Where to stay in Rome: the areas, and the hotels we book in them

This is the Rome of the postcards, packed into the lanes from the Tiber to just past Via del Corso: the Pantheon, Piazza Navona with its street artists and restaurant tables out on the stones, Campo de' Fiori and its market. The main squares stay busy until late, the quieter rooms are in the side streets behind them, and the better meals are rarely on the famous squares.

No Metro line runs through it. Spagna and Barberini, both on line A, are 16 and 17 minutes' walk from the Pantheon, so you walk, or take tram 8 from Largo di Torre Argentina over the river to Trastevere. The centre is a limited-traffic zone, closed to cars without a permit from 6:30 to 18:00 on weekdays, 14:00 to 18:00 on Saturdays and, except in August, 23:00 to 3:00 on Friday and Saturday nights; taxis may enter.

Our three hotels here sit at three points across it: Orient Express La Minerva on Piazza della Minerva behind the Pantheon, Eitch Borromini Palazzo Pamphilj in Borromini's building on Piazza Navona, with its door on the lane behind, and Six Senses Rome on Piazza di San Marcello, just off Via del Corso and 6 minutes from the Trevi Fountain. The trade-off is the crowd: you pay for the address, and you share it.

Monti climbs from the back of the Roman Forum towards Santa Maria Maggiore, and it still feels like a neighbourhood rather than a stage set. Rome's tourism board lists its art galleries and wine bars and counts it among the city's nightlife districts, and Piazza della Madonna dei Monti, the square with the fountain, is where that happens: full of people with a drink until late, quiet two lanes away. The streets slope, and some end in steps.

Getting around is easy. Line B stops at Cavour, 4 minutes from the square, and at Colosseo, where it now meets line C; the Colosseum itself is an 8-minute walk. Via dei Fori Imperiali, the road past the Imperial Forums, is closed to private cars and becomes a pedestrian street on Sundays, public holidays and the last Saturday of each month.

The Inn at the Roman Forum is at the Forum end of the quarter, on a pedestrian lane that goes silent at night. The trade-off: the square is loud in the evening, the hills are real, and the Vatican is on the far side of the city, 46 minutes on foot, or line B to Termini and line A from there.

Campo Marzio runs from Piazza del Popolo down to the streets just north of the Pantheon, and Rome's tourism board calls it almost entirely given over to shopping and relaxation: Via dei Condotti, Via del Babuino and Via Margutta, with the Spanish Steps on one side and the Ara Pacis and the Mausoleum of Augustus by the river. The streets are flat, and the Tridente at its heart has its own limited-traffic zone, which keeps out scooters as well as cars without a permit from 6:30 to 19:00 on weekdays and from 10:00 to 19:00 on Saturdays.

At night it goes quiet. The shops close, Via del Corso empties, and dinner means a walk to the Pantheon, 13 minutes from Piazza Augusto Imperatore, or up to Piazza del Popolo. Line A is close: Spagna is 9 minutes from the same square and Flaminio 10, and the ramps from Piazza del Popolo climb to the Pincio terrace and on into Villa Borghese.

Bvlgari Hotel Roma faces the Mausoleum of Augustus across Piazza Augusto Imperatore, and ROMEO Roma is on Via di Ripetta, a few minutes below Piazza del Popolo. The trade-off is ancient Rome: the Colosseum is 33 minutes away on foot.

Trastevere is the largest of Rome's rioni and the one the city goes out in: the tourism board describes squares and alleys full of traditional trattorias, craft shops and clubs, and Piazza Trilussa as one of the most popular meeting places for young Romans and visitors. Expect noise in the lanes until late, above all at weekends. The streets are closed to cars without a permit from 21:30 to 3:00 on Friday and Saturday nights, and on Wednesday and Thursday nights too from May to October, though not in August.

There is no Metro. Tram 8 runs down Viale di Trastevere and over the river to Largo di Torre Argentina and Piazza Venezia, and the nearest Metro station, Circo Massimo on line B, is 24 minutes' walk from Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere. Campo de' Fiori is 12 minutes away over Ponte Sisto, Piazza Navona 18 and the Pantheon 21.

