As part of a two month vacation to Europe we are staying in Rome for 5 days. We are renting an apartment with either VRBO or Homeaway. We have had extremely good luck with these in other countries. My question is what section of Rome is the best to stay in St. Peter's/Vatican or Spanish Steps? We will be arriving by train from Zurich and leaving for Southern Italy by train to the coast. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Neither.

I prefer the central historic district near the Pantheon/Piazza Navonna/Campo di Fiori

Is there that much of a difference? This is our first stay in Rome.

In my opinion, yes.

Most travellers do the Vatican area in one day, so staying on the other side of the Tiber, where most tourist sites are, is more convenient.

I personally find the Campo dei Fiori has slipped into seediness, but the Piazza Navona or Spanish Steps areas are fine. I increasingly like the Piazza del Popolo but have not found a suitable hotel in that area yet.

Definitely the Pantheon/Piazza Navona area. Most centrally located.

I would choose the Spanish Steps area. If you are walkers, you will find it's a pleasant stroll to many places you want to go, including Piazza Navona, the shopping district of Via del Corso, Borghese park, etc. Spanish Steps is on Metro line A, which will take you to the Vatican, and also to Termini, where you can transfer to line B for the Coliseum.

This is a great help! I have found a few places in the Spanish Steps area that look good. I think I'll concentrate on that and Pantheon/Piazza Novona aera. Don't mind walking, but do mind seediness! We are older travelers, so want somewhere that is nice and safe!

travel-nana, you don't have to worry about safety, even in the Campo di fiori area. Italian cities are safe, more so than many American ones. But I am like you, preferring not to get into seedy areas just because of the aesthetics of it.

You might want to check out the apartments listed by Sleep In Italy. The prices may well be equal to or better than VRBO and you have some confidence in the agent. The only time I'll use VRBO is if the owner allows me to pay completely by CC, then I have some recourse.

dave

We stayed near the Trevi Fountain and found we could we walk almost everywhere from there. We took the metro to the Vatican one day. I felt our location was quite central and very near lots of restaurants and shopping as well...

We are among those who prefer the Piazza Navona/Pantheon area. It seems the most interesting, centrally located and pleasant area of Rome after 7 trips.

Thanks for all your help we got an apartment in the Location of Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps),(we do like to walk!) and have the entire trip planned except for transporation between countries. We know we will be taking one overnight train, but the rest of the trip we need to figure out whether to buy a pass or do daily train rates. We also may need to rent a car from a few cities to see the country side. If anyone has information on trains/transporation it would be greatly appreicated.

in general, you are better buying point-to-point train tickets for travel in Italy. From what I understand (although GAC can correct me if I am worng), if you have a pass you still have to make (and pay for) seat reservations and tickets.

ekc Do the point-to-point tickets include the price of seat reservation? We are investigating information from Rick Steves website and seat61 website. I think the trains seem to be the most confusing part of our trip! I just don't want to mess it up!

Point to point tickets include the mandatory seat reservation.

You can check schedules and buy tickets at the Italian RR website, www.trenitalia.com.

For tickets originating in Switzerland, use the Swiss rail site www.rail.ch

J62 thanks for letting me know! Now I can expalin to DH the difference in prices. He was looking at the passes and point to point and didn't know the point to point included the reservation fee! That's a really big help, and big difference in price. thanks again!