Which Apt in Rome at Christmastime?
 

We'll be in Paris and Rome for our Christmas vacation (I'm SO excited!) - Paris from the 17th to the 23rd, Rome from the 23rd to the 31st. I found a wonderful, perfect apartment in Paris. But Rome... seems much harder.

I could really use some help. Our family is DH, 23yoDD, 14yoDS, and me. I'd like to spend about 150 eu per day. The kids don't want to share a bed so a 1 bedroom with a sofa bed won't work. We do want a decent kitchen.

Sleepinitaly.com has Castel San Angelo & Via delle Mura Aurelie available. Both look nice but are by the Vatican and I'd hoped for Campo or Navona. They also have Gregoriana Capo near the spanish steps.

Roman Reference has a 3 bd, Campo area, Largo Avenula, avail for 1200 eu/wk.

Thoughts? Opinions? Any would help!

OK, no feedback yet and I'm working on answering my own question. I could use opinions on the following:

romanreference.com #140 or 141 or 106
realrome.com -
Foraggi, 1bd, by Piazza Venezia
Trastavere Bologna 4
Portico Reginella, Campo Fiorella overlooking Teatro Marcella.

If anyone has stayed at one of these, or has experience with one of the rental agencies, that would be very helpful. Sleepinitaly.com has lovely places but they're near the Vatican and that just seems less convenient. Is that really the case or would Borgo Pio be an interesting area?

Is the apartment near the Spanish Steps still in the running? I would prefer that over the Vatican area.

Sorry, but I have no experience with these rentals, only know the areas.

Yes, the apt at the Spanish Steps is still available. I think. Which neighborhood would you select: Spanish Steps, Trastavere, Piazza Navona?

Rosetravels,
We just went to Rome last Christmas so I have a few insights:

First, from Christmas Eve through New Years, only half of the taxis are running on any given day. This is an agreement of all the cab companies. Read my trip report for details, and there are many on this problem.

But what I would take away from that, is that you would want the location that is MOST central for many sites and/or the Metro. (The Metro is closed in the evening (check the time on this) for cleaning, I think 9 pm. But during the day we found it the best choice. (Some buses were an hour or more late so that was tough at times too!)

An apartment within 2-4 blocks of a Metro stop is not such a big deal to me, whether it's Ottaviano Metro stop by the Vatican, or the one at Popolo (is that Flaminio?). So I would pick the apartment I like best. Once you get the Metro near the big sites, the walking is easy.

Personally, I would recommend against Trastevere, since it is both less central and not near a Metro line.

If you want to go to Midnight Mass, it might be worth it to be near the Vatican. It's hard to say without knowing what all you've planned to see. I hear it is almost impossible to get a cab after the Mass is over. So it would be a godsend at 2 am to just walk back to your apartment to go to sleep.

If you aren't going to Midnight Mass, there is a liturgy in English at St. Susanna's. As I recall, it's near Piazza Repubblica. http://www.santasusanna.org/ourChurch/ourChurch.html

Finally, plan to slow down a bit in Rome. The day AFTER Christmas is a holiday. And in general things move slower during this time; doublecheck to see if things will be open. Enjoy all the Nativity scenes, especially the display at St. Maria del Popolo.

Here's my report:

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...live&fid=2

You might want to try Mappy from various apartment addresses to the Metro, Piazza Navona and to the Vatican to see what distances you're seeing.

http://www.mappy.co.uk/

Thanks 5alive - this is all very, very helpful. We will want to go to midnight mass, just haven't thought about which church. Did you attend mass at St. Peter's and was it lovely?

Based on your feedback, and looking at the map, I think we will want to be exactly central to what we may want to see. We love to hike/walk. I'm now leaning towards this one:
www.romanreference.com #141. It's by Piazza Navona and that seems walkable to all sights.

I'll read your trip report and I will probably have questions - we've just started to plan and I have no ideas about what we want to do yet.

My 14-year old loves Roman History so I've asked him to study up for us - this morning before school I saw him reading the Rome guidebook.