The historical center of Rome and the geographical are completely different places. Rome is a huge metropolis, the largest city in Italy with a population of about 4 million people. Since 5-6 storey buildings prevail in Rome, the area of the city is huge. The ring road has a diameter of about 20 km, and due to the many narrow streets and the relaxed Italians, transport and just everyday chaos reigns in us.
It’s worth worrying if you have not read this article, but you are already reading, then everything will be fine.
Losses of time in Rome for travel are huge, so it is very important to immediately choose the right strategic hotel to enjoy and fall in love with the Eternal City, walk only on foot, and not waste time, money, nerves in taxis and public transport.
If you read the article to the end, you are smart and learn from the mistakes of others, then you will return to Rome many more times.
Before every trip, it is important for every traveler to study a map of the city so that when he leaves the hotel he doesn’t find himself at the back of the city. Google maps give the geographical center of the city near our “beloved” Termini station, but it does not coincide with the historical center.
Define the historical center
On the map below, I plotted the main attractions that immediately come to mind. I’m sure that even if you’ve never been to Rome, you’ve heard about them in history classes or in films - the Colosseum, Pantheon, Vatican, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, Spanish Steps and so on ...
It is not necessary to be an excellent student in geometry to notice that the greatest concentration of attractions is around the Pantheon.
The Vatican, by the standards of Ancient Rome, is the outskirts, backyards. Therefore, the phrases “We lived right at the Coliseum” or “next to the Vatican” may sound cool when you tell stories to friends, but people who know the city will only politely smile.
Yes, this, of course, is better than renting a hotel somewhere on the final metro, which can be reached for another 20 minutes by bus, which runs once an hour.
Speaking of the subway. The closest stations to the historic center are Barberini (10 minutes walk to the Trevi Fountain), Spagna (Spanish Steps), Colloseo (Colosseum) and Ottaviano (Vatican Museums). Inside the most interesting part of the city, which is huge - there is no metro.
- I advise you to read about: metro in rome
If you look at Rome from a bird's eye view, you can see that, for example, the Prati district (up and to the left of the Vatican) has an almost parallel-perpendicular structure, well, just like in New York. Prati, translated from Italian “meadows”, began to be actively built up only in 1870 - this is relatively modern Rome.
We are interested in the area highlighted in white in the photo, because it is here that atmospheric narrow streets are so beloved by everyone, there is no "perpendicularity", interesting places and sights every 10 steps - buzz!
Having settled in this historic center, you will reach most of the main attractions in 10-30 minutes and spend your holidays as efficiently as possible.
According to the link, I have filtered for you the best hotels in the historical center according to tourist estimates. I also advise you to study the articles from the hotels section in Rome.
How to choose a hotel on your own?
The most important conclusion for you is that the center of Rome is the Pantheon. When choosing a hotel yourself, simply compare the distance from your address to the Pantheon. Let's highlight three levels of remoteness:
- Ideal location, to the Pantheon about a kilometer, walk no more than 20 minutes on foot. In this case, to see the main attractions, you do not have to use public transport at all. A maximum of 1-2 times you will take a taxi for 10-15 euros to return to the hotel if you walk and get tired.
- From the hotel to the Pantheon to go and go by bus or tram from 25 to 45 minutes - more or less normal, provided that you do not live with Termini.
- Travel time, taking into account the trip by bus or metro, is more than an hour - this is absolutely a disaster. Transport in Rome is far from ideal, but rather even terrible. Plus regular traditional strikes, possible disorientation in the Eternal City, lateness, events that cannot be predicted or even imagined - all this will increase the chances of not falling in love with the most beautiful city in the world. Get ready to spend 2 to 4 hours daily. Do you dream of such a Rome?
Let's look at specific examples.
We look at the address of the hotel HT6 Hotel Roma: Via del Tempio 6
Go to Google maps www.google.com/maps/
Press LAY OUT THE ROUTE and enter the address of your hotel. Google will immediately show you on the map all the options for getting there. We see that walking to the Pantheon is only 800 meters, and the Trastevere district begins on the other side of the river. All bars and restaurants in Trastevere are concentrated just in blocks along the river.
Take the address of the second B&B Hotel Roma Trastevere: Viale di Trastevere 249 / D
We look at the map and see that we walk 37 minutes to the Pantheon, but along the way you have the Trastevere zone with restaurants. Also in the center are buses H (to Termini), 170, 781 and tram N8. Trams in Rome run less or less on a schedule.
Bottom line: the B&B Hotel Roma Trastevere has an excellent second-level location and good reviews - perfect. I’ll add from myself that the Roma Trastevere station is a 5-minute walk and can be reached from Fiumicino for only 8 euros by regional train. I once stayed at the hotel myself and recommended it to friends several times.
Keep my favorite bars, restaurants nearby:
- La Tavernaccia is a Roman restaurant for locals, I advise you to come here for lunch from 12: 45-14: 00.
- Pizzeria Pepito's - I regularly visit friends here, ascetic design and one of the best pizzerias.
- Luppolo Station Roma - craft beer with excellent burgers right in front of the hotel, wrote about it in an article about my favorite beer houses.
- Bar Baffo Caffè Vergnano - a bar near the train station with excellent coffee and pastries
- Gelateria "Cucurucho" - delicious gelateria.
All of these facilities are a maximum 5-minute walk from the hotel, and on Sundays the Porta Portezes flea market is nearby.
Book a hotel for at least 3-6 months as close to the historical center as possible, so as not to use public transport at all, save time, nerves and enjoy the city from the first minutes. On the map below, I plotted the main attractions.
I am sure that now you will have no problems booking a hotel with a good location in Rome. If you need advice, I will be happy to answer your questions in the comments or with a special VKONTACT topic.
