missbridgett

Hi travelers!

My husband and I are in our low 30s and live in New York. We like to be busy, out and about, shopping, site-seeing and enjoying good restaurants and night life. Where should we stay for these things to be most accessible? What area is best for us?

Side note - We have been looking at the Palazzo Manfredi by the Colosseum (they have a sports car rental package we are interested in!) but I'm not thrilled if this is out of the way and unfun. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

-Bridgett

Jean

Although we prefer the area nearer Piazza Navona, Pantheon, etc., there's nothing wrong with the location, but I'm not sure what you'd do with the Gallardo for half a day. Most of the time would be eaten up getting out of the city and returning. Driving around in Rome traffic for a few hours, even in a Lambo, wouldn't appeal to me.

Lexma90

We also prefer the area around Piazza Navona and the Pantheon; it's always lively there, even late at night (but not too noisy), lots of restaurants and cafes. The Campo d'Fiori seems to attract a younger (20s?) crowd, and that's within easy walking distance of the Piazza Navona area, as well.

kybourbon

What would be the point of the sports car in Rome? You aren't allowed to drive in the center of Rome (search this forum for ZTL and/or traffic tickets) and certain areas are pedestrian only (Piazza Navona, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, etc.).

hausfrau

My husband and I are car fanatics but there is no way we would be caught dead driving a rented Lambo around central Rome. Save that experience for a time when you can rent a sports car in the Alps and do some REAL driving.

I would strongly suggest staying near Piazza Navona or the Pantheon. There's plenty of nightlife and restaurants, and that area is central to the major tourist sites.

charnees

Let me be more emphatic: DO NOT plan on driving around in Rome!!!! do not even think about it. Even if you have driven in NYC. It's not the same. Believe us all. Not only are there the ZTLs, the streets are convoluted, the street names and numbers are not easy to find and they usually change every few blocks. Then you get lost and fetch up in a ZTL and end up with a ticket for hundreds of dollars -- and it follows you home because they take a photo of the car and send the bill to the rental agency which then sends it on to you, adding on a stiff service charge. They take it from your credit cards.

If you want to get a car on leaving Rome, rent one at an outlet with a straight shot out of the city, and drive straight out. Most people go to the airport, or even take a train to a nearby town too get a car. So the car rental at that hotel is of no use to you.

Stay around Compo de'Fiori or Piazza Navona or the Pantheon.

Back2Sabi

I agree with above that Navona, Pantheon, et al is where you want to be. We stayed two blocks due east of Navona in May and it was wonderful. Always busy. Great energy and activity and easy to get everywhere. (We never even got within a sniff of taking a taxi or bus or metro our entire stay.) Even though our apartment bedroom window faced the street, noise was never really a factor.

diann24

We just returned from a 3 weeks cruise/tour and 3 days in Rome. We stayed on capo di africa. We could see the colloseum from our balcony. Our hotel was the lancerlot, but if I went again I would not opt for that location. it seemed out of the way and not in the center of the city. We walked all over and the walking was good for us, allowing for more pizza/tiramisu. We walked to Trevi fountain in about 40 minutes. Love that area. Friends stayed at the Romantic hotel.(??) I liked there location best.

missbridgett

Thanks to everyone for this very valuable information. I have to be honest, I was surprised to hear the emphatic advice NOT to rent the car... BUT, it sounds like its exactly what I needed to hear. I had visions of us driving a sports car along the rocky, gorgeous cliff side roads in Italy (like in the movies) but it sounds like the Rome vacinity is not the place for this. We could do a full day rental to give us more time but its really more money than we can spend... sounds like its best to save the driving experience for another time and stay in a more popular, easier-access area. I will look into options near the Piazza Navona, Pantheon, etc. (if you have favs let me know! . Thanks a million for the feedback!

Back2Sabi

We stayed here:

http://www.rentalinrome.com/teatropace/teatropace.htm

and loved it. Amazing location. No WIFI, which was a big disappointment, but it did have a washer, which allowed us to to pack very minimally (which was great b/c we had our 10-month old with us.) Affordable, comfortable, convenient. Would totally stay again.

Lorenzorossi70

I would definetely stay close to Rome's imperial sights...to
discover the secrets of Imperial Rome's gladiator games!
I would avoid driving car in the centre of Rome. If you need to rent a car, do it only for a day trip in the charming hills around the eternal city.
So stay as much close to the heart of the city as possible, in order not to use car.
Last time i was in Rome i stayed at Hotel Fori Imperiali Cavalieri.
http://www.hotelforiimperialicavalieri.com/
It is a stone's throw from the ancient Forum and the Colosseum. Colosseum Metro stop is just five minutes' walk through uncrowded back streets, no thrills for traffic jams.
ME and my wife arrived early in the morning and were able to safely leave our luggage whilst we toured.
Not so spacious room but enough for two people.
We found the hotel to be an excellent buy for the money and i can recommend you this hotel for for its location, hospitality and service.

