Best Area to Stay in Rome

We arrived in Rome yesterday and are staying just SE of Campo de Fiori, between the Campo and the Tiber. We had a very easy trip into Rome from the airport and had a lovely afternoon and evening exploring our immediate and surrounding neighborhoods. Absolutely lovely!

Danielle,

That's the eternal question that's often asked about the eternal city. Each of us here have our preferences, and I usually like to stay close to Roma Termini as it's so darn convenient for transportation (especially to the airport). It may be challenging to get a booking in some hotels for September, but you could try Hotel Sonya or Hotel Aberdeen. For other areas, check the guidebook.

I prefer the Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori/Pantheon area. Accommodation depends on your price range, I usually pay about €110 for a single with bath and breakfast.

To get to the airport, a taxi is about €45, I think, could be a little more, or take the Leonardo Express from Roma Termini to FCO for a bit more than half that amount, plus € and time to get to Temini. Reserve a taxi the night before, especially if you have an early flight (get to FCO three hours ahead).

To prepare for your trip to Rome, I suggest you read RonInRome.com. He's already answered just about any question you could possibly have about visiting this great city.

Echoes David's reply above. Start with Roninrome.com

Ron in Rome does a great job with a lot of things, but the hotel lists he gives are "the best" as defined by several booking sites. If you use the site to help you determine a neighborhood, it can be helpful, but the "top 10/25" list approach is kind of limiting in my mind. There are many places besides the "top whatever" to stay. I think the OP is asking more about the neighborhood to start. Rick Steves also does a great job of describing Rome's options in terms of area. You will also be surprised at how small Rome really is. From Piazza Navona you can be at the Colosseo or St. Peter's in about 20 minutes on foot.

As Zoe said, a cab to FCO is really the most efficient no matter where you stay. For two people, the cost is about equal to bus to Termini and train to FCO, and far more convenient, especially early in the morning!

A vote for Trastavere! Convenient to everything. We took a short taxi ride to the local train station and a train to the airport when departing.

Cynthia

I heartily agree with PonyGirl. Trastevre is a great area is walk to St.Peters great history ,restaurants easy to catch transportation great neighborhood.

Like Ken, we prefer the Termini area for convenience to local transit. Wife prefers Hotel Sonya over Aberdeen because she thinks the morning lattes are better. If they are, it is a small difference but whom am I to argue. Rooms are very similar. Sonya is a couple blocks closer to Termini. We like the restaurants in the area of both hotels. We have stayed at the Aberdeen twice and Sonya three times. Either hotel is on the edge of the sites so it is a good ten/fifteen minute walk to everything but the Vatican. Vatican is closer to an hour walk. But just take the notorious bus 64.

Zoe is spot on - Piazza Navona/Campo dei Fiori/Pantheon.

I have stayed near termini (once) and in the piazza navona neighborhood (twice). Enjoyed both but have a preference for the piazza navona area as it is very easy to reach all sights by foot in 30 min or less. This neighborhood seemed to have more restaurant/nightlife options but it is possible we didn't explore enough near termini and could be mistaken.
For transfers to/from the airport, if you have two or more people a taxi is probably the most convenient option that will come to almost the same price as the Leonardo express train. Glad to share specifics on the hotels we've stayed at if interested!

Happy travels

-Crystal

We always stay at Hotel Aberdeen near the Termini. We like the convenience to walk to the train station. It is close to the underground an plenty of buses, and the neighborhood has good restaurants (this time two were right next door "Target" and "Feel Good". There is also great shopping up and down a main street.

Another vote for Termini - although you don't have to stay right ON the station. We've stayed some blocks away and found it to be convenient to quite a lot of attractions. IMHO, It's a good location for first-timers because of easy access to the trains and metro.

Then again, we've stayed up in Prati and loved that area too: felt a little more residential than some other locations in the city. The nice thing about Rome is that there are so many 'right' places in the center that it's hard to go wrong!

Stayed 1 min from campo De Fiori and highly recommend it. Walked to every sight in Rome walk to markets to get breakfast. Great bakeries, great cafes, great people. Loved it. Would definitely stay there again when I return to Rome.

Camp di Fiori and it is a great location to stay. We rented a lovely apartment from Accomodations Rome on a quiet street. There is a COOP (grocery store) and Punto (grocery store) close by and lots of wonderful vendors at Campo during the day. It is close to many neighborhoods and sites and a walk across the Tiber has many shops and restaurants too. Since the nearest taxi stand to us in at the Pantheon we used a car service to take us to the airport which is 50 Euros ( a taxi is 48 Euros). You can also take the Metro or bus to Termini station (which is incredibly busy) and catch a taxi there.

A vote for Piazza Navona here. Super convenient, lots of taxis for 48 Euros when it's time to go to the airport. Most of the major sites are a half hour or less walk

There is a taxi stand just outside Piazza Navona, in fact there are two, one just north of Campo dei Fiori and another just north of the Piazza's north entrance.

Hi first time stayed in campo area and was great, centrally located. In May stayed in Monti neighborhood, not far from Termini, near Ancient Rome sites. Great restaurants, near subway Cavour.

Sitting at Fiumicino right now waiting for our flight home after 3 weeks here. We stayed in an apartment a couple blocks from Campo dei Fiori and it was great. Very close to the river and if you want nightlife just cross the river to Trastevere. That place is HOPPING!
CdF is great because it's close to everything and convenient to bus, taxi, and walking.
I don't like the Termini area at all.

Thank you all for the replies/recommendations!

When saying to say in Campo, what would I search when typing in that area in Airbnb, VRBO, and for hotels.

We stayed near termini at the Boscolo Exedra, which is at Piazza Della Repubblica. It was a great location, basically sitting on top of the metro station.

We are at Hotel Artemide which is also by Termini.

Kathi

Campo dei Fiori, Piazza Navona, Pantheon are all very central areas. As someone said, Rome is small and most of the major sights are within walking distance of the areas above. Trastevere, across the Tiber river, is also a terrific area to stay. Piazza del Popolo and Trevi Fountain are also central.

Quirite always keeps us honest when it comes to referring to Rome and its city limits. Don't say that Ostia Antica is a good daytrip from Rome, because he will point out (correctly) that it is actually part of Rome. (^_^)

As for what to put into the search engine of whatever site you're using, see if they have a mapping feature. Most of them do. That will let you zoom in on the area you're interested in.

We stayed at Hotel Rosetta(recommended in the Rick Steves guide) and it was within walking distance to the forum and coloseum-and not far from Termini station. There were some great sidewalk cafes within a block or two.