Choice of Neighborhood for Stay in Rome

Kathy, don't stress too much. Just about any neighborhood will produce good results. You're right about Termini,imho. We stayed earlier this month in the Largo Argentina area, minutes away from Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon. Lovely evening walks too. We were a 15 minute bus ride from the Vatican area, 20 minute walk from the Spanish Steps, and 10 minutes from the Forum/Colosseum area. Just enjoy Rome!

Be sure to research your locations carefully if "a quiet place to retreat in the evening" is as important as you say. Trastevere, like many Roman neighborhoods, has its centers of nighttime activity, and you would want to avoid being right in the middle of those places. If you avoid the larger piazzas, you should be fine, because all those neighborhoods also have their quiet pockets. Sometimes just having a room that's not on the street side of the building will do the trick. As for your priest friend's comment about the Vatican being in "the thick of things", it's about the last description I would use for that area. Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, Pantheon areas are much more interesting. Just don't stay on the main piazzas. (FWIW, I consider it a red flag when someone says you "must" do anything in Italy. People rarely share the exact same interests.)

Good point about the quiet location for evenings; now that I think of it, what I really want is just to be able to go to our own space(room) at night, so I didn't make my point well. Activity right outside the door is fine, within reason. Being able to be in a piazza for coffee and crowd-watching two minutes out the door sounds great. You're indicating that three neighborhoods you mentioned are all good bets - Piazza Navona, Campo de' Fiori, or the Pantheon - would you pick them over Travestere?

I'll jump in and say that I'd pick any of those three areas, particularly Piazza Navona, over Trastevere. I love Trastevere, and find it fun and interesting. Someday I'll visit Rome and stay in that neighborhood. But on each trip thus far, we've decided that being centrally-located is more important to us. So we've stayed near Piazza Navona and very much enjoy it. The last two trips, we've stayed at Residenza Canali ai Coronari, which is located on a very quiet street about 1 block from Piazza Navona. We can sit or wander around the Piazza and be back at our hotel in minutes. It's just a few minutes walk from the Pantheon, and a little further to the Trevi Fountain and Campo de'Fiori.

We stayed in the Gianicolo, which is just North of Trestevere. My wife had studied in Rome and stayed in this neighborhood, which is why we went there. While not in the city center, it is a 10 minute bus ride to the Vatican (#810, I believe) a 5-10 minute bus ride to Trestevere, and about 15 minutes to the Ancient attractions (#44 or 75). We enjoyed the area because it was very residential for Rome, but still had a few restaurants, gelato, and espresso! It was also very easy transportation to all the sights, using just Rick's Rome book and the small map from our hotel.

Thanks for the feedback, which has taken me full circle back to what my original research indicated about kickass neighborhoods. What a great forum for discussion this site offers!

I would have to give my vote to Trastevere. I love the neighborhood atmosphere with residents strolling the streets and children playing in piazzas. The restaurants and nightlife are really top notch. It is just across the Tiber from the ancient sites and a very short tram ride (#8) across the river to the city center. I stay in the part of Trastevere adjacent to the Isola Tiburina, it's very peaceful. I would stay nowhere else. You will not get this same neighborhood atmosphere in the area around The Vatican. On my last trip, I stayed my last night in Rome in the area between The Vatican and Castel Sant' Angelo and hated it. The neighborhood came up as being very sterile and lifeless to me. In Trastevere, I stay at the "Arco Del Lauro" B & B. I would stay nowhere else.

Kathy, of course your priest friend would think the Vatican is the "center of everything"! Actually, Rome is made up of dozens of neighborhoods, all with noise and quiet. I've stayed in the Campo dei Fiori area, and near the Pantheon, both great options. Piazza Navona's side streets are good places to look for more quiet.

If this is your first time to Rome, I would suggest staying in the Navona/Panthon/CDF triangle area. Trastevere is great, but more for a return visit. We've stayed in three different locations in Rome - Termini first (not so great), Pantheon second (very good), and Trastevere third (loved it, considering we had already stayed near Pantheon). We're going back in May and will stay next to CDF.

First trip-stayed in the Vatican area. It was nice and quiet, but maybe a little too quiet! There wasn't anything in the way of nightlife, although that could've also been because it was December. Second trip-stayed near the Colosseum. Good, central location, easy access to everything, and it was pretty neat walking around the corner and BAM! Colosseum. But I would say it is also a 'less charming' area. Next time I go back, I'm planning to stay in Trastevere. It's slightly further out of the center, being on the other side of the river, but so is the Vatican. We walked from St. Peter's Basilica to Trastevere without any problem and then took the bus & metro back to our hotel near the Colosseum. In terms of getting around, you really can't go wrong-pick a neighborhood that appeals to you.

Kathy, my friend and I stayed at a sweet apartment in Testaccio which was reasonable for us. We loved the area as we weren't near tourists. The more we walked around this neighborhood, we found small stores and restaurants. It is a blue collar area, lots of children around and friendly Italians. We were a short walk to the bus/train depot. We walked passed the Piramide (the Pyramide) every day. If we wanted a bus, we walked one block to the main street. Testaccio was a fun area for us senior citizens. Mary