Areas to avoid in Rome, Florence, and Venice
 

I'm in the process of searching for hotels to stay in Rome, Florence, and Venice. Where are some areas I should avoid?

I am in the process of doing the same! I've been told not to stay near the Pantheon in Rome due to muggings. If possible, stay near the Spanish Steps where the hotels are high quality and the area is full of high-end botiques. Also, you can people watch every night at the Steps.

No real dangerous areas to speak of, although the neighborhood in the immediate proximity of the Rome Termini Station is not as cheerful as other areas of town. This area is particularly useful if you have a very early morning train to catch, and don't want to pay for a taxi.

really, the pantheon area is not that good, i have heard and read just the opposite from many on this board...

Tagging onto this question because one of the answers, I'd be curious to know from others as to the Panthenon area, especially since one of the posters on another message described a terrific sounding hotel right there.

I'm not current on information concerning alleged muggings. The area around the Pantheon is very historic and atmospheric, and some of the narrow streets can be dark. Also, I've noticed that there is a Punk element in the square itself, which gets VERY crowded in the evenings.

I stayed at the Valle, in Rome, on the Via Cavour, it is close enough to walk to the train station, if you need to, it's all uphill to the station. The staff was wonderful and all spoke English. In Florence, we stayed at the Martelli, close to the Duomo and all the major attractions. It was very nice also. Haven't been to Venice. Last fall we drove, so we stayed outside of the major attraction areas, I wouldn't advise this unless you have a car.

I have been to Venice for four lovely visits and plan to return next month with new friends again. I have never been to a "bad" location since the city is so small. If you want to avoid crowds and gawkers stay away from San Marco area nearest the Cathedral. Dorsoduro and Castello districts are quiet and off the beaten toursit track. One can immediatly get a feel of the residential Venice.

The SMN piazza area in Florence,particularly at night, is definitely not a good area!<BR><BR>US

I don't believe there are really any areas that you would consider that bad. The worst in Rome is probably the subway for pickpocketing. We've spent evenings around the Pantheon and it is lovely all lighted with street musicians playing. M.

More, please, regarding the area around Termini station in Rome. I've just booked a hotel there, but maybe I should change.

Muggings in Rome? That is almost unheard of. Rome has very little violent crime. Pickpockets, sure, but muggings, no. I've stayed near the Pantheon on numerous occasions and have found it to be a very safe area. Beware of pickpockets in and around the train station and subway, as well as other heavily touristed areas of the city. I agree that the hotels around Termini and the neighborhood are not as chic and upscale as other areas but I would not characterize the Termini area as &quot;unsafe&quot;.

we just returned and stayed at the intercontinental just at the spanish steps. really nice. we never saw any muggings etc. violent crime is not a problem..perhaps the worst was pickpockets in the train station. can't thnk of any bad areas in florence. venice although pretty is a tourist trap. crime though is rare

Hello Syrinx,<BR><BR>On our first visit to Rome we were advised to avoid the area just South of the Termini station in Rome.<BR><BR>Guess what? That is where we ended up staying. We were pleased with the location and have stayed in that area subsequently without any misadventures.<BR><BR>Are there 'better' areas. Yes, but then again we select our accommodations based upon location and value generally in the mid-range 3-4 star group of choices.<BR><BR>Have a great trip.

No dangerous areas in Venice. But the area around P. San Marco is crowded and busy in the summer. The areas around the train station (S. Lucia) and the P&gt; Roma are not the best because that's where all the daytrippers must pass through and they are a bit far west of the main sights. But as far as distance goes, no place in Venice is all that far away.

The Pantheon area is a wonderful place to stay. We've stayed twice at the Santa Chiara Hotel, which is immediately behind the Pantheon, &amp; across from the Santa Maria Sopra Minerva church (where Catherine of Siena's body is buried, as well as Fra Angelica. Bocelli did his Sacred Arias concert there also, beside the Michelangelo statuary. Sorry.) The Bernini elephant obelisk is in the piazza there, also. There is a seminary dormitory across from the Santa Chiara; I think it's a great locale.

In Rome the Pantheon area is great. Right between Piaza Navona and the Fountain of Trevi.<BR><BR>If it's such a bad area, look up all of the positive comments about the Santa Chiara Hotel. It's located directly behind the Pantheon.<BR><BR>I think most area in the triange between Piazza Navona the Fountain of Trevi and the Spanish Steps places you in a good location.<BR><BR>I would think you don't want to be beyond the train station.<BR><BR>In Florence I would draw a line between the train station and Piazza dela Seignoria (bad spelling). Stay on that line at least a third of the way toward the Pizza. You'll do fine with that.<BR><BR>Venice. The most popular area is St Marks. Try to keep the number of bridges between the vaporetto and your hotel to a minimum. Carrying luggage up and down stairs gets tiresome.<BR>

I am replying here to raise the question of safety in the area around the Pantheon. Relying on information on this board and guidebooks we have booked the Santa Chiara for our family vacation in Rome. Is this area a safe one? I understand that we are in a large city and should always be on our guard (we work in Manhattan), but is there a safety issue in the area around the Pantheon?

