Looked great but a real let-down when it matteredOctober 31, 2008 Bought this only after carefully reviewing what was available and initially thought I'd made a great choice. The book was updated in 2008, is well laid-out, with 'Where to Eat' sections after each location. I did get some very useful info from the book, but even on my first day in Rome I started to notice errors and inadequacies.
First off, you now pay into the Forum - the book suggests that entrance is free and that you only need pay into the Palatine. Granted the Forum charge covers the Palatine but it is still a glaring error. Secondly, although a small map of the vast Forum area is supplied, it is very poorly labelled and lacks any useful detail - this is one of the major sites in ancient Rome and merits a lot more information.
I gave up using the 'Where To Eat' guides after wasting huge amounts of time trying to find two different restaurants which either never existed, have shut down since reviewed, or the addresses given were wrong (and remember the book was supposedly updated in 2008).
Finally the book completely fails to mention two 'must see' places - the excavations (Scavi) under St Peter's Basilica and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.
A guide which promised a lot, but failed to deliver when it mattered. Not recommended.
AA citypack - RomeMay 31, 2005 11 out of 11 found this review helpful
An excellent guide to Rome for those on a weekend break. The top 25 sights guide is an excellent way of cherry picking the delights of the city.
Gives a good overview but could be much better.February 27, 2002 7 out of 7 found this review helpful
The strengths of this book are those of the other AA Spiral Guides: it's small and light enough to carry around with you, and there are loads of photos which are useful in deciding what to see.
The street maps of the city are clear, however we had a real problem finding the sights mentioned in the text on the map as they are not grid referenced. The Spiral Guide was very good for finding things to do, but we were glad to have a second guide book (Lonely Planet's Rome Condensed) with which to look up their locations.
Also, some of the information given was seemingly inaccurate and sent us on a few wild goose chases; for example a "vegetarian" restaurant a little way from the Spanish Steps was anything but, and we wasted ages trekking to look for a gate whose keyhole would supposedly give us an amazing view...if we found the right one it was a definite waste of time!
That's not to say the book doesn't have some useful tips on what to see, and it hasn't stopped me buying more in the same series - it's just that we encountered several flaws with this particular edition.
We mainly used this book to search out the must sees, and tended to stumble around the rest of the city ourselves. I think really it was a case of Rome being so amazing that we just kept finding things to see without needing a guide book. For a general overview this book is excellent, however we found it impossible to find many of the places mentioned on the maps and this is a major issue.
Not impressedSeptember 19, 2001 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Yes, the spiral binding is great, but opening hours of some sites are wrong. Directions to many interesting sites lack clarity. Explanations regarding sites are not comprehensive and not really that interesting (spend money on guided tours!). The map was quite useless. If you want to take walks around the city do buy a good and detailed city map with a street index.
Perfect BalanceAugust 12, 2001 3 out of 4 found this review helpful
I totally agree with the other two reviewers. The fiancee and I have just returned from a 3 night break to Rome and found this just excellent. The street map at the back is excellent (much more attention to detail than a smaller pop-up map I also bought) and the itineraries are really useful for planning your days.
The guide's strength is its perfect balance of concise detail. Thoroughly recommended.
