Hi -

Thanks for all the help and advice so far. I have located 3 apartments for our family of 5, but I'm having trouble deciding between them. The one by the Spanish Steps is larger, so we would be more comfortable, I think, but everyone seems to be more in favor of the Campo d'Fiore area, which I think the Arenula one is near. And I don't know if the one near Trevi Fountain is a good neighborhood or not. I've listed them here. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

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

http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_falegnami.html

http://www.sleepinitaly.com/files/apt_bocacciobig.html

Well, you should choose the one you think your family will be most comfortable in, but if it were me I'd go for location and choose via Falegnami.

I wouldn't pick the Corso one regardless---too busy for my taste. I've never stayed by Trevi, so I can't speak to that. I *have* always wanted to stay in the ghetto: convenient and charming (to my taste).

Have a wonderful time in Rome, my favorite city.

I agree w/ Leely wholeheartedly.

While location is always a priority, it is especially so in Rome. Falegnami is the best location of your three choices by far - it terms of both central convenience and area charm.

It's important, IMO, not to confuse proximity to certain tourist sights with being a good and charming location. Some examples: in DC I would never stay close to the Air & Space museum, in NYC I wouldn't stay next to the Empire State Bldg, and in Rome I would not want to be next to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain or the Collosium.

I looked at your list and I like Apartment BOCCACCIO, it seems light and airy which can be important. Also there are windows which are good not only for light but for watching the action on the street and feeling like you are a part of Roman life.

I dont think any of your choices are very far from anything and if you are all capable of walking it is easy to get from one place to the next. Of course you can take a bus, metro or a cab but strolling along in Rome is a highlight, imho.

I'm a Campo de Fiori/Pantheon/Piazza Navona person, so my vote also goes to the Falegnami apartment.

While it's true that Rome is well equipped with buses, why bother with them if you do not have to? From the Falegnami location you can walk all the way to the Vatican in one direction and to the Colosseum in the other. (And if you don't want to walk, you can catch a bus to either at Largo di Torre Argentina or Via delle Botteghe Oscure within a few steps of the apartment.) Not to mention that there are dozens of points of interest that are only a few minutes away on foot as well as many restaurants and cafes in the area.

Thanks, all. I should mention that my kids are 20, 15 and 8. Don't know if that would sway anyone towards the Spanish Steps area...

Well, I don't know if you've been to Rome before, but the historical center is pretty walkable in my opinion. I've never taken a bus or a taxi or the metro there (okay, I like to wander; I was once with my mother in Rome, and we'd part ways when she'd opt for a taxi).

Your older kids can still wander over to the Spanish steps should they desire. And of course they may like the Campo or Trastevere as well.

The via del Corso apartment as shown on the map is a fair distance away from the Spanish Steps, much closer to Piazza del Popolo than to Piazza di Spagna.

Kids (although I'd be a bit worried about the eight-year-old...) hang out at the Spanish Steps, and they also hang out at Campo de Fiori. There's a McDonalds at the Spanish Steps, but most of the other cafes and restaurants near there are in a higher price bracket than the ones around Campo de Fiori. There must be at least 10 restaurants and cafes on the Campo, not to mention the places where one can buy panini, piazza al taglio or gelato.

Piazza del Popolo is not a kids' hang out at all; the two or three cafe/restaurants on the piazza all cater to a fairly affluent, intellectual-bohemian crowd. Federico Fellini used to hang out there...

That is, of course, "pizza al taglio," pizza - not the piazza - by the slice.

I stayed with my husband and teenage daughter in an apartment just a block away from the Trevi fountain apartment you listed, and we really liked the area. Still in the historic center, and very convenient both for walking and public transportation. Easy to walk to many of the sights and on many bus routes, as well as near a metro station.

I wouldn't mind staying in any of those neighborhoods, but I would be least likely to want the Spanish Steps area. When we were there, in the winter, there were not kids hanging out at the Spanish steps, by the way, so that must be a seasonal thing.