Has anyone used the RS audio tours available on this web site? We were hoping to use them instead of the museum audioguides for Uffizi, Colloseum, Vatican, St. Peter's. I'd love some feedback.
Posted by
Northborough, MA
636 posts
I haven't used them, but I have downloaded them all, and my family of 5 will all be armed with their iPods to use them!
As for the Vatican, as far as I know, he doesn't have one for the Vatican Museum, just for the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's.
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
Haven't used RS audio tours for Italy. I did download several RS audio tours from iTunes for Paris and London museums and found them to be very helpful.
Besides Rick Steves, you may also want to download other free museum tours, city walks or general information podcasts off iTunes by doing a search through their "travel" podcast section. You'll find good offerings from Frommer's, Rough Guide, etc.
Posted by
Newport Beach, CA, USA
769 posts
simple solution - download them for free and listen to them (take a walk around town - and pretend!)
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
Margaret - I have downloaded all of RS audio tours and when friends come they use those, combined with the accompanying maps. Using both together seems to provide more context and clarity.
I would have to say they are helpful for providing a broad overview. I've listened to the St. Peter's, Pantheon, Coloseum, and Forum audios and they give a good intial impression.
Yet at the Ufizi, because the museum was so poorly marked (2006), my wife went back and got the more detailed audioguide that had the "museum matching numbers"...
BTW, There are plenty of other "free" Italy MP3 websites out there with "Audio Guides." They include but are not limited to:
http://www.italyguides.it/us/roma/download_audioguide/free_ipod_mp3/ipodguides.htm
Posted by
Northborough, MA
636 posts
Thanks, Ron. If anyone knows of an audio tour for the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, please post it here. Thanks!
Posted by
OP
Bel Air, MD, USA
261 posts
Thanks, Ron. Did your wife find the audioguide at the Uffizi better than the RS one? I have 2 teenagers who don't like art museums, but will tolerate them with audio guides (They would never admit to liking an art museum.)
Posted by
The Hague, NL (AMS)
2207 posts
Margaret - my wife found the Uffizi audio more effective because there was much more detail and they had the matching #'s near the pictures you could punch in. RS was informative but did not have the depth of detail (at least that's what I was told - I just got the play-by-play!).
The Uffizi is incredible, yet not labeled very well. As you cross from one wing to the other you are directly over the Arno and looking down onto the Ponte Vecchio. The building design is what intruiged me - especially the ceilings! We spent hours wandering through the Uffizi.
From a teenager's perspective, there are some very recognizable pieces such as Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus."
Posted by
Santa Clara, CA
1 posts
Yes, my husband and I used every single one of them last year on our trip and they are amazingly wonderful. Just enough detail and easy to follow. We could pause if we wanted to as well. Print out the simple maps that go with them and you'll have a great experience. By the way, my husband was not enthusiastic about using them until we tried one. They were so easy and he enjoyed them so much, that he asked if there was one for every other site we went to. And, it's so much lighter to carry the Ipod than the guide book(s). They kept us from getting overwhelmed, particularly at the Vatican. Enjoy!!