Rome's best neighborhood using public transit

The termini area has the most connections for the metro, buses and trams. It is not the prettiest part of town but you can find some great deals on hotels, will be close to the sites and there are tons of restaurants in the area.

Donna

rome is a great town to walk also...i only used the subway to go to the vatican...everything else i walked...

Rome is indeed pretty compact. To get a sense of the distances involved, you could do what I did. Print out a copy of a Google map of Rome and then do the same for a Google map of Portland at the same scale. (You can adjust the scale by zooming in and out and looking at the little scale at the bottom.)

I knew where we would be staying in Rome (we chose Trastevere) so I superimposed a map of Rome with our Trastevere apartment in the center over a map of Seattle with our house located in the center. That allowed me to see, for example, that the distance from our apartment to the Vatican was the same as the distance from our house to the nearest Fred Meyer store. That helped us figure out when to walk versus when to take the bus or a cab.

Were you happy staying in Trastevere? Good idea with the maps!

Termini area is best for links to public transit. Keep in mind that much of Rome is not served well by transit, even busses. If walking even a little is an issue for you, plan carefully ahead with bus maps or budget for taxis.