Statia

Considering an apartment in this area of Rome. Is it easy to catch a cab in this area in order to get to the historical center and other areas of Rome? I know the walk is not that far, but I will be traveling with someone with limited disability and will have to rely on cabs to get everywhere.

Should I stick to apartments in the historical center instead? Any suggsetions on areas to stay in that will allow me to catch cabs easily?

Statia

ttt

wliwl

Try to look on a map and locate a taxi stand near your apartment. They are usually coded somehow. You don't really flag down a cab in Rome - you walk to a taxi stand, where htey are waiting.

Some of these older areas have these little tiny buses too (they have to be tiny to fit throught the streets). So, maybe you're on one of those lines.

Relying on cabs will be a little tricky to really get a feel for Rome.

Denise

Hi Statia:

There is a tourist chalet in the neighbourhood. They gave us a reliable cab service. Just a phone call away, they spoke English, and could give you an idea of cost. This also ensures you are not overpaying for the ride.

hdm

I don't think you would have much of a problem. We saw many taxis on the main street (the one with the tram line). Though we mostly took the tram, we did catch the occasional cab into the historical centre by waiting at a marked taxi stand.

bardo1

If you plan to take taxis everywhere, then Trastevere is about as good as the Centro Storico.

I suggest you ask about the specific address in Trastevere since some areas in that neighborhood are not nearly as charming as others.

If you choose the center, I would look at places that are both east of Piazza Navona and south of Corso Vittorio Emanuele. Then just walk north to Corso Vittorio Emanuele where there is a taxi every one to five seconds.

Barb

Statia:

I loved Trastevere - it has a wonderful neighborhood feel to it. You won't have any problems with taxis as there are taxi stands everywhere. Check in with the tourist booth which is on Viale di Trastevere right before you cross the Ponte Garibaldi and they can give you maps and schedules for buses and trams. You can ride the tram to Largo Argentina, which is a transportation hub and from there you can get buses and taxis everywhere. I found the people at the tourist booth very helpful with directions to restaurants and such.

Statia

Thanks so much for the info, everyone! I'm still up in the air between Trastevere and the historical center, but at least now I have more info to go by.

Once you are in the historical center, can you cab it place to place or is it pedestrian only? I love to walk everywhere, but unfortunately my mom isn't able to do so.

Eloise

It seems to me counter-intuitive to stay in Trastevere because taking cabs from there might be easier - and more expensive.

One CAN take cabs in the historical center, but as in any other city, I imagine a cab driver would be more than slightly annoyed if you took a cab for two blocks.

If your mother can walk a few blocks, there are dozens of things that you can do in the historical center in any given small area. You can take a cab back from your farthest point, or take a cab to and from if you are exploring an area that is too far for your mother to walk to. But I do not think it would be feasible or advisable to visit Rome without doing ANY walking at all.

bardo1

Statia,

You might look at mapblast.com

Select Italy for country, type Rome for city, and then type Piazza Navona for street address. The pededstrian only streets will appear as gray, streets that allow autos will be white, and major streets will be yellow. A taxi is never far away.

Statia

Thanks for the map info, bardo. I will look into that.

Eloise, I can see your point in the walking aspects of Rome and I personally love visiting cities that have pedestrian only centers and only allow for walking. However, on the other side of the coin, I am sure there are many immobile people who have visited Rome and had a successful trip.

My mother was diagnosed with a chronic illness almost two years ago and her lifelong dream has always been to visit Rome, especially since she was a Catholic nun for many years and she has never been anywhere in Europe. So, I want to surprise her with this once in a lifetime experience before she is gone.

Certainly there is a way for disabled people to see Rome...or am I just way off base and should forget the whole idea? Believe me, I have had my own misgivings about pulling this off, so I am appreciative of all advice of those who have been to the city.

Nutella

Statia, by all means take your Mom to Rome!!!
But IMHO I would lean toward the center rather than Trastevere. I stayed in Trastevere this past spring for 9 nights in an apartment and loved it and would definitely stay there again. I love to walk and did a ton of walking to and fro, and also took the tram a lot, which was very convenient. I have no doubt you'd be able to get taxis to wherever you need to go. But having said that, not only is there a river separating Trastevere from the rest of Rome, but also somewhat of a "psychological" barrier. Sure, you can take cabs back and forth, but will you and your mom want to? Sightseeing in Rome can be very tiring. I'm just thinking your mom might be more comfortable in the center, where it seems easier to retire back to the room for rests throughout the day. If you plan to have dinners in Trastevere, this won't be an issue (and there are plenty of great restaurants there!), but if you think you want to spend evenings in the center, I think staying there would be more convenient. Of course, I may be overthiinking this - in any case I don't think you can go too wrong and I wish you a great trip!

wliwl

Statia:
If you are thinking about changing locations try to take this into account:

Many of the roads in Rome are EXTREMELY narrow. We stayed on a street in Rome where literally you had to duck into a doorway sometimes to let a car go by. It was actually pretty dangerous. That could be tough with anyone who is walking-impaired. SO, try to find out what kind of road you will be on.

