Rick Steves Travel Guides - Genoa, Italy?

RS doesn’t have info on every town in Italy. Lonely Planet has a guide on Genoa and there’s always the internet and booking.com.

See the webmaster's post on this thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/netherlands/kinderdijk-windmills-from-delft

For Genoa's tourism website, if you've not found it yet:

https://www.visitgenoa.it/en

If comprehensive info is not included in the guides, it may be that fewer rather then more choose to go there.

I like Eyewitness Travel guidebook a a starting point for cities not covered by Rick Steves guidebooks. As I see it, a book can have extensive information on some cities or just a short synopsis for many cities. Otherwise, there'd be books with ten of thousands of pages.

Don't get me wrong, for the cities RS covers, I really like the format and the way he presents the information--top sites, self tours and connections to other cities. I do always supplement with other guidebooks.

Someone can correct me, but initially, or even now, to some extent, the guidebooks are used with the Rick Steves tours.

Perhaps if Rick wrote 100 pages on Genoa, it would become overwhelmed like Cinque Terre, is one way to look at things.

I'll say it a little differently. I think the RS guidebooks are written for people who have not been to a country before, and focus on those cities and places which RS thinks a US tourist would most likely be interested. It's never been intended to be a comprehensive review of whole countries. There are plenty of places in each book that are not on any tour.

As I understand it, when Rick started out he was having local classes for people interested in going on his van tours. He put his notes in a handout that people enjoyed reading, and the guidebooks took off on their own.

Yes they do still provide the appropriate guidebook, if there is one, to people going on their tours. One reason being for people to figure out what sights or activities people might want to plan for their free time.

I’m also upset that Rick Steves does not mention in his guide the cities of Taranto or Foggia. They are contenders for the title of “ugliest city in Europe” and I think that it would be worthwhile to divert some of the Cinque Terre crowds to those locations so that those cities can enjoy some tourism too.

From the horse's mouth:

Some guidebooks (like mine) are more opinionated and selective, choosing only the most worthwhile destinations in each country and covering them in depth.

Roberto, your comment makes me want to visit those two cities! I've driven past Taranto many times but never driven INTO the city, and from what I read, it is becoming more and more welcoming to the tourist.

For info on Genoa, look at the two David Downie guides to Liguria.

When I was serving in Italy I came across a Navy Sergeant (Petty Officer in US Navy) who was based at Taranto Navy Base (the largest in Italy). He told me that Taranto was the ugliest and most disgusting city in Italy. He also added that it should not be surprising. He said that when one steps on a piece of dog excrement the place when it is hardest to remove it from the bottom of a boot is at the corner of the heel and the sole. Then he added: “ did you notice where Taranto is in the Italian boot?”.
Later that year I happened to spend 10 days in Taranto as a guest of a guy from Taranto who was serving with me in Florence. Taranto Vecchia, basically the small island between Mar grande and Mar Piccolo, was pretty, although run down (and at the time a bit dangerous) and the fortress (Aragonese castle) was also majestic, but I think the ugliness refers to the huge steel plant complex (now decommissioned and highly toxic) which could be seen from everywhere. For sure I enjoyed the beaches nearby south of the city.

I have come to think of Rick Steves Travel Guides as starter guidebooks. I read my first one planning our honeymoon to Italy (and my first trip to Western Europe) many years ago. Over time, as we became more experienced travelers and knew our own style better, we needed supplemental information from other, more comprehensive guidebooks more. But, because we learned how to travel from Rick Steves, we knew how to interpret the information in those other guidebooks better than we would have without Rick Steves. I still think the RS guidebooks have the best introductions to cities. I feel like I know what to expect so much more from those descriptions than from other guidebooks and like to do the walking tours on my first day in a new city. I'll always read a RS guidebook if it is available for where I'm going, but I'll never read just that anymore. I mean this all as a compliment; Rick Steves really taught me how to travel. If the guidebooks weren't as selective as they are, I don't think they could have done that.

That said, my last trip and my upcoming trip to Italy are to places that aren't covered in the RS guidebooks.

Finally, in the first RS Italy guidebook I read, he said that in Italy gelato is its own budget category. So, we kept records of what we spent on gelato separate from our other food expenses. And he was spot on about the amazing rice gelato near Santa Croce in Florence.

I agree that the RS guides are wonderful for novice travelers IF headed for the most popular destinations in a country. The trouble I see with the hotel and restaurant recommendations is that, with so many people vying for a room or a table, those places mentioned in the guidebooks tend to be patronized by many tourists and might even be difficult to get a spot due to the overwhelming demand from the guidebook readers. I think I would avoid restaurants mentioned in the guides, for that reason. But again, they are a fabulous resource for people new to traveling in a particular country.

I do see however, a few people who post on these forums who seem to think that the only destinations worth visiting are those mentioned in the guidebooks....