julies

I am looking for an inexpensive apartment for a last minute trip to Rome--beginning of January. I've spent TONS of hours on the Internet and have researched this entire site to see what people have said in the past. Someone gave me a link to an old report of Franco's which was immensely helpful.

I am slowly starting to narrow down choices. Unfortunately, I haven't heard back from a lot of places yet. But, I have found one that seems somewhat intriguing. Can someone please comment on its location?

It is between Piazza Navonne and the river on Governo Vecchio. Here is the link. http://www.romanreference.com/appart....php?refid=280

We are middle-aged, not looking for nightlife, prefer a real neighborhood to trendy, want small local shops and inexpensive restaurants, want quiet, don't need to be in the heart of the action, aren't going to spend every second sightseeing, like to just walk around interesting areas. If you know Rome, what do you think of this location? Thanks.

ekscrunchy

I do not know Rome as well as Franco and some others here, but I can tell you that it is a terrific area..right in the center of sights, with food shops nearby.

bardo1

I agree - excellent, EXCELLENT location.

SusanP

I agree, that's a terrific location. Not far from Piazza Navona, walking distance to many things, good bus connections close by, plenty of good restaurants in the area.

dutyfree

Just remember that it is not going to have the same atmosphere in early January as May! Dress in layers and you will be fine.

julies

Well, I had a couple more questions for the agency, and if their answers are adequate, we'll take it. I guess it is Piazza Navona, not Navonne (my error initially).

Thanks for the assistance. It made my decision much easier.

Dutyfree--I know that the dead of winter isn't as nice as May, but we'll still have a great time. We did a week and a half rental in Paris in crummy weather, so I know how to layer. Plus, I'm from Minnesota, so anything will be better than the weather at home. I do have a question about clothing for Rome in the winter though. We found many of the buildings in Paris to be extremely overheated, so I needed to be able to take off a lot of layers once we went inside. Is this also the case in Rome?

vincenzod

I want to give you, if I well understood your needs, these five smart advices:
a) a very good B&B in a nice neighborhood of Rome, Porta Pia, not very touristic: SAN MICHELE A PORTA PIA (www.bbsanmichele.com). They have special price in the period you're coming and, I know it is not important, I will stay there the days 8 - 9 - 10 of January, not for leisure but because of my job.
b) a very nice and clean apartment close to Vatican: CASA LEONARDO (www.arcobalenobb.it).
c) a cute hotel, close to Piazza di Spagna: HOTEL MADRID (www.hotelmadridroma.com).
d) a nice small hotel (few rooms) in the heart of Rome as capital of Italy: PENSIONE PARLAMENTO
(www.hotelparlamento.it)
e) a cheap hotel close Vatican: HOTEL IL CASTELLETTO (www.il-castelletto.com).
If you want I can give you also smart advices for very good and cheap restaurants.
Have a lovely trip, ciao.


Vincenzo

julies

Now I've started to second guess myself. Can I throw out a couple of other options for comments too?

I followed up on Vincenzo's recommendation for the apartment Casa Leonardo and have contacted them to see if they have availability for my dates. That location looks quite good too--a block west of Castel Sant'Angelo, so it seems like it is in good walking distance to many places.

I also just got back a confirmation that this apartment in Trastevere is open for my dates. It is on via Gensola which is right near Ponte Cestio to Isola Tiberina. Here is the link to the Domus apartment website.
http://www.anightinrome.com/appartamentieng.htm#domus

Prices for these 3 are all very similar, and some have a few more favorable amenities than others. I really would prefer a neighborhood feel MUCH more than a tourist center feel, and we'd like something relatively quiet where we don't need to sleep with our earplugs in. And, as I stated in my original post, "We are middle-aged, not looking for nightlife, prefer a real neighborhood to trendy, want small local shops and inexpensive restaurants, want quiet, don't need to be in the heart of the action, aren't going to spend every second sightseeing, like to just walk around interesting areas."

Any more thoughts? Thanks so much. These decisions are so hard to make from 5000 miles away when you've never been to a place.

Zerlina

The via della Gensola location will have more of a neighborhood feel than the via del Governo Vecchio location. Restaurants will be fewer in number but less expensive.

julies

Thanks Zerlina--

About how long would you say it is to walk between these 2 areas you just compared? 10 min? 20 min?

Zerlina

22 minutes, according to www.mappy.com, which you can use for distance and time by car or on foot for any two locations.

bardo1

The Governo Vecchio location is still the best for your situation, IMO. It is not really a "nightlife" area, per se, it just has a nice number of great restaurants (visited more by locals than those on Piazza Navonna or Campo dei Fiori).

