Rome apartment: Colosseum or Historic center?

The Roman Forum area might get a bit too quiet for some people's taste. However, the other areas can get way too busy during daytime, and have mostly overpriced stores only in the vicinity. Tough choice. I'd stay in Trastevere as a safe bet. Have you considered other areas? Easy to get to the main sites during daytime, yet more welcoming than those areas.

Thais, we always stay near the Pantheon. In our opinion, Piazza Navona at night is the best of Roman piazzas.

Just returned from Rome the end of October and we stayed in an apartment right next to Piazza Navona and it was a perfect location. On a previous trip to Rome we stayed near Campo di Fiori which also was a good location. Another time we stayed off of Via Nazionale which was closer to the Colosseum/Forum and was fine but I definitely prefer P. Navona or Campo di Fiori. Buon Viaggio!

I agree with Jim and Janet. We stayed a week just around the corner from Piazza Navona (Palazzo Olivia apartments) and absolutely loved the location - an easy walk to the Vatican, and a quick bus ride to the historic area around the Colosseum. And Piazza Navona at night is fascinating. Yes, the shops in the area are on the exclusive (read, expensive) side, but the restaurants and cafes are reasonably priced.

I also agree with the Piazza Navona/Campo de Fiori/Pantheon area. This area is central to just about everything & it's a nice area to walk around at night with lots of options for restaurants, etc. Have a great trip.

I was so surprised by how walkable Rome is I think either would be fine. I stayed close to the Trevino/pantheon in April and it was great. I just booked a trip for next May near the Colosseum bc I wanted to try a different area. I don't think you will be disappointed by either. My best recommendation is read the reviews of the apartments you are considering and see what past renters say about notice levels and convenience (it's really nice to have a bakery and or market very close). Good luck!

I ended up renting an apartment at the Piazza Maddalena, close to the pantheon!

I agree with staying near the Pantheon or Piazza Navona. It's sort of dead around the Colosseum at night since it's mostly parks, ruins and churches around there.

We stayed near the Colosseum. We liked it very much. As another poster said it is a quiet area but that is what we were looking for. Right near the Coosseum you also have the Forum, Palentine Hill, Chuch of San Giovanni so there are things to see there close by. There also is a major subway hub across from the Colosseum so it is easy to hop on from that area. But again, we wanted quiet so it worked out well.