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&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>