Opinion regarding lodging near the Vatican. I am getting mixed reviews from friends and professionals.

Staying 4 nights with husband and adult daughter. This is our first trip and Vatican is a primary purpose of our visit, but want to see other areas as well.

Recommendations for hotels??

hi fergie,

along with other students from the college where i attend evening classes in Italian, we are ging to be spending a week staying in the hotel gravina san pietro, to the south of the vatican.

http://www.hotelgravinasanpietro.it/

it gets reasonable reviews on TA, but I'll report back.

when's your trip?

Vatican City is not in Central Rome. Not particularly convenient to other major sites and the Roman Metro is not as extensive as its counterparts in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris so you'd be more likely to take buses . . . which get stuck in traffic . . . in a city of 3M people . . .

Across from the Vatican museum entrance is the hotel Alimandi Vaticano (AKA the 4 ****) A family run operation and I found it to be quite comfortable and still did the things I wanted to in the more central area of Rome. The *** star sits behind it and is a little less in price

http://www.alimandivaticanohotel.com/

Public "access" to the Vatican is through 2 very separate areas. One is through St Peter's Square and the main entrance to the Basicilia, both of which face the Tiber River. The other access area is located where what most people would term the "rear" of the Vatican. It is not near the Tiber River at all.

For people who stay near the Tiber River, even though they are on the "Vatican side" of the River, there is almost no functional difference when it comes to touring Rome at large. In fact, it can be quite a convenient location, because not only can you walk across the river to many very nice parts of Rome and sights of touristic interest, there are many buses and metro stations in that area that can whisk you to the Colosseum and other points of interest.

The problem comes if you stay on the "back side" of the Vatican -- or, to put it another way, if you pretty much put the Vatican between yourself (hotel) and the river. Then the Vatcian -- which is huge -- becomes an obstacle you always need to get around to get anyplace else, because it is a walled city with very little public access. Presumably, you only are going to the museum once.

A lot of people pooh-pooh staying on the Vatican side of the River because they think the point of going to Rome is to wander around the tiny antique streets of the piazza Navona or the Campo de'Fiori. The riverside areas near the Vatican are mostly straight 19th c. streets.

HOWEVER, there are actually quite a few un-touristy restaurants on that side of the river, and if you have any feeling for going to Rome to live like the Romans instead of the tourists do, it can be a nice place to perch. Here's a recent NYTimes article:

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/201...SURFACING.html

thanks, pizzochieri,

I wouldn't necessarily have chosen to stay in this particular hotel, but our teacher has chosen it, presumably because it's near the language school we'll be attending every morning, which is nearby.

I'm looking forward to getting to know a new part of rome. if you've got any suggestions for places to eat/drink nearby, I'd be grateful.

How many days do you plan to spend at the Vatican?

I plan to see Vatican for at least 1 1/2 days. Any info on Palazzo Cardinal Cesi?

It's a convent/hotel right in front of the Vatican (on the street that leads to Castel Sant'Angelo) and expensive.

fergie342,

If you will be entering the Vatican museums more than once, the entrance to the museum is nearer the Cipro metro station at the "back" of the Vatican (not near the river). Since you can't walk through, but must walk around, it can take longer than most people imagine. But otherwise, that's a great location for walking to restaurants and sights other than the Vatican museum, and it is quite a beautiful area. You are also a rather short walk to a metro station that will quickly take you to the Colosseo and the train station if you planning day trips out of town.

annhig,

You are a 20 minute walk from Sor'Eva in the piazza della Rovere. Home-made pasta, , fresh seasonal food. I don't think anybody but Romans are aware it's there, so if that's the kind of dining in Rome you like, you might enjoy it. I don't believe the owners speak English, however. (Good practice.)

http://www.ristorantesoreva.com/dove-siamo/

Hi Fergie
My husband and I stayed at the Alimandi Vaticano at Viale Vaticano 99, for 5 nights last year and we highly recommend it. We got the deluxe double room which a king bed and there was a totally spearate room with a pull out couch, which could serve as a second bedroom. I believe it was Rm 304.It had a large marble bathroom with white fluffy towels and lots of other conveniences,like coffee maker,hairdryer, 2 TV's etc.
We also had a large balcony where you could sit and enjoy the crowds queing up to get into the Vatican Museum, which is just on the other side of the street. Actually you couldn't get any closer. Our 260E per night included a fabulous buffet and the staff was excellent. It is only a short walk to St Peters basilica and it is very easy to walk to lots of other places, like Castle Sant' Angelo. You can take a cab to The Trevi fountain and walk from there to all the other famous landmarks.......Pantheon, Piazza Navone, Spanish Steps, Cafe Greco, etc. We took the bus from about 50 yards from outside our hotel, to the Colisseum, Forum, Circus Maximus etc then took the subway (blue line) back to Termini (2-3 stops), then switched to the red line, and took it back to the Vatican. Not complicated. Enjoy your vacation.

So if I stay at the Alimandi Vaticano I am closer to the entrance than if I stay at the Cardinal Cesi??

The entrance to the Vatican museum(s) is directly across from your the hotel. If you google the hotel on Booking.com or otherwise, you will see from the pictures, how close it actually is. (Hotel Alimandi Vaticano)

grqzie, ga.


it looks like a good place to aim for in the evening.

You are near a metro station so you can get to all the main sights. The metro can be crowded and rather dirty but you can't get lost as it's basically one long metro. We had luck with taxi's when we were too tired to walk. Checkout Plazza del Popolo and walk down Via del Corso.

Here is our rather brief visit to Rome last year -

www.rimerson.com/Cruise-Rome-2012/Rome-2012.html

There are two Alimandi Hotels in the area. The Vaticano is literally across the street from the entrance to the Vatican. The Tunisi is one short block away. I prefer the Tunisi, but they are both excellent places to stay. We have started (or ended) several Italian vacations at the Alimandi. One great advantage of the Alimandi is that they will pick you up at the airport or deliver you to the airport (no charge for the service the last time we were there, about three years ago).

When we stayed there last year, there was a charge for each of us to be taken to the airport. I believe it was 10E each. It was worth it.