Rome apartment what area?

[Az's Cruising Nana]

We are planning a precruise stay in Rome for October 2017. Looking at maps it is difficult to tell how far away some attractions are. We would like a place that is fairly central to some attractions and within walking distance of some markets and places to eat. I would like to hear from cruisers that have done this and your recommendations. Apartments near the vatican come up a lot and are reasonable. How high traffic is that area or is Rome in general a high traffic area? Thanks in advance.

 

Sue

[sippican]

We rented an apartment in Rome for this coming fall. After extensive research we decided we wanted to be in the area of the Pantheon, Plaza Navona and Campo de'Fiori (central and easiliy walkable). I searched on a numbr of sites, VRBO, TripAdvisor, etc., and chose a charming apartment with a balcony that directly overlooks Plaza Navonna. It costs no more than some of the mid to upper range hotels, and the view alone is a huge bonus.

Some websites do have maps of the lodgings in relation to major attractions; that should make it a little easier to narrow your options.

Edited March 8, 2016 by sippican

[Az's Cruising Nana]

We rented an apartment in Rome for this coming fall. After extensive research we decided we wanted to be in the area of the Pantheon, Plaza Navona and Campo de'Fiori (central and easiliy walkable). I searched on a numbr of sites, VRBO, TripAdvisor, etc., and chose a charming apartment with a balcony that directly overlooks Plaza Navonna. It costs no more than some of the mid to upper range hotels, and the view alone is a huge bonus.

Some websites do have maps that make it a little easire to narrow your options.

 

Hopefully you'll come back and let us know how it was. Sounds magnificent!

 

Sue

[TMLAalum]

We rented a penthouse apartment for 6 on Via Guilia that overlooked the Tiber River. We saved quite a bit over hotel rooms. I recommend booking based on Location and Reviews. Rome is a walkable city and you can visit most key attractions on foot. The Colosseum is a bit further from the centro storico which incluses Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiore, and the Pantheon area.

[Lutèce]

Also, Rome has a very good bus system, so look at the route maps and even if you're a bit further out from the centre, it's easy and cheap to get there. I can't remember where I got the bus map from, but it must have been somewhere online (and not in Italian!):)

[Lutèce]

PS if you study the map carefully, you can do your own HOHO bus trip at a fraction of the cost

[cruisemom42]

I would not, in general, recommend the Vatican area if you want to be in the center of things. The Vatican is sort of the "outlier" in terms of major Rome sites. You're much better off looking for somewhere near the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona or Campo di Fiori.

 

I'm curious why you ask about traffic -- are you planning to have a car? That's something I wouldn't really recommend in Rome..... it's not needed, can be difficult and expensive to find parking, and there are a lot of "no go" areas in the city for cars.

[Az's Cruising Nana]

I would not, in general, recommend the Vatican area if you want to be in the center of things. The Vatican is sort of the "outlier" in terms of major Rome sites. You're much better off looking for somewhere near the Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona or Campo di Fiori.

 

I'm curious why you ask about traffic -- are you planning to have a car? That's something I wouldn't really recommend in Rome..... it's not needed, can be difficult and expensive to find parking, and there are a lot of "no go" areas in the city for cars.

 

People traffic.....no NOT renting a car! I just figured some areas would be busier foot traffic wise then others.

 

Sue

[azmaui]

We also decided on apartment between campo di fiori and piazza navona, seems like it's perfect location for walking around and exploring :)

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Thank you for the information. We are traveling with the OP and I was also looking at the options. I did see some god options near the Vatican that were also on the bus route. The reviews seemed to indicate that made it easy to get to other areas of the city. How easy is it to take the bus for us non-Italian speakers?

[cruisemom42]

Thank you for the information. We are traveling with the OP and I was also looking at the options. I did see some god options near the Vatican that were also on the bus route. The reviews seemed to indicate that made it easy to get to other areas of the city. How easy is it to take the bus for us non-Italian speakers?

 

It's not that the buses are not easy to use. (They are, but do not expect the driver to speak English -- you will need to know where you're headed and when [approximately] to get off....)

 

But a good many of the neighborhoods around the Vatican are very quiet at night, without much going on. You will likely have limited choices for a restaurant for dinner, for example, and unless you want to be going back and forth on the bus during the day, you won't be able to just drop by your apartment to take a brief rest or freshen up or drop off a shopping bag...

 

Personally, I would always choose a slightly less roomy or attractive option in order to be closer in to "what's going on" in Rome. But not everyone feels the same -- some people like a more quiet area. If that's the case, then proceed. :)

Edited March 14, 2016 by cruisemom42

[travel123456]

We rented an apartment about a block from the Spanish steps. The location was perfect as there are lots of restaurants and grocery stores around plus there is a train station right there for getting around town. We were also able to walk to many of the sites. Much cheaper and more relaxed than staying in a hotel.

