neighborhoods in Rome

One word: Prati. This neighborhood surrounds the Vatican and the area north of there. Check VRBO.com for options. I've seen some lovely rentals there. The metro, trams and buses all serve the area well, there are good restaurant options, and frankly you can walk to Piazza Navona easily from there.

Personally I like Trastevere the best. Maybe because I have relatives there. But I find Trastevere more quintessentially Roman compared to other areas. It's now more popular with foreign tourists compared to years ago, but still it has maintained a local "typical" Roman feel. Sometimes I feel I'm in a smaller village when I'm there, rather than in the largest Italian city. The Vatican is not too far and neither is the Centro Storico. It's not near the metro however.

One word: Trastevere.

I'm with Roberto on this one. I'm a big fan of n'hoods with a warren's den of curving streets and little dead ends as opposed to a big boring grid, like you find in Prati. And you can find lots of apartments in Trastevere.

That said, Prati does look a lot like the area around Villa Borghese, so maybe you might enjoy it more. As I often say, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to travel.

Check out Google Maps Streetview to take a look around the n'hoods for yourself and see what appeals to you.

Agree ... Trastevere. We rented an apartment on Viale Manara for 10 days last Fall. A wonderful location - close to tram #8, many electric buses to take you up and/or over the Gianicolo, or simply walk! Campo di Fiore was a 10 minute walk, at most. Suggestion though, try to stay close to Manara or slightly south of Manara. Most of the restaurants and evening nightlife happen north of Manara. It was always quiet in our apartment but I can imagine it's a bit noisier the more north of Manara that you go into the restaurant "zone".

Grazie infinito, Quirite~! Hai detto quale pensavo.

I'll probably get jumped on for this but my opinion of Trastavere is very different from everyone else's it seems. I don't like the abundance of graffiti (yes, I know it's everywhere in Rome but it is excessive in this neighborhood), it seems a bit run down compared to other neighborhoods in the city, it's not a very authentic neighborhood anymore because of it's popularity with tourists, and it's one of the few places in Europe where I've seen live rats running around both in the daytime and at night. There are some really interesting and unique sites to visit in Trastavere but it's not a neighborhood in which I would want to stay.

If Trastevere has become so popular with tourists there is a reason. Because it has an ancient character.
A place doesn't lose its character just because it becomes popular with tourists or because only few locals can afford to live there.
If we used the same logic, then one should not go to the Cinque Terre and visit the ugly "il Serpentone" in Genoa instead (no tourists there) and when in Rome one should stay at La Magliana or Tor Bella Monaca where there are no tourists for sure.
The fact is that Trastevere is an ancient district that was Etruscan first then ancient Roman, and has maintained its ancient architectural character that goes back at least to the Middle Ages. So when you are in Trastevere you feel thrown back a few hundred years at least to the medieval times.
Prati is a district that was built from scratch where fields (prati in Italian) used to be at the end of the 1800s after Rome was conquered from the Papal State (in 1870) and became capital of Italy. The architecture of Prati is from that era (late 19th century) and resembles the Parisian boulevards after which it was modeled.
So it's really up to your personal preference. I vote for Trastevere, I don't care how many Germans or Americans visit there. If you are bothered by foreign tourists, then go to Pomezia.

I am going to vote with the Prati camp. It is a wonderful area with many local restaurants and good transportation, both buses and subway. I find the neighborhood beautiful, with tree lined avenues and quiet streets, something rare in Rome. I like Trastevere to visit as it is interesting, but not much of an area for relaxation; as for rats, i used to live in Parioli, and the largest rats I have ever seen used to roam Piazza Ungheria, so one can find rats anywhere in Rome. Those suckers were as big as the average house cat and terrified me.

Say there, wouldn't it be thrilling to spend a few days living in the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park? You wouldn't stay away just because there were no local Anasazi in the neighborhood anymore, or lots of tourists around, or drawings on the walls or a few rodents living in the area, would you? There you go.

Merry and Happy, every one of you!

Fell in love with the Trastevere area on our last visit. Lovely area to rent an apartment.

@Chloe, I am happy to report the rats have disappeared from Piazza Ungheria. I walk through there twice a day and I have not seen a rat in 19 months of doing so. :-)

Whenever I have any questions about Rome, I go to RonInRome.com. He answers virtually any question about this great city, including neighborhoods and accommodations.

Roberto nails it when he talks about Prati's architecture. That's exactly why I find that area boring, esp. when compared to Trastevere or even the area in the historic center to the west of Piazza Venezia. That's also why I find it so difficult to get excited about the supposedly up-and-coming Monti n'hood. It looks like Prati to me.

The same with Torino and its architecture. I've been told "It's almost like Paris." But if I want to experience Paris, I'll go to Paris, thank you.

Happy travels.