2026-08-27
8 分钟The Economist.
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As the midday sun beats down in Rome, tourists realise with relief that it is time for a pizza.
But which one?
Lonely Planet, the best-selling guidebook series, recommends Antico Forno Rocioli's Delectable Slices.
TripAdvisor's top pick is Dacicero, near the Trevi Fountain, with more than 2,000 five-star reviews.
TikTok-famous spots include Piccolo Bucco, identifiable by its long queue of hungry Gen Zs.
The way travellers have found inspiration and itineraries has evolved over the centuries.
Early Victorian travellers were shepherded around foreign lands by travel agents such as Thomas Cook,
who offered English tourists protection from the horrors of continental railway porters,
tobacco or onion-scented blue-frocked varlets, as Cook described them.
Some tourists still prefer to have their hand held, but many go independently.
Guides such as Francis, Routard, direct travellers to the best spots.
A mention in The Lonely Planet is still enough to fill a Bangkok hostel or Kathmandu curry house.
The internet has changed things thrice.
First, review platforms like TripAdvisor have harnessed the wisdom
of crowds to rate everything from Britain's pubs to Egypt's pyramids.