rbnwdln

Now I am looking for an apartment for 5 people in Rome for June, 2011. There are a number of good ones available from SleepinItaly.com. What I am wondering is - would staying near the Vatican/Vatican museums be a mistake? There are several very nice apartments with three bedrooms for around 150-170 euros per night. To stay near the Pantheon, it is about 250 euros per night. Is it worth the savings to not stay near the Pantheon/Piazza Navona? Here us an example of one of the apartments I am considering.
http://www.sleepinitaly.com/en/show-...d_appartam=414

J62

In my opinion, no. It would be a long schlep from "near" the Vatican museums to the part of Rome that I enjoy the most - the historic center.

I like the ability to come and go during the day, whether it's for a quick morning stroll to the market while the family sleeps, or stop back for lunch, or an afternoon siesta, or an after dinner walk to Trevi, the Pantheon, or Pza Navonna with a gelato in each hand.

lrock5

We stayed near the Vatican during our trip to Rome last March. We were directly across from the Vatican museums. I think for the almost 100 euro savings per night I would definitely stay there. We walked all over Rome with no problem. On one memorable day we walked from our hotel,to Castel Saint Angelo, across the river, to Piazza Navona, to the Pantheon, and Trevi Fountain and then back to Piazza Navona to eat a restaurant nearby called Cul de Sac. We got lost walked around and around and finally found the restaurant. Fortunately, the botttle of Prosecco we had at dinner got us all way back to our hotel without feeling worse for wear.

zeppole

I actually prefer the area near the Vatican museums because food tends to be better there and around the piazza del Popolo area. As far as I am concerned, if you know what you are doing, getting across the river is breeze if you want to be in the most touristy part of Rome. (I think staying around the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area is overrated.)

It's not just your hotel that will be lower. Restaurants in the area are lower too, and if you have an apartment, some of the best Italian food shops are on Cola di Rienzo (Franchi). There are several highly regarded gelatierie there (Cantiani, Grattachecca).

zeppole

PS: I looked at the link for the apartment. It's very pretty, certainly nicer than many I've seen in the Campo dei Fiori area.

rbnwdln

Thanks! We actually stayed behind St. Peters on one of our trips to Rome because we were with a group on a pilgrimage. It was actually no problem and we walked to the center every day. But normally we stay near Piazza Navona or Pantheon. It is just that my traveling companions are all first timers to Rome so I didn't trust my own opinion that staying across the river was ok. I was thinking that if we saved money on lodging in Rome we could possibly splurge and stay at Locanda di San Francesco in Tuscany!

voyager61

In our first trip to Rome we stayed in a lovely hotel on a quiet pedestrian street a stone's throw from the Vatican...we thought it was a great spot. Really quiet at night, which we liked. And we had no trouble walking to other parts of Rome or taking the bus.