Buongiorno! I’m in the heart of Venice, at a beautiful viewing point on the Ponte dei Carmini. Join me now for a peek at the gondola action that keeps the canals busy.
If you’re heading this way too, you can pick up the latest edition of my Rick Steves Venice guidebook here. Happy travels!
Rome may have lots of crowds, but only three essential sights are difficult to see without advance reservations: the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, and the Borghese Gallery. And each of these lets on-the-ball visitors make reservations in advance online. A 10-minute walk from the tourist-infested Colosseum is a free-standing ruin of nearly equal vastness — the impressive Baths of Caracalla. It’s unique in that for 1,500 years it has stood as a ruin, with nothing built around or on top of it. Today, with a good imagination, you can picture Rome at its zenith. Join tour guide Francesca Caruso and me for a stroll through the baths, 1,800 years ago.
In Rome, most tourists clamor to see the famed outdoor sights (the Colosseum, Forum, etc.) — often neglecting the indoor sights. The National Museum of Rome in Palazzo Massimo is a fine example. I’m here with Roman guide Francesca Caruso, who I’m lucky to have at my side as I update my Rick Steves Rome guidebook. Join us now for a dinner party in the villa of Empress Livia.