DK Travel Guide for Rome
Recently I discussed the value of the DK Eyewitness travel guides. I mentioned that I had read some reviews suggesting that the Rome book was weak. I did not find this to be true, at least for my purposes. I didn’t really need information on shopping districts, hotels, nightclubs, and the like, which is one area of criticism that people have of the Rome book. What the book does have, however, is great maps and guides to the art, architecture, and sights. I’ve scanned a page so that you can see what the book looks like. The pictures help you identify where you are and what you are seeing. It’s a very visually appealing book. Compared to other books where there’s lots of text and little in the way of images, the DK book is an outstanding value. Admittedly, the other books (Frommer’s and Fodor’s) provide better practical information about how to travel and get along.
Also, I never heard of Rick Steves (I don’t watch all those travel shows) until a friend mentioned she didn’t like him even though he’s wildly popular. I did stumble onto his website which offered free audio tours of Rome. I used those. I found them to be very helpful if somewhat cheesy. Ok, more than somewhat. Rick Steves is annoyingly hoaky, but his information is quite enlightening. We used tours for the Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Forum and Colosseum, the Sistine Chapel, the Accademia/David, and the Uffizi. (Note: I included links to the mp3s but you should go to the page to get the maps.) The website will release several additional tours next month. Unfortunately, there is no tour of the Palatine Hill, which you visit when you see the Forum and Colosseum.
I love audio tours. I love their little accompanying maps and the information that they give you that you would otherwise know nothing about. Yes, I recognize that the “frame” the experience (as do tour books), but I want that framing. I like having categories to store things in and sometimes, especially on vacation, I don’t like having to do the work of creating those categories. I did spend time visiting wikipedia after a day’s worth of sightseeing to understand things more in depth. That, however, is still framing. Some people are condescending about structured tours, tour guides, guide books, audio guides and the like. They think they want to experience their sightseeing in an unmediated manner. But since when is anything unmediated? Since when is any experience of any famous site “natural”? On the flip side, I do recognize that while Steves presents the information in a neutral if corny tone, the frame is still interpretive. I didn’t want to spend time thinking about any ideological agenda, though. I was too in awe of everything to bother. Sort of like visiting Disney – at some point you turn off the critical thinking and just have fun.
DK Travel page for Trastevere
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