Are you familiar with the districts of Rome?
Let’s find out more about choosing the perfect place where you can stay during your vacation in Rome!
Your trip has been meticulously planned and you already know what to see, where to eat, what are the most picturesque corners to take plenty of pictures and selfies to be shared on your social media…. but a detail is still missing: you don’t know where to stay in Rome!
In such a large city, there seems to be unlimited possibilities and you may think that one neighborhood is as good as another for your stay, but that’s not quite the case: there are specific areas suitable for all your possible needs!
If you are looking for…
A foodie’s paradise with local restaurants and cafés:
📍 Testaccio: The ultimate street food destination in Rome, especially thanks to its local market. This neighborhood also provides a wide choice of “trattorie” serving only local Roman food, like Hostaria da Enzo (via Ostiense 36), Pecorino (via Galvani 36) or Piatto Romano (via Bodoni 62).
📍 Trastevere: An historical neighborhood offering plenty of “trattorie” and friendly small restaurants, which are an obligatory step for tourists. Prices are generally good, just as the wide selection of dishes listed on the menus, even if they are often influenced by the tastes of foreign tourists that crowd this area of the city. If you want to taste real Roman food, choose bucatini all’amatriciana, pasta cacio e pepe, gnocchi alla romana or pajata.
📍 Prati: this neighborhood is an example of the Roman gourmet scene and you can find trendy bars for a quick lunch while you’re sightseeing, but also hip restaurants for those who love discovering new flavors. Some examples are bistrot Lumière in
via Cicerone 25 or Fermento in via Cicerone 61.
📍 Centro Storico: the whole city center is generally a good place for foodies who want to taste typical dishes. Just pay attention to the many restaurants specifically conceived to attract tourists, which don’t reflect the authenticity of the local cuisine.
📍 Monti: in the past it was a bad neighborhood but nowadays is a lively and crowded area, both day and night, thanks to the wide range of bars and restaurants that populate its streets. If you like aperitives, you can come here to mix with local people in one of the many cocktail bars of this area. You can find locals and tourists wandering through the streets with a snack and a drink near popular places like Zia Rosetta
(via Urbana 54) or Pizza Trieste (via Urbana 112).
A stunning views and photogenic streets of Rome:
📍 Monteverde Vecchio: This neighborhood is full of elegant mansions and it has a refined and stylish atmosphere. It is also a quiet area, where you can take long walks and beautiful pictures from Gianicolo terrace.
A low-cost neighborhood, where to stay in Rome:
📍 Esquilino: This relatively central neighborhood is suitable for those traveling on a budget, but it is also a noisy and unsafe area, mainly at night. However, it also has ancient buildings, arcades, beautiful churches and classical structures that contrast with the lively multiethnic atmosphere you can find in these streets.
The best neighborhood where you can experience Roman nightlife:
📍 Trastevere: The ultimate nightlife area in Rome. Here you can stroll along picturesque streets paved with sanpietrini, taste typical dishes, have a drink in the open air and go from bar to bar all night long. To taste good cocktails, you can go to Mr Brown (Vicolo del Cinque 29), while if you prefer beer, go to Luppolo Station (via Parini 4).
A neighborhood for a very short stay in Rome:
📍Esquilino: It is a relatively central neighborhood, very well served by public transports and close to Stazione Termini (railway station). It is the perfect solution for very short stays, also as a step of longer trips. Wandering here at night is not safe, but during the day you can visit a lot of monuments and point of interests nearby, which are easily reachable.
The best neighborhood where to stay with children in Rome:
📍Piazza di Spagna/Trevi: It is a relatively central neighborhood, very well served by public transports and close to Stazione Termini (railway station). It is the perfect solution for very short stays, also as a step of longer trips. Wandering here at night is not safe, but during the day you can visit a lot of monuments and point of interests nearby, which are easily reachable.
📍Via Veneto/Barberini: it is a quiet family-friendly area. Its elegant atmosphere can show to the
youngest tourists the settings of Fellini’s classical film “La Dolce Vita”.
A neighborhood where to stay during your first visit to Rome:
📍 Piazza Navona: the area adjacent to this famous square will offer you the possibility to stay in the city center and to be surrounded by beautiful baroque buildings and by many of the most important tourist attractions, all of them easily reachable with a short walk.
📍 Campo de’ Fiori: it is a well-maintained neighborhood that will allow you to walk your way around Rome.
📍 Jewish Ghetto: this small neighborhood located between Tevere River and Venezia Square, is relatively unknown by tourists. For this reason, it could be a good starting point to explore the most authentic and least obvious places in town. It is the right place for you to discover less famous historical and cultural local heritage, as well as the traditional Jewish cuisine.
📍 Piazza di Spagna/Trevi: one of the most popular locations among tourists from all around the world. Here you can find hotels, B&B and other accommodations for all budgets and preferences.
📍Via Veneto/Barberini: it is a central area, well served by public transports and rich in all kinds of shops, bars and restaurants.
A neighborhood where not to stay in Rome:
📍 Castro Pretorio: Even if it can be considered a tourist district thanks to its monuments like Porta Pia or the National Library, it is close to Stazione Termini, which is not a good place to visit in the evening, like many large train stations in Italy.
📍 Esquilino/Termini: it is the area adjacent to the main train station in Rome and it can get dangerous at night.
It is not suitable if you are planning to stay out until late at night.
The best neighborhood with an authentic Roman feel:
📍 San Giovanni: it is a fascinating and characteristic neighborhood, with well-maintained ancient buildings, majestic churches and markets selling local products. The mix between ancient and modern is well represented by new buildings lying close to historical monuments. Here you can get an idea of how Rome has been evolving through the centuries.
A neighborhood for a medium/long stay in Rome:
📍 Nomentano: it is a residential area, quite far from the chaotic and crowded city center. This neighborhood is suitable for your relocation, because it can offer you tranquility, privacy and green spaces, while still being well served by public transports. Even if it is mainly populated by locals, this area offers a wide range of restaurants, cafés, shops and points of interest.
📍 Trieste: this neighborhood is located in the northern part of the city and it is often referred to as “African Neighborhood”, because the names of its streets are inspired by Italian former colonies in Africa. Around the 1920s, this area was mainly populated by the railway-men and their families, since it is close to the Rome-Florence railway. Nowadays, there are no more traces of that period, because social housing has been replaced by modern buildings and apartments. In the adjacent area, you can find a characteristic neighborhood, called Quartiere Coppedè: it has beautiful mansions and buildings built in Liberty and Art Déco styles.
A sought-after neighborhood by local house-hunters:
📍 Cinecittà Est: here there are the headquarters of several television and film studios. It is a busy neighborhood, which developed in the 1980s, and it is very well-served by public transports (both subway and buses). It is one of the favorite areas of non-resident students.
📍 Porta di Nona: another modern and “new” neighborhood (its building began in 2002). It is full of shops, supermarkets, a shopping mall and 2 parks.
📍 Nuovo Salario: it is a small area around via Salaria, close to Porta Pia. It was once an aristocratic neighborhood with many villas with gardens and parks, elegant mansions and fancy buildings. It is perfect for those searching for tranquility, privacy and a refined atmosphere.
The best neighborhoods of Rome, according to Tripadvisor:
📍 Trastevere: fascinating, picturesque, rich in traditions and with an authentically Italian atmosphere, this neighborhood makes every international visitor fall in love. Its little winding streets full of restaurants and cafés make this area an
evocative setting, perfect for a romantic holiday.
According to Tripadvisor’s users the following best neighborhoods are Trastevere and Jewish Ghetto.