Let's Go 2000: Rome : The World's Bestselling Budget Travel Series

by Inc. Let's Go

Release Date: 01 January, 2000

Edition: Paperback

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Great Guidebook to the Eternal City

I had the opportunity to visit Rome in October 1999, and I took the 1999 Let's Go Rome guide along with me. I've also had a chance to review this one. I was quite happy with the recommendations of restaurants and sights. Except for a single case, all the restaurants were enjoyable and reasonably priced. Make sure you go to Margutta Vegetariano RistorArte (sic), close to the Spanish Steps. This vegetarian restaurant has the most stunning foor imaginable. I'm not a vegetarian, but I could be after that experience. (And I'm not even being paid to say this!) Just one of the treasures the guidebook pointed out. Also, if you're going for a week or two, I'd stay in the city. I spent four days in the Vatican Museum alone, and saw about half of it. There's more than enough to do and see without spending your time on a train going somewhere else in Italy. You might want to save Florence, Venice and other cities for another trip! I highly recommend this book as a thorough guide to the city, rather than the 10 pages you'll find in some "Visit Europe" compendium.

Poor Writing and Humor--Better Guide Books Than This

I am not sure what the authors of this book were trying to do, but they definitely did not succeed in writing a historically accurate guide of Rome. The authors make unsuccessful attempts at humor, and fill the pages of this book with several glaring grammatical errors: Ex: "As the spiritual leader of millions of Catholics around the world, the pope's influence..." The dependent clause in the first part of the sentence is modified by "the pope's influence." How can the pope's influence be a spiritual leader? I don't even want to go into the "humor," because that is even worse. Usually, Let's Go guides are very witty. This guide was NOT funny, and Let's Go should find new authors. The guide had SOME useful info, and enabled me to get around the city okay, but the guide lacked the kind of historical information about Rome that one finds in the Eyewitness Guides for example. As a matter of fact, it appears that much of Let's Go Rome was derived from better-written, more historically accurate guides. There are definitely better guidebooks on the Eternal City than this one.