Regarding Florence, although the area right in face of the station is not the most cheerful of the city, it is also by no means dangerous. The station itself at night (I've been there often enough waiting for train or bus connections) can be a bit depressing, it has some homeless strolling around with their stuff piled on a trolley, but it is not actually dangerous. If you walk 100 meters from the station you will find youself in the heart of Firenze in very nice and quiet streets. One of the very best hotels of Firenze, hotel Baglioni, is placed in front of the station (its sign actually overlooks the front of the station). There are less pleasant areas of the city, but they are in the outskirts. Even there, though, I have never seen an area where I would absolutely NOT walk at night.

Thanks for all your helpful inputs. It seems like everyone agrees that the area around the Termini Station is not so good, but a mixed reaction to the area around the Pantheon.

Our family stayed 20 yards from the Pantheon last year and loved it! No crime at all - just lots of people from all over the world in awe of being in a wonderful city in front of the most amazing building! It was fun! My kids (ages 16, 13, and 9) loved it! I also did not find it too noisy at all. Our B&amp;B did not have ac so our windows and patio doors were open all night and we had no problem sleeping. That is where the action is and you'll love being there!

I got back from Rome 2 days ago and we stayed on Via Torino right off of Via Nazionale. It was about a 10-15 minute walk to the Termini Station. It was fine. The are around the Spanish Steps is very nice but very pricey. I think you're pretty safe no matter where you stay. Italians seemed like very friendly, happy, laid-back people.

Anybody else have any input? Heading to Rome in a couple of weeks and was planning on staying near the Pantheon or Piazza Navona. Is it still a safe area?

Yes, they are fine areas, with people milling about taking in the sights at all hours. Just hold onto your purse if you in back alleys that may be dark, otherwise join the other millions of tourists in P. Navona and at the Pantheon.

There isn't any neighborhood to avoid in Venice from a safety standpoint. Some people don't care for the strip known as daytrippers' alley--it runs roughly near the Grand Canal from the train station down Strada Nova to the Rialto and P. San Marco. Has more noise, tacky souvenir shops, tourist restaurants, etc. than the rest of the city.<BR><BR>I would say the far western part of the city around S. Lucia train station and P. Roma would be less desireable as it is a bit farther away from the main sites than most of Venice is, and the daytrippers stampede through their twice a day on their way in and out. But even with that, the area isn't terrible--just not as desireable.

I didn't see this post when it originated back in January or I would have commented then. Felt very safe all throughout Rome, day and night. Venice is magical at night, kind of eerie at night with the dark streets, but nonetheless safe for waking all about. Better at night in some ways than the daytime. Florence on the other hand gave me the creeps at night, especially the area in front of the train station as mentioned above. We saw many homeless types during the day and night, witnessed a couple of obvious drug deals, and saw discarded needles on the sidewalk. No police officers in sight at any time. Felt much less safe in Florence than anywhere else we traveled in Italy.

Hello. I just got back 2 days ago from Rome, Tuscany, Florence and Venice and if there were bad areas, we certainly did not come across them. In Rome, we stayed at the Due Torri, right between P. Navonna and the Pantheon, which are both lovely and lively areas and quite safe. By the way, the Pantheon is beautiful at night and we intend to stay there next time in Rome at the Del Senato. I never saw any muggings or unsavory people around that area. In Florence, we stayed in the center of the city at the Alessandra. On 1 occasion, near P. della Signoria, I saw a group of police restraining an obviously impaired homeless man, but nothing that would make me feel unsafe. Finally, we walked all over Venice at night and never felt unsafe. Perhaps people feel more unsafe because of the dark, narrow cobblestone streets whcih are part of the charm of Italy.

I love the P. Navarona area and the Pantheon area. Personally, I'm less fond of the Spanish Steps location. I found this area to be quite crowded and filled with pricey shops (Guicci, Prada, etc). If you tell us what you like to do and be near, we can maybe help a bit more. I don't think any of these 3 areas should be a security concern.

We were in Rome and Sorrento last year and again 2 years before that with Florence and Venice a couple of times.<BR><BR>We walked all day and felt no problem anywhere.<BR><BR>In Rome, the area around the Pantheon is great. It's directly between Piaza Navona and the Fountain and a 15 minute (max) walk to the Spanish Steps. Santa Chiara hotel is direclty behind the Pantheon. It gets a lot of good press on this board. We stayed there and were completely satisfied.<BR><BR>In Florence, draw a line between the train station and Piaza dela Seignora. You want to be at least half way to the Piazza.<BR><BR>In Venice anywhere in St Marks is fine. The closer to the square the better.<BR><BR>