It is by far the most charming and convenient area of the three you are now looking at.

franco

Given your self-description, julies, I suggest taking the Trastevere/via Gensola apartment. You already know my Roman neighbourhoods thread, so you know what to expect there: Rome's best public traffic connections, and a very quiet, still unspoiled neighbourhood. True, Trastevere is no longer the poor popular district it used to be once, but it's still, as you've put it, a neighbourhood (there, in that part - eastern/southern Trastevere).
Via del Governo Vecchio is one of the most beautiful areas of central Rome, quiet too, but it's very elegant, very posh, inexpensive restaurants are almost as rare as star dust there (yes, there is one - see my Roman food thread: Alfredo e Ada is the name of the place), and it's less of a neighbourhood where people live - there's a considerable percentage of public offices and institutions there.
A block west of Castel Sant'Angelo, that's certainly the worst idea, and one of the worst ideas you could possibly have in Rome. This is a neighbourhood that's boring instead of quiet - tourist hordes by day, with the appropriate snack bars and "restaurants" for tourist hordes on every corner, and dead by night. The whole surroundings of the Vatican (and as far as Castel S. Angelo) are the district where I would stay least in Rome.

julies

Thanks to all of you so much. One final question. I am also interested in a neighborhood that would have accessibility to such things as bakeries (don't know what the Italian word is), small deli-type places where we could take out prepared foods, small local grocery stores or a regular supermarket, perhaps a street market or whatever the locals use to get food. The dollar stinks so we will be eating in a lot, and I also know that, rather than dining out, we will be spending a number of evenings cozied up in our apartment after a long day of sightseeing. We are happy to dine in like this with a bottle of wine and some local goodies rather than a full meal.

Does this change your recommendation or steer me more in one way than the other? Thanks again so much!!

bardo1

Both the Via del Governo Vecchio and Via Gensola areas will have the bakeries, delis, and small grocery places you require. But, as Franco pointed out, your dollar will stretch better in the Via Gensola neighborhood.

Both areas are more or less equally central for sightseeing. And, while the Via del Governo Vecchio area simply oozes charm, it doesn't come cheap. I think you will be quite happy in Trastvere.

julies

Now I've got another question. I've got a possibility on another apartment in Trastevere, but I am a little leery about its location. It is right on Piazza S. Egidio. We want a good night's sleep. Is this a crazy place at night? thanks again.

bardo1

Never heard of Piazza S. Egidio. Have you google mapped it?

Zerlina

I have no idea whether Piazza Sant'Egidio is one of the party-hearty piazzas in Rome, but it is in any case on the more touristy side of Trastevere. And public transportation from there is not very good.

sacc

Hi Julies, I know someone who stayed in June in a lovely one-bedroom flat looking down onto Piazza St. Egidio. I popped over to visit her and see the place, we had a drink in a little bar on the ground floor below the flat. She found the building a bit noisy when she had the living room windows open (because of the bar directly below) but the bedroom of the flat faced the back courtyard, so noise was never a problem. Egidio didn't seem to be a party place.

But it is in a more touristy part of Trastevere, as Zerlina says, about five minutes' stroll past the big Santa Maria in Trastevere piazza. That does also mean it's close to a lot of sights. My friend never needed public transportation, it was at most a 10 minute walk to the Ponte Sisto and directly into the Campo dei Fiori; maybe 20 minutes up to the Vatican; or 10 minutes in the opposite direction to cross over to the Ghetto.

I was thinking of renting the same apartment for a trip to Rome next month, but instead I've wound up booking something in the Campo neighborhood, on a street that actually runs very near the Governo Vecchio. I actually chose that site, although it's more touristy, because I'll be in Rome about the same time as you will be, and thought if the weather turns cold or really wet, I'd like to be in a central, bustling area with lots of delis, bakeries, fruit and veggie stores (I'm also watching my budget)
And if it's really nasty, I'll rely a bit more than usual on the little electric No. 116 bus that hurtles through the historic centre.

I'm not that worried about the weather -- I just think it'll be a great experience to see Rome off-season; we're both in for a great time!

franco

Piazza S. Egidio is just around the corner from S. Maria in Trastevere. If this is not where nightlife is bustling, then there is no nightlife at all anywhere in Rome. I wouldn't rent there.

Sorry, Zerlina: but public transportation is equally good there as in the quiet/Eastern part of Trastevere: just walk down to Lungotevere, cross the bridge or don't, depending on which direction you want to take the bus - the bus routes along the Tiber are among the best public connections all over Rome.

And sorry, sacc: if somebody tells me s/he didn't need public transportation in Rome, then it means s/he didn't visit anything off the beaten track. Or how would you want to get to, say, S. Costanza without public busses? S. Stefano Rotondo? S. Maria Maggiore? Walking, from Piazza S. Egidio? Not really... But those are among Rome's major sights! - not to mention about 200 others, major and minor, that cannot be reached without public busses. To stay in an area where bus connections are excellent is essential to enjoy your stay in Rome!