[sunfan03]

I think you have to decide what your priorities are...location to places to eat and/or sightsee, price, proximity to public transportation.

 

When I was in Rome 2 years ago, I was amazed at how easy it was to use the subway system...so when looking for a place this Fall, that was our priority. I figured, if we're close to the subway then we can get anywhere we want in Rome. So we have a location close to the Termini, very reasonably priced for our large group. We're good with using public transport.

[CathyCruises]

And we are just the opposite. We find no benefit in being close to the train station, which is quite a distance from the main sites. We know because we stayed there on our first overnight in Rome. Subsequent to that, we have stayed in the Centro storico and been much happier. Very easy to walk every place we want to go without having to mess with the subway or buses, many restaurants and bistros nearby, beautiful place to stroll in the evening. And when or if we need to get to the train station, it's just a cab ride away.

 

I personally don't find the subway system being convenient for tourists. In my experience it's not very good for tourists at all, basically just a big X. If you have limited time in Rome, it's not going to get you close to most of the things you're going to want to see. Yes you can take it from termini to the colosseum, but then what?

 

For our next trip, we have found what appears to be a very cute B&B 100 m from Campo di Fiore with breakfast included for $126 a night. If it works out I will post the name here so other people can take advantage of it.

[samavarcruiser]

We rented an apartment in Rome for this coming fall. After extensive research we decided we wanted to be in the area of the Pantheon, Plaza Navona and Campo de'Fiori (central and easiliy walkable). I searched on a numbr of sites, VRBO, TripAdvisor, etc., and chose a charming apartment with a balcony that directly overlooks Plaza Navonna. It costs no more than some of the mid to upper range hotels, and the view alone is a huge bonus.

Some websites do have maps of the lodgings in relation to major attractions; that should make it a little easier to narrow your options.

 

Piazza navone and specially Campo di fiori are very crowded during the night, you won't be able to sleep, is noisy and not recommended. I would recommend you Pantheon area which is also my favorite :)

[kuldalai]

Apartment wise for central walkability and quieter at night YES go for area near Pantheon . From there you can walk to St Peters, Vatican Museum, Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Campo de Fiori, Piazza Farnesse, Castel de St Angelo and Church of St Andrea de Valle.

Edited March 22, 2016 by kuldalai

[sippican]

Piazza navone and specially Campo di fiori are very crowded during the night, you won't be able to sleep, is noisy and not recommended. I would recommend you Pantheon area which is also my favorite :)

 

I appreciate your input, however, reviews of the actual accommodations indicate that sleep quality was excellent!

Sorry if you exoerienced sleepless nights, but my research touted those areas as highly desirable. I'll be sure to report back (and bring my earplugs, lol)!

[samavarcruiser]

I appreciate your input, however, reviews of the actual accommodations indicate that sleep quality was excellent!

Sorry if you exoerienced sleepless nights, but my research touted those areas as highly desirable. I'll be sure to report back (and bring my earplugs, lol)!

 

Just to make sure, keep your earplugs with yourself :)

I have been there ....

[tel2]

I have stayed twice in an apartment on campo de fiori with a balcony. With the balcony doors open, one can certainly hear the music and activity both at night and during the market hours. Maybe this apartment just has good soundproofing, but with the air on and the doors closed, we didnt hear a thing, and we are staying in the same apartment again in late April.

 

Terry

[sippican]

I have stayed twice in an apartment on campo de fiori with a balcony. With the balcony doors open, one can certainly hear the music and activity both at night and during the market hours. Maybe this apartment just has good soundproofing, but with the air on and the doors closed, we didnt hear a thing, and we are staying in the same apartment again in late April.

 

Terry

 

Thank you for this. :)

That backs up the reviews from previous tenants who stated that the apartment we are renting was very quiet at night.

We do have a balcony over the Plaza Navona so we are very excited to be able to have a "front row seat". A bottle of wine should help too!

Edited March 24, 2016 by sippican

[Host Bonjour]

We are planning a precruise stay in Rome for October 2017. Looking at maps it is difficult to tell how far away some attractions are. We would like a place that is fairly central to some attractions and within walking distance of some markets and places to eat. I would like to hear from cruisers that have done this and your recommendations. Apartments near the vatican come up a lot and are reasonable. How high traffic is that area or is Rome in general a high traffic area? Thanks in advance.

