Rome: stay in historic center or Monti?

if you have never been to Rome, the historic center is pretty wonderful. But in a way, you answer your own question… Your first priority is to be near the train. It’s all doable and you will walk and walk and walk and walk no matter what. There are real fantastic things to see in every neighborhood. Enjoy your trip!

We prefer the historic center near Pantheon, P Navonna, Campo de' Fiori. You can walk most everywhere from there- even the Vatican.
Taxi from that area to Termini is less than 10 euros

My only concern is having an early morning flight, so I need to plan
for a reliable way to reach the airport on time.

Flat rate taxi from either location to/from FCO is 55 euros (up to 4 people)

Stay inthe historic center. I highly recommend Hotel Portoghesi. I think it was from the RS italy book in 2024. Super staff.

You can have a taxi to the airport. The hotel will arrange 1 for you.

We stayed our last night in a hotel closer to the airport and they had a shuttle. We taxid to the hotel and took uber to the site. There is a bus to the site as well and a train as well. But with luggage it was easier to taxi.10 min from the hotel is a wonderful archeological site called Ostia Antica. RS writes about it in his Italy guide. It's like having a private Pompeii. It's huge, the city was only recently discovered so they are still in the process of uncovering the whole place. The hotel we stayed at is the Isola Sacra Hotel Rome Airport.

Best wishes

I'll be a contrarian. I think the glory of Rome is its neighborhoods. I didn't stay in Monti, but I walked there (I walked everywhere in Rome), and it's got such a nice feel. It's just a 20 minute walk to Trevi Fountain or a half hour to the Pantheon. And the other thing about Rome is while you're walking from one sight to the next, you'll pass three or four other sights, or you can visit them with a slight detour. If you plan your time well and study the map, you can be very efficient in your sightseeing and not have to do much backtracking.

And the other thing about Rome is while you're walking from one sight
to the next, you'll pass three or four other sights, or you can visit
them with a slight detour. If you plan your time well and study the
map, you can be very efficient in your sightseeing and not have to do
much backtracking.

This^^
Rome should be seen on foot.

We prefer the historic center near Pantheon, P Navonna, Campo de'
Fiori. You can walk most everywhere from there- even the Vatican. Taxi
from that area to Termini is less than 10 euros

Yes, Christine. It is why that area, for my wife & I the Campo de' Fiori/Farnese spot, is where we go. Stayed there a few days in April, will be back March 2027 for 2-3 weeks, which will be our 4th visit there. Cannot wait. I want to go there, set up shop in an AirBnB to specs--1st floor or higher w/lift, washer, high ceilings, large windows, galley kitchen. A firm queen or larger bed would be nice. They exist, not that cheaply, but as long as I have my creature comforts, I'm OK.

Get up each morning, brisk walk by the Tiber, stop for a caffe, shop at the CdF market for fruit, walk to the Forno bakery for a pastry or two to bring back to the apartment. Plus, Forno has cheap and great pizza slices on focaccia for 3 Euro--perfect 'take-away' for lunch. Tastes great hot or cold--trust me. Then back up to the apartment to decide what we want to do that day--museums, markets, new neighborhoods. Early March isn't even shoulder season yet--still late winter--so crowds are down, which is what I want. And weather's surprisingly temperate--45-60 day, 35-50 at night.

Everything is walking distance, and when we walked the mile or so to Prati, it was awesome--neighborhood after neighborhood, all with different vibes. Many of my favorite restaurants are in Trastevere, which is about a 10-minute walk. And the bus, Metro or the FreeNow Uber-like car service will take you anywhere in the city--we utilized that to Termini station and back numerous times--otherwise we walked everywhere. And we're earlybirds at our age (~70), so at night we sit with the windows open, listening to young people out and about enjoying themselves.

Not a bad way to spend a couple weeks, and I can see working that up to a month or more. I'm thinking this as an alternative to Florida or Phoenix in the winter, and it's probably cheaper as well.

Enjoy your planning!

Getting a taxi from Termini after coming in from Florence and returning from Naples should be easy. Although I did get scammed by an "official" taxi in Paris once, that probably colored my view of taxis in general.

I will need to leave early (7am) for both the Naples day-trip and again for the the airport. I heard FreeNow is the official app for Rome's taxi. How reliable is the pre-booking? I don't want to scramble in case the guy doesn't show up. Any experience?

