Customer Reviews

Eyewitness Travel Guides Rome

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.