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue,

 

I stayed in an apartment near the Villa Borghese, right off the Via Veneto on Via Lombardia. For me it felt possible to divide the city into equ-distant segments that I could walk to each day and devote my time to...I never had to use mass transit but I was able to manage the walking (of course I took breaks) each day. It was May, the weather was brilliant. There were restaurants/shops in the area of the apartment so dinner was always easy to take care of. Definitely quiet around the Vatican, but then it is it's own city and rather set apart by the river - scenic, but quiet - except in St. Peter's Square which of course is quite busy during the day. Castel Sant'Angelo is something to see, though, at night - it's lit up and looks glorious. Don't think I'd want to stay in that area....just a bit too remote BUT if it saves a LOT of money - I might consider it.

 

Rome is a busy European city and it's especially busy near the most popular attractions but you are traveling in October which means it won't be dreadfully crowded, but...it won't be quiet..weekdays are always more quiet than weekends, if that helps. In any event, you'll love it...it's one of the greatest, most fascinating cities in the world :) Enjoy and have fun planning your holiday.

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Hi Sue,

 

I stayed in an apartment near the Villa Borghese, right off the Via Veneto on Via Lombardia. For me it felt possible to divide the city into equ-distant segments that I could walk to each day and devote my time to...I never had to use mass transit but I was able to manage the walking (of course I took breaks) each day. It was May, the weather was brilliant. There were restaurants/shops in the area of the apartment so dinner was always easy to take care of. Definitely quiet around the Vatican, but then it is it's own city and rather set apart by the river - scenic, but quiet - except in St. Peter's Square which of course is quite busy during the day. Castel Sant'Angelo is something to see, though, at night - it's lit up and looks glorious. Don't think I'd want to stay in that area....just a bit too remote BUT if it saves a LOT of money - I might consider it.

 

Rome is a busy European city and it's especially busy near the most popular attractions but you are traveling in October which means it won't be dreadfully crowded, but...it won't be quiet..weekdays are always more quiet than weekends, if that helps. In any event, you'll love it...it's one of the greatest, most fascinating cities in the world :) Enjoy and have fun planning your holiday.

 

Unfortunately my husband is mobility challenged so a lot of walking is out. We will be saving the walking for the sites we are visiting. How close was the mass transit to where you stayed? I like the idea of breaking the city into 4 quadrants might make the sightseeing decisions a little easier. Thanks!

[Host Bonjour]

Unfortunately my husband is mobility challenged so a lot of walking is out. We will be saving the walking for the sites we are visiting. How close was the mass transit to where you stayed? I like the idea of breaking the city into 4 quadrants might make the sightseeing decisions a little easier. Thanks!

 

Hi!

 

I'm sorry to hear there are mobility issues but transit should help you both be able to manage getting around in Rome - glad you're still getting out and about :)

 

There are many bus lines running along the Via Veneto, each of course going to different sections of the city. There are maps of the Rome bus service online - the one I am looking at right now is a bit cluttered but there are trip planners that make it easy - which might probably help you work out the details. The Metro is fairly nearby but I'm thinking that would likely be too difficult to manage - the buses should work out alright.

 

Planning the days by quadrant or section definitely made it much more manageable and enjoyable. The city isn't so very large but there IS quite a lot to take in - of course one must never get overwhelmed trying to see it all but just choose whatever feels most alluring and stick to it, allowing for a bit of spontaneous discovery along the way.

 

Hope you find a convenient, well priced apartment near transit to enjoy this glorious city. Buona Fortuna

[Az's Cruising Nana]

Hi!

 

I'm sorry to hear there are mobility issues but transit should help you both be able to manage getting around in Rome - glad you're still getting out and about :)

 

There are many bus lines running along the Via Veneto, each of course going to different sections of the city. There are maps of the Rome bus service online - the one I am looking at right now is a bit cluttered but there are trip planners that make it easy - which might probably help you work out the details. The Metro is fairly nearby but I'm thinking that would likely be too difficult to manage - the buses should work out alright.

 

Planning the days by quadrant or section definitely made it much more manageable and enjoyable. The city isn't so very large but there IS quite a lot to take in - of course one must never get overwhelmed trying to see it all but just choose whatever feels most alluring and stick to it, allowing for a bit of spontaneous discovery along the way.

 

Hope you find a convenient, well priced apartment near transit to enjoy this glorious city. Buona Fortuna

 

 

Host Bonjour,

 

since you seem knowledgeable about Rome I am going to ask you another question. What do you know about the Castro Pretorio area? I have found an apartment in this neighborhood to accomodate our group of 10. However it almost seems to good to be true pricewise. What can you tell me about the area? Anyone else familiar with this neighborhood please jump in here.

 

Thanks,

Sue

Edited May 7, 2016 by Az's Cruising Nana

[euro cruiser]

Staying off Via Veneto, or on/near the top of any of the big hills, is a poor choice for someone with mobility issues.