Yep. In April, we reserved a ride the night before with FreeNow (get the app on your phone just like Uber) from Campo de' Fiori to the Vatican. He was on time and I think the ride for the 4 of us was about 15 Euro.

But you're in Italy---have a backup plan as well!

Is booking with the official radio taxi number +39 06 3570 the night before more reliable than FreeNow or do they ultimately go to the same pool?

All I can say is that in April of this year, when we had to be picked up at our AirBnB by Campo de' Fiori, we used FreeNow twice and they delivered both times. When were at a very crowded Termini station trying to get back to our apartment, the FreeNow app wasn't operating so well with so many people/signals, so we just stood in the queue and took a taxi.

If you are staying in a hotel just have them call a taxi for you

Official Rome taxis are white
You cannot flag them down -go to a taxi stand (near most every major site-Google “Rome taxi stands” for a map showing locations

I would stay in Monti. I love the neighbourhood, and it is easily walkable to so many sites anyways. I agree with the prior poster that Rome's neighbourhoods are charming. I also think the convenience of walking into Termini is worth it when you plan to use it that many times.

We were in Rome last week, arrived by train from Bari, walked ~15 minutes (mostly downhill) to our hotel, Barberini Dream. We could have taken the subway to Barberini station but at that point we wanted the walk, even with luggage it was nice to move around and very straight forward. Our full day in Rome we walked everywhere and it was easy. In the evening we took the subway with our niece to her neighborhood and the subway was easy too. The next morning we walked a half block to a taxi stand to go to the airport. The price to airport is listed but I still asked to be sure and that his credit card machine was working. All good. Unfortunately about 5 miles from the airport he pulled off, a warning light came on and he couldn't continue, he called another taxi for us, which arrived about 10 minutes later. We only paid the second drive, and paid the full amount 55euro by card.
It was the only time in our 17 day trip we used a taxi, everything else was by public transit (bus, train, ferry) or rental car for 6 days in Puglia. Taking the taxi in the morning is actually longer due to traffic, but it is more convenient because they drop you right at the entrance to departures.
As far as neighborhoods, I agree that all of Rome is walkable. We stayed in Trastevere a few years ago, and were able to take a bus from Termini (arriving from Venice) to our hotel. It was a little stressful with luggage on the bus but actually quite easy and direct. If you plan to do day trips from Termini then closer to there might be your priority, otherwise whatever lodging you're most excited about is the way to go.

Thanks everyone for your input. I've decided to stay in Monti, particularly at the western end closer to the Forum as opposed to Santa Maria Maggiore. This is a 15 min walk from Termini, or 5 min walk and a subway ride. I also like that it's not as packed with 90% tourists as the historic center but a short walk away. If I plan my walks properly even with 5 days in the city I wouldn't be repeated too many of the walks over the same area.

I think you’re much better off staying in the historic center, around the Pantheon. It’s great to just walk out the door and be 5-10 minutes away from so many great sites. If you need a break, your hotels is a short walk away, that’s priceless.

The L.Go Chigi bus stop (link below) has frequent buses to Roma Termini. I would look for a hotel in the historic center that’s close to that bus stop. One time I stayed at the Colonna Palace Hotel (link below) which is two blocks from the L.Go Chig bus stop and that worked great for me. I recommend doing this.

Bus stop:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/oW7JzWKLumsPFQH97?g_st=ipc

Hotel:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/U28zywdJJQVN

Don't forget about considering using the train from Termini to FCO. It is a 30 minute trip on the express and costs less than $20pp. I have used it many times. It is convenient and affordable. You can buy tickets in advance--trains leave starting at 5:00H.

Enjoy

The FCO express train is great. Children 12 and under travel for free with a paying adult.

Monti is our favorite place to stay and we've been to Rome 9 times and going back shortly. Full of life, great restaurants and bars, shops and artisans. And easy to escape the busy tourist world of the Colosseum during the very busy hours. Walking back at midnight along Via Fori Imperiale with the Colosseum all lit up is extraordinary.

Another vote for Monti. It's so close to the historic center, easily walkable, lots of restaurants, and close to the Cavour Metro stop. I've stayed there lots of times. Good choice.

The Southwest side of Termini is, um, sketchy....Monti for sure if those are the 2 options