Wanderer,

There are plenty of reasonably priced hotel in Rome. Do a search on venere.com and you can sort by price or location.

I stayed in Sept for 90e a night (single room) at Hotel Giardino Rome and was very pleased with the location, quiet room, super helpful and friendly owner, Katy.

We arrived from Washington State in Rome. Spent 3 days seeing all the sights (you must see Borghese Villa and park!), eating fine food, and listening to gypsies playing the accordian on the subway. Took public transportation and walked alot. Then took a train and a bus to Amalfi for 2 days which wasn't enough. There are other towns along the coast which would be fascinating to visit. Ravello was beautiful and quiet and Positano was interesting, too. Then, we took a train up to Venice for the last 4 days. There is enough historial interest to keep you going for a lifetime in all 3 of these places! (Amalfi has a very rich history.)

Rome!
Florence is nice, but Rome is amazing.
"we love architecture and history, good food, shopping, good wine, and a really "walkable" place"-this much better describes Rome. Maybe more than any other city in the worls.
No matter what you choose, you'll be fine.

Based on what you've told us, I agree Rome sounds like a good choice. And, as another poster pointed out, there are good daytrip options if you need a change while there. I particualarly enjoyed Tivoli. But, I think your choice of area in which to situate yourself, apartment or hotel, will be crucial. This is where you won't want to stint on research! If the search function is working, there are many posts here that should be helpful on that topic.

It looks like Piazza Novana/Pantheon area as opposed to Spanish Steps area would be better?

So far, short list is:

Del Senato - VERY expensive
Santa Chiara
Cesari
Portoghesi

Is one better than another for location?

Pls someone explain - how is it that Rome is OK in Oct, and Amalfi Coast is not (weather-wise) when Amalfi Coast is further south???? We thought the weather would be better (less rain, more predictable) in Amalfi Coast!??

The weather is unpredicatable throughout Italy, and October can be a rainy month in both the Amalfi and in Rome. If you spend a lot of money to book 2 or 3 days in the Amalfi and it rains or fogs up, you will be stuck with almost nothing to do or enjoy (except the food, of course!). By contrast, if you are in Rome and it rains, there is no end of things to do that are just fabulous.

But I'm a real weather conservative. How late in October are you going?

The Pantheon/Piazza Navona area is much preferable to the Spanish Steps, in my opinion. Albergo del Senato is one of my favorite hotels. I also like Teatro Pace 33 off the Piazza Navona, but its rooms are small.

For a week's stay, you should seriously consider an apartment, which would probably be cheaper and give you more room. Check out the Slow Travel website.

The weather is unpredicatable throughout Italy, and October can be a rainy month in both the Amalfi and in Rome. If you spend a lot of money to book 2 or 3 days in the Amalfi and it rains or fogs up, you will be stuck with almost nothing to do or enjoy (except the food, of course!). By contrast, if you are in Rome and it rains, there is no end of things to do that are just fabulous.

How late in October are you going?

The Pantheon/Piazza Navona area is much preferable to the Spanish Steps, in my opinion. Albergo del Senato is one of my favorite hotels. I also like Teatro Pace 33 off the Piazza Navona, but its rooms are small.

For a week's stay, you should seriously consider an apartment, which would probably be cheaper and give you more room. Check out the Slow Travel website.

Just curious - if the weather is "iffy" in October, why are the rates the highest at that time?

We would be going last week of Sept/first week of Oct.

Fair enough. Since they are there all year every year, and charging those high prices, I'd assume their predictions are better than mine.

The little towns of the Amalfi don't offer quite the same experience as Venice (or another Italian city) in terms of being able to walk to interesting sights in the morning, but retreating back your apartment midday, and then finding a new place to explore in the late afternoon. Most people who stay in one of the Amalfi locations either stay put in their tiny town and swim and sunbathe etc, or travel outside the town when they want variety -- which means a bus or ferry trip, and therefore no mid-afternoon break. If you are really into hiking, you can probably find more to explore on foot.

