1st time visiting Rome with 13yr old daughter

Everyone is adamant about "the" best place to stay. The popular ones? The Pantheon area; the Termini area; the Monti; my favorite, the Trastevere; and the list could go on.

To me, think less about getting to the attractions, that can be done easily enough by foot or simple public transport. The sights are relatively close together, but do require you to head out to some, so no one place is "best situated" for the sights. What is important, is a decent neighborhood with good walking in the evening, a selection of smaller restaurants, and some good gelato places. You want your hotel within the midst of this evening walk. Maybe work on a select list of restaurants, if they fall into a grouping, look for a hotel near there.

Near a taxi stand or metro stop works best for me. Take a think about what your 13 year old likes to do at home, as that is what she will like to do in Italy. The point I'm trying to make is the Iitinary: the big 3 (Rome, Florence, Venice) in one trip is just too much city life for me. I would cut Florence and add Orvieto. I have take 3 kids to Italy for their 21st birthdays. The girls enjoyed the art, the boy enjoyed the ocean/Pompeii. All of them enjoyed Orvieto. J

I liked Hotel Smeraldo. Walkable to many sights and just a few blocks to taxi stand and buses.

A word about buses… you need to buy your tickets in advance of getting on the bus and then validate on the bus. Easiest place to purchase is machines in metro stations.

I also agree about staying in the Pantheon area that's close to many major travel sights or the Trastevere area where the best restaurants are.

We always stay out at the Ottaviano/San Pietro metro station area in a B&B. The Vatican Museum is right there, and St. Peters is down the street.

We’ve stayed in a couple locations in the past: Trastevere, and Termini x2. Our plan for Rome in 2020 (canceled due to Pandemic) was to stay in the Pantheon area, walkable to favorite sights, restaurants and transportation. It’s been fun staying in different areas over the years. I agree with Paul- “decent neighborhood with good walking in the evening, a selection of smaller restaurants, and some good gelato places.” I remember the first time we were in Rome we took a walk to the Trevi Fountain at night. Rome is magical at night. Enjoy your planning!
Edited to add: Gelato! https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/best-gelato-spots-venice-florence-rome

I’d look at staying at one of the places run by nuns. While these are commonly called convents or monasteries, they are primarily places originally for pilgrims to stay. Now they are available for everyone - you don’t need to be Roman Catholic or even Christian. We stayed at 4 different ones on our trip. I can’t imagine staying anywhere else. In Rome we stayed at Casa Maria Immacolata. Convenient to the Vatican, near a metro stop. Great prices.

We booked thru www.monasterystays.com

You can also SEARCH for this in the SEARCH bar. Also, try posting this is the ITALY section - you have it posted in the Italy REVIEWS which is a place for YOU to give US a review of your trip to Italy - you'll get lots of responses if you post this in ITALY.

I took my daughter to Venice, Florence and Rome when she was 13 on a mother daughter trip. I agree with the Hotel Smeraldo. We stayed there at it was accessible to everything. The thing my daughter remembers most Is the cat rescue near the ruins that were close to the hotel. We had to stop there every day! Have fun!

Since you have 7 nights, consider an apartment. Here are two in the Navona/Pantheon area.
You’ll have more space a balcony/terrace & a washer and probably less $$ than a hotel.

https://www.booking.com/Share-PKbnTqe

https://www.booking.com/Share-B9Yqr6

Get a streetwise map. Anything around Piazza Navona, Campo dei Fiori, or Largo Argentina is good for location. I have stayed at Della Torre Argentina which is right by Hotel Smearaldo mentioned above.

How fun! I think the big three are perfect for a 13 year old. How many days in Rome? What do you want to see? Rome is very walkable. Also with the FreeNow app you no longer need to go to a Taxi stand. We used it often on our last trip. Our daughter is studying about 25 minutes from the city center. Enjoy

I agree with Paul. Also check the fine print of each hotel on a 3rd party site (but book directly with the hotel) .. do they have wifi in the rooms, or just in common areas/ do they have a lift/ do they have a reception desk, is it attended 24/7 ... research the amenities important to you. And, "walk" around on GoogleMaps to check-out the neighborhood.

A word about clothing ... if you are planning to go to the Vatican your daughter will need to dress appropriately. Make sure she has a knee length skirt and a top with sleeves. My niece and her friends on a school trip turned up in shorts and tank tops and were refused entry. She regrets it years later that she missed out on the Sistine Chapel because she didn't believe that they would enforce the dress code.