Rome Night Life - What's the Latest You Stayed Out?

Monique, I've wandered about various parts of Rome well after midnight (including the Termini area that's frequently labelled as "dodgy"), with nary a problem. I've also been out in the Trastevere area at night and again in the wee hours of the morning, again with no problems. A lot of restaurants and Cafés are open quite late, and there's usually lots of people in the streets. However, I've never been there on October 31st, so don't know if there are any "special considerations" at that time of year. Happy travels!

There is a night tour of the Colosseum, but does not operate after midnight (tours are around 9:45pm or so), and I do not know of any late night tours anywhere else. Not sure if Oct 31 will affect anything. I don't know if you include bars in your "non-club" establishments, but I found bars to stay open quite late. I stayed mostly around the Navona/Campo de Fiori area, and stayed out until 2 or so. Places were open later, but I was tired and had class the next day! I felt safe walking around (exploring really. We knew the general direction back to our hotel and that was good enough for us) with a few other friends, so I think your sister and you will feel fine. Enjoy your time in Rome!

Hi, I am not sure in October but last week I was there, we hanged out over Pantheon and Piazza Navona until midnight. There were lots of people and lots of activity. Street performers -guitar players, violin players, etc. In Piazza Novona, you find artist paintings and portrait artists also. Regards,
-Jane

Thanks all! One reason for my question is that we will be arriving on a late train and have an early flight out the next morning which requires us to take the first shuttle to FCO. I really don't want to spend 80 euro for a 6 hour hotel stay. So I figured some Rome night life mixed with sitting in Termini for a couple hours might solve that issue. We could also go to FCO and sit there but I'd love to spend those hours in the city center. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks!

I stopped clubbing a while ago. Testaccio near the Ostiense train station is full of clubs. Several are tunneled unto a large tall heap of ancient Roman terracotta jars carried by ship up the Tiber to Rome. The empties were tossed along the the river. There were so many jars that the heap grew into a not so small hill of compacted terrcotta pieces and dirt, a hill so dense that clubs and restaurants have tunneled in and hollowed out space. The clubs are open late and Ostiense-FCO trains stop at Ostiense which is a major train station. Ost is very walkable from Testaccio - just find the pyramid. I have no clue whether the clubs are worth it or safe or whatever.

I don't go to clubs here in Pittsburgh so I really wouldn't feel comfortable in that environment overseas. I have this reoccuring vision of me in a club jumping up and down with a glowstick while someone drugs my sister's drink. Paranoid, I know, but I just don't feel comfortable. So my "night-life" question is really regarding restaurants, trattorias, cafes and other establishments open late, as well as street vendors or even stores or sites.

Defiitely Trastavere!!! Everyone is young, dressed, and ready to party =-- not crazy partying like here, but the restaurants/bars are open late and everyone is young! I just did this last year and it's so much fun!!

I felt safer walking around Rome at night than anywhere I have ever been in the U.S. Trestevare.

A friend of mine was in Rome last November and was having troubles sleeping. So he'd get up at odd hours (2, 3, 4 am) and roam around the streets for a couple hours. He has some incredible pictures of the main sights at night because, naturally, there weren't many people around. I always thought that sounded like so much fun, especially if you have a camera that takes decent night shots.

From Trastevere to Termini is a long walk with luggage. Late night, taxis could be scarce, perhaps buses too. I have never be out that late, so I am speculating

Well the plan would be to leave our luggage at the Left Luggage counter at Termini, but I just found out through research that it doesn't reopen until 6am. Bummer! That kinda ruins the plans. Although I guess we could take the 6:22 Leo Express instead of an earlier shuttle that will take longer to get there. That's making for a long night though...

My wife and I often walked home from dinner after midnight, often coming from the centro area across the Tiber to the Vatican section of town where our apartment was. Our latest nights were always sometime around 2-3 AM. Once we were at the Summer Festival on the Tiber and realized it was after 2 AM - and we had kids of 9, 10, and 12 in the group. Too many distractions for our group of twelve! Often we had dinners that ran until 1 AM. Our late-night area was usually Trastevere. When my youngest son stayed with us in Rome (22 at the time), he and his Italian friends would stay out all night. As parents we worried, but we would have been worried ANYWHERE! He often went clubbing in Testacio and the outer "edges" of the city. Once he called me about 5:30 AM from a night bus. Seems he got on the bus, fell asleep, and when he woke up they were headed to Tivoli! Since my motorino was in the shop, I told him to stay on the bus after the driver's break and it will come back to Rome centro. He did, arriving home about 07:00. Rome is safe, but like any big city, you do need to be aware and alert. We enjoyed walking or driving the motorino later in the evening as there were far fewer folks out on the streets. We were never in "difficult or uncomfortable" situations in Rome. But then again, living in Rome, we were quite comfortable amid the narrow, dimly lit streets. No doubt famiiarity breeds comfort - and confidence!

Most if not all luggage storage facilities will not keep your bags overnight for the same reasons that they have gotten rid of bag lockers - because of bomb scares. I don't know for certain though whether Termini would hold it overnight or not.

The Left Luggage at Roma Termini WILL hold your bags for an extended period of time, if necessary. One of our friends, rotating back to the States, arranged to store their luggage there for weeks... For more info and pricing, see Left Luggage Facilities in Italy.

Try this site: http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/travel/20rome.html