Product Description

Rome, Little Black Book is the ideal travel and tour guide companion book for those visiting Rome who want an authentic visit. A replete compilation of over 100 restaurants, nightspots, pubs and caffes, and much more, Little Black Book takes into the nooks of over piazza in Rome as a top notch dining and entertainment guide book.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #262441 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-25
• Released on: 2006-10-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 108 pages

From the Inside Flap
Little Black Book ROME was written as a dining and entertainment guide to Rome, a city whose restaurants, cafes and nightspots are just as hidden as its side streets. The Little Black Book is simply a suggestion, that little voice whispering in your ear, "...Eat here, it's good." Meander around the city with your map in hand and some curiosity. In Rome, you are always just around the corner from where you want to be.

Rome's main piazzas and neighborhoods are reference points to guide you to restaurants, cafes, bars and nightspots that will make you feel at home, and maybe even a little bit Roman.

About the Author
Christel Brenting and Erica Firpo spent the past 5 years working as art historical tour guides in Rome. We've compiled a vast amount of research from friends, serious tourist, natives, tourguides and ourselves to create a replete guide that will help you truly enjoy Rome as if you were a native.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
PIAZZA DI SPAGNA Piazza di Spagna has been Rome’s traditional meeting point since the Renaissance when it was the main hang-out for artists and writers. The name comes from the Spanish Embassy, in residence in the piazza since the 1600s. The Spanish Steps, beautiful stairs leading up to the Church Trinita del Monti, are the hub of all activity.

Throughout the day, visitors and locals walk casually around the piazza, browsing stores like Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Italian favorite Patrizia Pepe. Piazza di Spagna may be very hectic during the shopping hours but it is one of the more calm piazzas in the early mornings and evenings.

CAFES **Antico Caffe Greco via dei Condotti 86 06 6791700 Grand cafe in the heart of Piazza di Spagna. Velvet chairs, paintings and sketches from the 18th and 19th centuries take you back in time to the old grandeur of Rome for a tranquil afternoon sipping granita di caffe con panna (frozen, crushed espresso with freshly whipped cream).

**Casina Valadier Pincio Hill 06 679668 Take a walk in Villa Borghese, the lovely, well-kept park above Piazza del Popolo, and enjoy a cafe´ on the outdoor terrace at Casina Valadier, a refined cafe´ that also has a light lunch menu.

**La Buvette Tea Room via Vittoria 44, 47 06 6793261 Posh tearoom that whisks you away from the shopping frenzy of Piazza di Spagna. La Buvette’s pastries and beverages are perfect for an excellent afternoon tea.

*Museo Atelier Canova Tadolini via del Babuino 150a,b 06 32110702 19th century artists’ studio decorated with plaster and marble models of Antonio Canova’s sculpture, early 19th century. Ground level is an old fashioned cafe, with a charming restaurant on the second level.

Customer Reviews

Phenomenal
I was recently on vacation in Italy, and while I spent four days in Rome - I found the "Little Black Book" to be a tremendous help. This Dining & Entertainment Guide is not only well written, but is also broken down descriptively, where a person can find exactly what type of entertainment, dining, and night life they are looking to find, or to learn about.

Restaurants (from diverse cultures of food, not just Italian), Cafe's, Bars, Nightclubs and Shopping are described in detail. Someone not familar with Rome, this book provides the addresses and the phone number of the establishments. This helped me on how to plan my day and night. After site-seeing at the Spagna a.k.a Spanish Steps, Vatican, and Coliseium - I knew where the closest location and what type of restaurant was near me, as I was going to eat lunch and dinner. Also as a result of reading the book, I discovered restaurants and clubs I would not have tried on my own without hearing something about them first.

Without this guide book, I would have had to ask many people where to go, where to eat, and how to find entertainment. I was able to avoid the hassle and stress of being a first time tourist with the help of Little Black Book. My girlfriend & I were able to find a few Romantic Settings from recommendations too. (One example is The restuarant at the Terrace Hotel Forum found on page 52) Little things like that, is not something you are going to learn from a tour guide as you are site-seeing.

Little Black Book's excellent descriptive details, let me know that this book was written by two people that are fully aware of Rome - Knowing how to spend your time in the city, to experience everything Rome fully has to offer.

Great to have when traveling in Rome
When we travel, we consider the local food and culture a very important part of the experience. We carried the little black book with us always (it's small, so it's very convenient), and found it to be really helpful in finding great local food and dessert and wine places that made our trip that much more interesting and entertaining. The book is organized in a way that makes it easy to find everything while you're walking through the city. I'm glad we brought this book with us.

Excellent pocket guide to Rome
I just got back from a short vacation in Rome and was lucky enough to come across the guide book before I left. While the lack of inclusion of maps is a little inconvenient, the information more than makes up for it. All the recommendations were superb, and they're helpfully broken down by district. Most of all, though, it really feels like the book has been written by locals. The restaurants and bars are not your run-of-the-mill touristy places, but rather places in which you feel real Romans hang out, eat and drink in. Hopefully the writers will continue this series for other cities.