Viajero2

The fact is that, while staying very close to Piazza Navona is a good move, it is grossly overated. If you are close to a Metro/bus station no place is really that far and staying in Centro Storico is nowhere near as critical as some posters above want to emphasize. Last time in Rome, I rented a huge, great apartment (3 great bedrooms), very close to the entrance to the Vatican Museums. The apartment was $90/night; two supermarkets, cyber cafe, laundry down the street; LOVED it. By taking the metro, I went everywhere with no major impact to time managment whatsoever. I would strongly advise that if staying in Rome for 3 days or more to get the ROMA PASS. You get unlimited use of metro/bus for 3 days, the first two (2) museums (from a list of 30) are free with deep discounts for the remaining.

As far as the sports car package, I don't think this the place and the vacation to go for that, just my humble opinion. Don't take the focus away from a great historical destination. Go to California if you want to rent a sports car and feel cool..... in Italy this may not be the brightest idea....

maucast

Hi

definitely the best area is to the Spanish Steps
http://www.romaclick.com/1/rome-hote...sh-steps-rome/

and Piazza Navona
http://www.romaclick.com/1/rome-hote...a-navona-rome/


You're close to everything, forget the car in Rome

charnees

Actually, if you get a map of Rome and look for the Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, a broad street leading south from Castel Sant'Angelo, you could stay anywhere within a couple of blocks of it, because most of the buses all run along the Corso. With a Roma Pass, which gives you free admission to two museums and free passes on the buses, you get a great map of the bus system.

There is another choice and that is to stay in Trastevere (which means across the Tiber River). It's considered a little more funky and trendy and lively. It's still an easy shot on foot or by bus or tram across the river to the main sights, and is full of restaurants and night life.

DAX

We had just returned to Rome for a 6 night stay, 3 night stay in the Spanish Steps and 3 night stay in the Pantheon area.  While we were fine with both areas, we prefer the Spanish Steps area because we like a more uptown surrounding with better cafes and stores.  If you are like us, you may enjoy staying near the Piazza del Popolo.  We really like having access to the garden restaurant and bar inside the Hotel de Russie, it's like an oasis in the hustle bustle of Rome.
 http://www.lejardinderussierestaurant.it/
We started the mornings with a simple espresso in the relaxing garden before we tackled the overcrowded areas and then ended the afternoon there again.  The chef has a Michelin star and the food is really worth the value as the quality is much better than the average overpriced tourist restaurants.  Mind you everything in Rome is overpriced down to the museums, at least compared to London, Berlin or other European cities. We also appreciate staying in the Via del Balbuino for the small stores and green lounge department store "Tod", there is less tourist traffic compared to Via del Corso or V.d. Ripette.  The only crowded part of V.d. balbuino is where it meets the actual Spanish Steps.  We could take the underground elevators to reach the Borghese garden & villa directly.

We found the Trastevere more challenging due to the graffiti and general unkept ghetto atmosphere albeit it is in Rome.  Perhaps it's just us who are bothered by all the weeds growing against the walls/sidewalks and the gritty feel of the area in general.  I believe Trastevere was the Jewish ghetto of Rome so at least it stays true to its character. I agree with Viajero, we also found the Piazza Navona to be overrated as the area in general is too overcrowded and a bit too scruffy for a comfortable stay.     

SAB

missbrigett-are you actually from NYC and are you UES kind of people, if so follow DAX's recommendation. However, if you are not there is nothing wrong with the Trastevere, which incidentally is not the Jewish ghetto area; Trastevere is definitely more funky that the Piazza del Popolo area, sort of like the meatpacking district before is became popular. It is a little young for my taste and I prefer the Via Guilia, Via Coronari, Piazza Navona areas. We also prefer to stay in apartments in Rome over hotels, so I cannot give any hotel recommendations.

DAX

As far as nightlife, we hanged out in a few fun wine bars where we met so many wonderful people from Italy and the rest of the world. It became a highlight of our trip to collect so many new friends in these winebars. People were so friendly and so ready to have fun, we celebrated every night from 9-10 pm till the small hours (2-3 am). Eventually we all met up to try a couple different wine bars every night which became a great routine that we all looked forward to. Many wine bars also serve really great food at a fraction of the cost of restaurant food, so at times we had our dinner in a wine bar as well. One particular dish that I really enjoyed and will never forget was a 10 euro seabass carpaccio at the Life winebar on Via della Croce in the Spanish Steps area.

Some people that we met at the wine bars went on to try the dance clubs in Testaccio ( they were in their early thirties, in case that's something you're interested). Apparently there is a concentration of good clubs in Testaccio.

DAX

SAB: Thanks for correcting my incorrect assumption that Trastevere used to be the Jewish ghetto, Probably because that's where we saw all the Jewish restaurants serving the deep fried Carcciofi alla Giudea and also the Jewish temple. You're right it may have a better appeal to the young crowd being a funky bohemian area.

SAB

DAX you probably were in the Jewish Quarter, but not in the Trastevere. It is just across the river from the Trastevere, in the area just above Isola Tiberina around Portico d'Ottavia.

DAX

You're right SAB, we went to eat carcciofi and saw the temple in the Jewish Ghetto proper and then crossed the bridge to Trastevere where my wife started to get spooked by all the graffiti and weeds in Trastevere. We were actually fine in the Jewish Ghetto until we crossed the bridge into Trastevere.