Is Termini too far from main attractions in Rome

We were staying in the Termini area exactly a year ago today at the Hotel Madison. I found it very convenient to the metro and bus lines. Some have said it's a bit "seedy" but frankly I had no problems. We wandered the neighborhood late in the evening and I never felt uncomfortable. Though in fairness one of the teachers with us had her pocket picked in the subway station there so you do have to use good sense and stow valuables away from prying fingers.

We found several delightful restaurants with very reasonable pricing and of course there's a grocery store in the Termini which was great for making a couple of picnic style lunches bottled water and snacks. There's also an Onda blu laundramat that also has internet access. We spent an hour and a half eating some fabulous Venetian chese, fresh bread salami and mixed olives washed all of our clothes picked up our email wrote postcards and chatted with locals.
MUCH more fun than lugging extra suitcases or hand laundering

Termini is on the edge and you can reach some of the sights within 20 minutes of walking but that would be less than a mile. You could easily reach everything but the Vatican within 30 to 40 minutes of brisk walking.

I also stayed in the Termini area on my last visit and found it very convenient in many ways. It provides great access to Metro and Bus lines, and there are also lots of shops and some restaurants in the station, and more in the surrounding neighborhoods.

I'll probably stay in that same area on my next visit.

Happy travels!

I agree with my fellow Canadian Vernon. We stay at the Beehive Hostel right outside (literally) from Termini. I use Rick Steves Rome or Italy book to know which metro and/or bus to take to see all the sights. You can walk to some...but seriously, I have found it very warm in Rome as well as we get confused by the challenging winding streets. Save yourself some time, as well as not getting lost.
Now we get on the subway or bus, (WATCH your stuff, moneybelt absolutely necessary), and watch for your stop or ask the bus driver for a heads up when you need to get off.
We LOVE the Beehive. Run by an American couple. Hostel bed or you can get a room, last year it was 70 Euros a night. Pretty excellent.
Good luck.
Angela from Ontario, Canada

I've emailed the Beehive and never heard back. Also - already have our Rick Steves money belts!

Not really a fan of that area. While two nights/days isn't much time, there are many other more interesting areas to stay in, i.e. Piazza della Repubblica, for one. What you might save in convenience to your transport--and a few hours of time on each end of your trip--to me, wouldn't be worth what you'd be sacrificing, that is some of your overall experience. Taking an early morning walk, or going for a late night drink, or just people watching at a local bar at noon.

we stayed even farther out from central Rome last trip and had no issues getting where we wanted to go. A simple trip on the Metro got us to Coloseum and then on to explore all of the major sites (except the Vatican - it's another Metro stop- a bit too far to walk)

Once you get to the Coloseum, you can easily walk everywhere. The last day in Rome we walked from there to the Spanish Step...all through the shopping district, over to Piazza Fiore, the Jewish Ghetto, over the bridge to Trastevere back to the Pantheon through Piazza Navona. Saw the Crypts of the Cappucin monks, even stopped in the Hard Rock store to buy a dumb t-shirt!

I'd say, if you have a good rate on the hotel, stay where you are, and plan on buying a Metro ticket to get to a starting point, then back.

One thing about staying by the train station, it's easy to get out of town, back to the airport if needed, or anywhere else in Italy!

I live in Roma and we have had many firneds stay in the Termini Area. You do have to be alert but being in Termini allows you to get almost anywhere as it is the hub for the metro and bus lines.

If you are staying here, you must ride the metro and bus lines. Here is the ATAC website: http://www.atac.roma.it/ . Click on the top right British flag symbol and you can see this site in English. It has the metro and bus routes, the passes you can buy, and a route planner that will tell you which bus to ride! When we first moved here, this site was our destination planner.

The bus piece is critical as the metro stations tend to close early. The B line is open late now (we rode it at 10:15 PM last week, but the A line was closed when we got to Termini... so we hopped on a bus. Inside Termini, or at a Tabachi or souvenir shop, you can get a "Bus Map" with all the bus routes. With your "pass" or ticket, busses, trams, metro, and trains within 8-10 MILES of Rome center are free. Good Luck!

Doreen, we also stayed near Termini on our first European trip and had no problems with it (Hotel Montreal). You can walk down the hill to the Colosseum, etc. It also came in very handy for our early morning trip to the airport -- just 5 minutes to walk to catch the express train to the airport.

Just an FYI for whenever and where ever you travel. Use the Google Maps.
Get the exact address of your hotel/inn/hostel/apt/B&B. Type in the address and when the aerial image comes up hit the satellite button. Use the buttons on the left to zoom in. GREAT and Big Brotherish way to see where things are.
Enjoy you trip. Rome is FABULOUS!

Great idea and my son ALWAYS Google map's everything. Unfortunately it doesn't tell you if the area is safe or not. But it's fun to see.

Not if you take advantage of the wonderful Metro system. Termini is only 5-10 minutes from all the sites using metro and most are within a 5 minute walk when you get off.