MapGuide is excellent as long as you are staying pretty much in the center of the city.

Time Out
The Time Out guides are very good. Easy reading, short reviews of restaurants, hotels, and other sites, with good public transport maps that go beyond the city centre. Many people who buy more than one guidebook end up liking this one best!

Let's Go
Let's Go is a great guide series that specializes in the niche interest details that turn a trip into a great and memorable experience. Started by and for college students, these guides are famous for the details provided by people who used the book the previous year. They continue to focus on providing a great experience inexpensively. If you want to know about the top restaurants, this is not for you (use Fodor's or Michelin). Let's Go does have a bewildering array of different guides though. Here's which is what:
Budget Guide is the main guide with incredibly detailed information and reviews on everything you can think of.
City Guide is just as intense but restricted to the single city.
PocketGuide is even smaller and features condensed information
MapGuide's are very good maps with public transportation and some other information (like museum hours, etc.)

Michelin
Famous for their quality reviews, the Red Michelin Guides are for hotels & Restaurants, the Green Michelin Guides are for main tourist destinations. However, the English language Green guide is the one most people use and it has now been supplemented with hotel and restaurant information. These are the serious review guides as the famous Michelin ratings are issued via these books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast paced Rome!, May 12, 2006

By	Sheri Ann Johnson "paperback_princess" (Tampa Bay, FL, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fodor's Rome, 5th Edition (Fodor's Gold Guides) (Paperback)

What a beautiful city, full of spectacular buildings, cobblestone roads, gorgeous old windows, intricate doors, huge fountains, endless shopping, wonderful food & warm & friendly Italians! Unfortunately our trip to Rome coincided with the Pope's illness & subsequent death (while we were in Rome!), therefore we had no access to the Vatican. But it sure is stunning from outside.

We had no problem finding English speaking Italians in Rome, especially in hotels, restaurants & shops. This book successfully guided us to the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Basilica & the Pantheon, just to name a few of our stops. We had a rental car, but parked it & made our way by foot & by taxi. Driving in Rome is scarier than driving in Manhattan, especially with all of the mopeds turning in many directions at the same time!

This book made our days in Rome enjoyable, the restaurants suggested were all great. My husband fell in love with gelato, so we ended our days at different gelato counters. I fell in love with my daily cappucinos & pana cotta! I am not a coffee drinker, but went through cappucino withdrawls when I got home. I am now a pro at making pana cotta, oh it's divine!

The road side vendors are peddling some of the best proscuitto & rocket paninni sandwiches I had in Italy! I still think about those $2 sandwiches a year later! : )

If you're planning a trip to Rome you must get this book to guide you. My husband & I talk continuously about going back again very soon.