Actually, staying right on one of the all-pedestrian roads, or right on a piazza, might be the safest route to go.

Also, although the roads are marked "pedestrian only" you do occasionally see a motorcycle or car or delivery truck trying to navigate them. So stay alert.

By all means take your mother - there are lots of elderly and not-very-sturdy (sorry - I can't think of how else to put it!) looking tourists there. You will have a great time. Just be extremely careful and watchfull of traffic at all times.

gabriele

Sightseeing in Rome requires a LOT of walking. Have only done this in the U.S., but the way we were able to travel with an older uncle who had limited mobility was to rent a wheelchair for the vacation. He had never used a wheelchair before but was delighted with his ability to keep up, for the first time in years, with the rest of the family.

kswl

Statia, no helpful advice for your trip to offer, but I want to tell you how wonderful I think this trip will be for both of you. Bless you for being so considerate of your mom.

Eloise

I'm hopeful for your sake and your mother's that it can be done, Statia, but perhaps you should consider Gabriele's advice of renting a (collapsible) wheelchair for your mother.

An old (1992) issue of Fodor's Rome has a few paragraphs on handicapped travel in Rome and names a number of sources for further information, some of which I am sure have Web sites by now:
The Information Center for Individuals with Disabilities;
Mobiity International USA;
The Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped.

You might also try to look at guidebooks to Rome in a large bookstore; I am sure most would have at least some information on handicapped travel in Rome.

Or you might simply Google <"Rome" "handicapped"> (without the carets, of course).

I would agree with the posters who suggest staying in the historical center, which is more or less the area within or just outside the triangle of Campo de Fiori/Pantheon/Piazza Navona.

Good luck!

Statia

Thanks for all the further advice. Both here and in talking to several friends of mine who have been to Rome, I've gotten a lot of good tips on how to pull this off with a person with mobility issues and it's not as if it's completely undoable. Wheelchair rental for Vatican tour, private driver for one particular day of touring, the double decker tour bus, etc.

So, I think we can swing it and I have more confidence in going now with various ideas I've received from several people. It's not as if we're planning to see the entire city, but rather just want my mom to experience being there and seeing maybe two or three sights a day. We plan on taking a lot of cafe breaks, so sis and I might be quite snockered by mid-day from all the vino we will have to purchase in order to sit down. Just kidding.

Thanks again for the advice and feel free to add more. I also think that we have settled on the city center (an apartment a couple blocks from Piazza Navona) as the best place to stay.

Eloise

Until 11:00 a.m. (or 11:30, since you are tourists), you can have cappuccino or caffe latte at the cafes. In the afternoon, no Roman would be caught dead drinking a cappuccino or caffe latte: an espresso is the only permissible form of coffee.

Something that I have found can be very good (and non-intoxicating) in a better cafe is spremuta di limone or spremuta di arancia (freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice; with the lemon, they bring you a jug of water, so you can make it last for hours, if need be).

And when it turns time to hit the vino (about 5:00 p.m., I would say), any better cafe can give you a glass of prosecco (the dry, bubbly wine from the north of Italy): very enjoyable and surprisingly inexpensive. (In one cafe on the Piazza della Rotonda facing the Pantheon, the prosecco in the evening cost less than the cappuccino in the morning.)

Statia

Eloise, I actually prefer caffe corretto in the late afternoon.

I have been to Italy twice now, having also just returned from Venice two weeks ago, so at least I'm not totally lacking in Italian customs. I just have not been to Rome yet, which is the reason for my many questions.

Thanks again for the input and advice.

SeaUrchin

Statia, I think you made a good choice in staying in the center. Your mother can just walk outside the door and be right in the thick of things. Check out which restaurants are good on the nearest square and make that your hangout and meeting place. Also I know from traveling with an older person from time to time that a restaurant on a square is a good place to plunk that person down with some food or drink for a while so they can people watch while you run off and do something else.