Rick Steves' Rome 2014 - Couverture souple

Rick Steves has spent 100 days every year since 1973 exploring Europe. Rick produces a public television series (Rick Steves' Europe), a public radio show (Travel with Rick Steves), and an app and podcast (Rick Steves Audio Europe); writes a bestselling series of guidebooks and a nationally syndicated newspaper column; organizes guided tours that take thousands of travelers to Europe annually; and offers an information-packed website (RickSteves.com). With the help of his hardworking staff of 80 at Europe Through the Back Door—in Edmonds, Washington, just north of Seattle—Rick's mission is to make European travel fun, affordable, and culturally broadening for Americans.

Gene Openshaw is a writer, composer, tour guide, and lecturer on art and history. Specializing in writing walking tours of Europe's cultural sights, Gene has coauthored eight of Rick's books and contributes to Rick's public television series. As a composer, Gene has written a full-length opera (Matter), a violin sonata, and dozens of songs. He lives near Seattle with his daughter, and roots for the Mariners in good times and bad.

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in the Eternal City of Rome.

With the self-guided tours in this book, you'll walk the same streets as the Caesars and discover the secrets of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum. Learn how to avoid the lines at the Vatican Museum and St. Peter's Basilica. Take a night walk across the city and enjoy floodlit fountains and piazzas. Then grab a sidewalk table at the locals' favorite trattoria and watch the world go by.

Rick's candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants. You'll learn how to navigate the Rome Metro and which sights are worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.