Dear wanderer, having just spent a week in Rome that wasn't long enough, I'd say Rome every time. WE stayed in an apartment near the coloseum becasuse there were four of us, but if just a couple, I'd pick a hotel in the campo dei fioro area where you can walk almost everywhere really easily. You can also do day trips on the bus/train to Tivoli [Hadrian's villa, Villa d'Este] and Ostia Antica if you want a bit of a change.
October should be fine; though it does rain in Rome - three times while we were there - it doesn't matter as there's so much to do.
A week + will give you lots of time just to wander around, which is what you'll want to do most, as there's something interesting not just round every corner, but on it too. Also you'll be able get to know a district or two and go back to the best bits - a luxury not given to those who see everything in a day. WE loved having our favourite bar where the owner greeted us every time [yes I know they do that to everyone, but the kids loved it], our son could go out and buy the breakfast from the bar next door, we knew where the best gelati were. Slow travel rules ok.

Hi W,

>We would be going last week of Sept/first week of Oct.<

1st week of Oct is shoulder season on the AC, and the weather is still reasonable.

Check out www.lesirene.com.

We greatly enjoyed our week there.

We've stayed at the Portoghesi. It's a nice, small, affordable hotel in a great location.

We're springing for the del Senato in September based on all the great reviews and the location (love the Piazza della Rotunda and Pantheon).

We've also stayed at the Nazionale e Montecitorio close by but I think their rates in September/October are very high. Great location as well sharing a traffic free piazza with the Parliament building.

Hi,

I did not read all the responses, but go to the AC. If you want you could spend 4-5 days in Rome and 4 days on the AC. Relax and and enjoy yourself. Rome is filled with museums. You do not need to go to Florence. That's another trip.
Have Fun

Ok. I'm going to play with your head. Have you thought of Cinque Terra and Portofino and Santa Margarita, with day trips maybe to Lucca or Pisa, if you have the time? I think you could fly into Florence, stay there a day or two, (that was plenty for us) then train over to the coast. Or skip Florence. I haven't been to the Amalfi coast, but Rome would be my choice over Florence. If you want to stay put, you would not fill 9 days in Florence without day trips, especially if you are not museum people. Rome is very cool, lots to see, avoid weekends. But what's great about Cinque Terra, is that its five villages in one. You can walk between villages or easily take the transit between them. And each town is unique and special. And Portofino and Santa Margarita are beautiful. It would be easy to enjoy a week there, wtiht minimum hassle. Good luck!

"...don't have as good a feel for Florence. People I've talked to either love it or hate it, and I'm not sure why. I'm more concerned with the "hate" part - I've heard comments of claustraphobic, dark, narrow tiny streets. Can't anyone speak to that?"

Those adjectives you cite for Florence would be much more appropriate for Venice, IMO. If you fell in love with Venice (which I adore) you will also love Florence (which, to me, was magical). Rome you may love as well but it is much more of a fast paced city with all the historical/cultural/artistic/architectural additives that we all know about. Frankly you will not go wrong with either Florence or Rome. But I am guessing, from what you have said, that with Florence you will fall head over heals.

Then again, desertginter's suggestion of Cinque Terra is great. There is less to actually see in terms of sites, but exploring the villages is just a blast and sounds like the kind of rhythm wanderer would enjoy.

Let us know what you choose!

I think we are pretty set on Rome.

I was checking out Slow Trav.

Anyone know of or had experience with either Comfortitalia or Rome is Home rental agencies?

One of the apartments we are looking at only has availability first week of Nov.

What is the range of months in which we will not be guaranteeing bad weather in Rome? Should we not look at anything after mid-October?

We visited Rome for the first time the week before Thanksgiving a few years ago. It was gorgeous. Lovely temps, no crowds, beautiful light. We had rain for about one hour the whole week.