Rick Steves - Rick Steves Rome 2018

Roman Forum

Dining near the Pantheon

Rick Steves

ROME 2018

Welcome to Rick Steves Europe

Travel is intensified livingmaximum thrills per minute and one of the last great sources of legal adventure. Travel is freedom. Its recess, and we need it.

I discovered a passion for European travel as a teen and have been sharing it ever sincethrough my tours, public television and radio shows, and travel guidebooks. Over the years, Ive taught thousands of travelers how to best enjoy Europes blockbuster sightsand experience Back Door discoveries that most tourists miss.

Written with my talented co-author, Gene Openshaw, this book offers you a balanced mix of Romes brutal but bella sightseeing: breathtaking ancient and religious sights, world-class museums, and lively people zones. And its selectiverather than listing dozens of neighborhoods, we recommend only the best ones. Our self-guided museum tours and city walks give insight into Romes vibrant history and todays living, breathing culture.

We advocate traveling simply and smartly. Take advantage of our money- and time-saving tips on sightseeing, transportation, and more. Try local, characteristic alternatives to expensive hotels and restaurants. In many ways, spending more money only builds a thicker wall between you and what you traveled so far to see.

We visit Rome to experience itto become temporary locals. Thoughtful travel engages us with the world, as we learn to appreciate other cultures and new ways to measure quality of life.

Judging from the positive feedback we receive from readers, this book will help you enjoy a fun, affordable, and rewarding vacationwhether its your first trip or your tenth.

Buon viaggio! Happy travels!

Rome is magnificent and brutal at the same time. Its a showcase of Western civilization, with astonishingly ancient sights and a modern vibrancy. But if youre careless, youll be run down or pickpocketed. And with the wrong attitude, youll be frustrated by the kind of chaos that only an Italian can understand. On my last visit, a cabbie struggling with the traffic said, Roma chaos. I responded, Bella chaos. He agreed.

Rome is a magnificent tangled urban forest. If your hotel provides a comfortable refuge; if you pace yourself; if you embrace the siesta plan; if youre well-organized for sightseeing; and if you protect yourself and your valuables, youll love it. (And Rome is much easier to live with if you can avoid the midsummer heat.)

More than two thousand years ago the word Rome meant civilization itself. Everything was either civilized (part of the Roman world) or barbarian. Today, Rome is Italys political capital, the capital of Catholicism, and the center of its ancient empire, littered with evocative remains. As you peel through its fascinating and jumbled layers, youll find Romes buildings, cats, laundry, traffic, and 2.8 million people endlessly entertaining. And then, of course, there are its stupendous sights.

Visit St. Peters, the greatest church on earth, and scale Michelangelos 448-foot-tall dome. Learn something about eternity at the huge Vatican Museums, where the story of creation is bright as the day it was painted in the restored Sistine Chapel. Do the Caesar Shuffle through ancient Romes Forum and Colosseum. Savor the sumptuous Borghese Gallery, and take an early evening Dolce Vita Stroll down Via del Corso with Romes beautiful people. Dine well at least once. Stop often for gelato. And enjoy an after-dark walk from Campo de Fiori to the Spanish Steps, lacing together Romes Baroque and bubbly nightspots.

Rick Steves Rome 2018 is a personal tour guide in your pocket. Better yet, its actually two tour guides in your pocket: The co-author of this book is Gene Openshaw. Since our first Europe through the gutter trip together as high school buddies in the 1970s, Gene and I have been exploring the wonders of the Old World. An inquisitive historian and lover of European culture, Gene wrote most of this books self-guided museum tours and neighborhood walks. Together, Gene and I keep this book current (though for simplicity, from this point we will shed our respective egos and become I).