Can GPS work for walking around Rome?

The battery life will be too short to do you much good. The signal might be obscured by adjacent buidlings when you're in their satellite shadow. You'll walk into walls looking at the machine. Get a pocket map somewhere.

Thanks Ed, thats what I thought, I got a good map and really don't care if we get lost. We have been lost all over Europe and loved it. Just thought I would ask. Thanks again, Russ

To a good map, I'll add a compass. It's amazing how easy it is to get turned around in Rome (and Venice, fwiw).

A GPS device in a city with buildings and narrow winding streets isn't very accurate or useful. Map and compass were the most useful.

Russ, I tend to differ from the majority here. I routinely use a GPS unit for walking around Rome and other cities. It works well for the most part, but there are two things that moderate some of the problems. In terms of using it between tall buildings, I find that it helps to allow the unit to find the satellites before going between the buildings. Regarding the battery life, I tend to use it only when required and leave it switched off the rest of the time. Happy travels!

I'm with the " get a map" crowd. The city isn't so big that there will be a lot of open space for you to navigate. It's really compact and the sites tend to flow into one another. A map is really all you need, along with good walking shoes, but it's up to you. I wouldn't take the added weight of a hand held GPS. Donna

Ken, I remember a thread with lots of info on GPS which batteries were superior to the driving GPS. ( Yes, I know most GPS have the driving or pedestrian or biking modes)
Can't find the thread now- anyone else remember that? I enjoy having a GPS in my daypack and thought I remembered it was a hiking model, but with street names instead of topo maps...? Bueller, anyone?

I don't really invest in maps, you can find one that works well enough to get around at the TI. I do like a compass, especially at night. I have a small plastic one that slips over my watchband for travel. I also have an even smaller one on a zipper pull that I put on my daypack zipper.

Just make sure you have it in a walking mode. I used it in Florence and thought it was great until I realized it was taking me forever to get places. I finally realized it would not let me walk the wrong way done one way streets because it didn't know I wasn't in a car.

As far as battery life is concerned. I bought my wife a GPS with a 3 1/2" screen (rather than 5") because the battery life was supposed to be longer. She drives a company car in the day the doesn't have power outlets so charges her GPS on the way to work and back, then uses it during the day. She only turns it on when she needs it, so far it's working pretty well.