First, a word of caution: Beware too much information. Browsing for guidebooks can lead to overload and overload to confusion. Proliferation of choice, when it comes to travel, can work against you. Remember that your trip comes ahead of the book that’s supposed to help it. Remember that a book is just an aid. You can actually travel without one and have good time. Or you can pick one, eyes closed, and get by just fine.
That said, “Time Out” Rome, “The Rough Guide to Rome,” and “Rick Steves’ Rome” are all worthy. Guidebooks are a bit like cookbooks. It’s a matter of taste and method. Time Out is unquestionably the best-written of the bunch. That’s their British tradition, keen wit, scalding insight. For example, an essay on “Art in Rome” the current book is subtitled, ” So many virgins, so little time…” A recent short essay on Vatican museums was called “Blame Dan Brown” and cited “a purgatory of endless queues.” Typical “Time Out.” At the same time, “Time Out” is strong on night life and alternative lifestyles. If you’re twenty-something or a reader, “Time Out” is the way to go.
“The Rough Guide to Rome” has some nice touches. There’s a “Contexts” section that includes some excerpts of writing about the city and some astute book recommendations. Its listings sections, including eating, drinking, and nightlife is less sassy and more approachable than TO’s. It’s also got a useful kids department (good day trip recommendations). Rome, says the guide, is an “overgrown village.” That’s so true of Rome because it’s still so deeply provincial. It’s a fax culture when most of the EU has moved on to the web. That’s just one example.
Rick Steves‘ Rome guide, updated annually, reads more like a long monologue. It relies on some keen observations here and there. What it lacks in maps (there are none to speak of) by keeping it real. The Sistine Chapel entry “(“Understanding What You’re Standing Under”) begins “The ceiling shows the history of the world before the birth of Jesus.” In fact, the whole religious/Vatican section is strong.
Frommer’s and Fodor’s have a book, so do Cadogan and National Geographic Traveler. There’s Michelin Green Guide Bruce Murphy & Alessandra de Rosa “Rome for Dummies” and last but not at all least Georgina Masson’s “The Companion Guide to Rome,” which lists excellent walks.
The upside of books is that they help, the downside is that you have you nose buried so deep that you’re not smelling the roses. Try reading up ahead of time but leaving the book itself in the hotel room. Do that once. You owe it to yourself to appreciate awe without having all of it qualified and quantified.