Rome-one location or two for long stay

In your situation with two weeks and first time, I’d consider staying in 2 neighborhoods. Perhaps Trastevere and Monti or Prati?

Tammy,
We went to Rome for 2 weeks and stayed in the Old City right near the Pantheon for a week, then went to Trastevere for a week. It was fun having two different takes on Rome. Highly recommend it.

One advantage of staying in the same neighborhood is you can develop a routine with your local coffee bar, where they know you and you can either get your same cappuccino and cornetto each morning or you can work your way through the delicious selections. You'll also see the same locals. This is especially true in the Centro Storico, near Campo dei Fiori and the Pantheon. I can give specific referrals as your trip gets closer.

Thanks for the responses so far. Would love more suggestions and what neighborhoods work best for sightseeing.

I love staying near the Campo dei Fiori. It was so nice to get up in the morning and wander out, grab a cappuccino and a pastry then walk around the market and see all the fresh vegetables and flowers and people walking around. It was my favorite part of the day.

We stayed near the Pantheon for 9 nights in 2017 and loved it. With two weeks, adding another neighborhood could be interesting.

I am not an in-depth Rome expert, but I have stayed in the following neighbourhoods in Rome: Campo de' Fiori, Prati, Testaccio, Portuense, near Piazza Navona and Celio. After one sleepless experience in Campo de' Fiori, where the street parties never stopped (mostly American students), I always choose places a little outside the center. I've gotten to know some really cool neighbourhoods that way. And seen some really unique apartments. My favourite apartment is in Portuense, 5 minutes' walk from the Trastevere train station, 5 minutes' walk from the Testaccio market, and an easy, flat half hour walk into Trastevere. Also well-connected to bus routes. Prati is my next-favourite neighbourhood, with great markets, shops and restaurants, and close to the Vatican and Castel Sant'Angelo. Also easy walking to the historic sights in the center, such as Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. I really enjoyed Testaccio, both the apartment we had and the Eating Europe food tour we took. In Celio, we had an incredible apartment but the neighbourhood is so-so. Good location for taking the metro everywhere, but the walk to the neighbourhood starts by heading out the back side of Termini and through some places I found a little rough. The specific few blocks were nice, but I think you can do better. I also didn't love our location between Piazza Navona and the river, near Via dei Coronari. Pretty location, but lots of panhandlers and again too noisy/crowded for my taste. Hard to get taxis and not close to the Metro. Monti would also be a good choice, very near the Colosseum, but I haven't stayed there. It's very pretty.

As far as one vs two places - I like settling in and getting to know one neighbourhood, so I likely wouldn't move if the apartment were good. But certainly a week in two different places would give you that settled-in feeling as well.

P.S. I forgot the one time we stayed in a hotel. It was a super-cute boutique hotel on the top floor of an apartment building along the Via Vittorio Emmanuele II, which is the main drag from the river through town. So lots of buses stop right outside, but off the back of the hotel, you're quickly into smaller streets and a very short walk to Piazza Navona. It was pretty quiet (but this was during the pandemic) and had a killer rooftop patio with 360 views, from St. Peter's to the Colosseum. That was a fun 4 nights/days. Happy to share any of the specific places I've stayed once you narrow down your choice.

Nelly thanks for that great information about neighborhoods!

Is it okay for me to ask where you are in Abruzzo? We spend two weeks in that region (rental car) just before COVID and I adored it!! We met some Canadians but not one American person. Sulmona was a great base for day trips to nearby towns and villages. I want to go back!!

@ekscrunchy - yes, you absolutely must come back! We've been here 5 years and are not even close to exploring everything. I'm inside the National Park of the Majella, in Caramanico Terme. Wildlife preserve and fantastic hiking trails out my back door. The food is also great.

Stick with one place, my favorite is the area around the Pantheon.

Is the area around the Pantheon called Trastevere?

The Pantheon neighborhood is in the historic center, Centro Storico. Trastavere is across the River. Some are suggesting a week in each.

If you have the RS guidebook there are several maps of the neighborhoods.

This discloses my laziness quotient, but the first time we visited Paris, we chose two different, contrasting neighborhoods for a week each. I enjoyed the differences, but mostly I liked not having to launder sheets and try to hang them up to dry in a tiny apartment.