Product Description

"Often plagiarized by other guide writers, Blue Guides have always been a gold standard for accuracy and depth."—Daily Telegraph

The best, most comprehensive guide to one of the world's most intriguing cities. With detailed walking tours and helpful guides to the abundance of art, this is an essential guide for anyone interested in an in-depth view of Rome. Color photographs, maps, floor plans, diagrams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74816 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-19
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 623 pages

Customer Reviews

You can find better...
I would advise those considering purchasing this book to look elsewhere. Don't believe the hype that is generated around these guides. I purchased The Rome Blue Guide, because I had heard so much about it. I had avoided buying it in the past because of the cost. I decided to purchase it, and I was so disappointed. The historical sections of the book are excellent, but the travel guide sections are horribly written, far too judgmental and often inaccurate.

I was aghast to see cities, buildings and monuments described in such brutal terms as "ugly" -- this word is used many times throughout the book to describe locations in and around Rome. Read the section on Tivoli and tell me that the authors do not have something against it? Tivoli is one of the gems of Lazio, and anyone who has ever visited it would be hard-pressed to say otherwise. And there's much more to do there than see the Tivoli Gardens or Hadrian's Villa.

I found the whole compilation to be poorly organized. For what the book costs, I was expecting better writing and a better (and less personal) assessment of the Eternal City and its offerings. The authors make for decent historians but the practical portions are useless, I'm afraid. There's a snobbish tone to the book that is bound to put most readers off, and many of their suggestions in the book reinforce this.

Lonely Planet, Frommers, Rough Guides...they make for better value and are more accurate and much more useful. Steer clear of this work!

Essential for Rome
The Blue Guides, while excellent, are not usually my go-to guides for travel. They usually tell me more than I want or need to know, and their lack of practical information means you can only use it in conjunction with another guide. Rome was an exception. There's simply so much there, and sites are often so poorly labelled and have so little information, that I found I actually needed to carry it around with me. In fact, my original Blue Guide was in a bag that BA lost, and after attempting to see the Roman Forum without it, I found an English-language store and paid 29 for a new copy. It's that essential.

Best for history
The Blue Guides are all stellar tools and this one was a gem this Summer.