Donna Camilla Savelli is on Via Garibaldi, where the street climbs towards the Gianicolo, the hill with the view over the centre and the cannon fired at noon. The trade-off: loud nights in the lanes, a long walk to the Colosseum (31 minutes) and the Spanish Steps (34), and a climb home from the upper streets.

The Ghetto is in Sant'Angelo, the smallest of the rioni, and dates from 1555, the second oldest in the world after Venice's. Romans and visitors come for its Jewish-Roman cooking, the tourism board says, among monuments such as the Portico of Octavia and the Theatre of Marcellus. South of it is the Velabro, a scatter of monuments at the foot of the Palatine: the Arch of Janus, Santa Maria in Cosmedin with the Bocca della Verità, the Circus Maximus beyond. The Ghetto has its restaurants; the Velabro empties completely after dark, which is why a light sleeper would choose it.

It is central without being busy. From Piazza della Bocca della Verità, Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere is 15 minutes' walk over the river, the Pantheon 19 and the Colosseum 20, and Via del Portico d'Ottavia is 10 minutes north. Circo Massimo on line B is 12 minutes away, and tram 8 runs along Via Arenula, just west of the Ghetto.

Rhinoceros Roma is at the Velabro end, on Via del Velabro by the Arch of Janus. The trade-off is that quiet: there is almost nowhere to eat on the doorstep, so every dinner is a walk.

The streets around the amphitheatre split in two. To the north-east is Colle Oppio, the green hill of Monti above Nero's Domus Aurea; to the south is the Celio, which the tourism board describes as residential, with tree-lined avenues, green spaces and a lively but cosy mix of homes, restaurants and cafes. Between them runs Via Labicana, a through road that stays busy until late.

For ancient Rome and for transport it is hard to fault. Colosseo station serves line B and, since 16 December 2025, line C, and Via dei Fori Imperiali, the road past the Forums to Piazza Venezia, is closed to private cars and fully pedestrian on Sundays, public holidays and the last Saturday of each month. Everything else is further than it looks: from the Colosseum the Trevi Fountain is 22 minutes' walk, the Pantheon 25 and Piazza Navona 29, and St Peter's, at 47, is a Metro ride: line B to Termini, then line A.

Palazzo Manfredi is on Via Labicana, beside the excavated Ludus Magnus, the largest of Rome's gladiator schools, with the Colosseum beyond it. The trade-off is the evening: there is little on the doorstep, so dinner means the Celio or Monti, whose main square is 8 minutes' walk.

The Aventine is a residential hill of villas, churches and gardens, and one of the quietest places to sleep this close to the centre. Among its sights, Rome's tourism board picks out the Giardino degli Aranci, the orange garden with a belvedere over the Tiber; the Municipal Rose Garden on the slope above the Circus Maximus; and the keyhole in the door of the Knights of Malta's villa, which frames the dome of St Peter's.

The hill empties after dark, so evenings mean a walk down. Testaccio, which the tourism board says has kept the popular soul of old Rome, is 11 minutes from Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, and Piazza di Santa Maria in Trastevere is 25. Line B runs below the hill: Circo Massimo is 14 minutes' walk and Piramide 17.

Hotel San Anselmo is on Piazza Sant'Anselmo, near the top. The trade-off is the hill itself: every evening ends with a climb, and the Pantheon is 31 minutes away on foot and the Spanish Steps 43.

Prati was built after Rome became Italy's capital, on the meadows beside Castel Sant'Angelo, and it looks it: long straight streets of Umbertine and Art Nouveau blocks, the Palace of Justice on the river, and Via Cola di Rienzo, which the tourism board calls one of the city's main shopping streets. It is residential and orderly, with restaurants and aperitivo bars used by Romans, and quieter at night than the old centre.

For the Vatican it is the natural base: St Peter's is 19 minutes' walk from Piazza Cavour and 12 from Ottaviano, on line A, which also stops at Lepanto, 11 minutes from the square. The old centre is closer than it feels, with Piazza Navona 15 minutes away over the river and the Spanish Steps 16, but the Colosseum, at 40 minutes, is a Metro ride: line A to Termini, then line B.

None of our ten is in Prati: its hotels sell nearness to the Vatican, which is one morning of a trip, and for the rest of it we would rather sleep across the river. Prati also lies outside the Aurelian Walls, so the €55 fixed taxi fare from Fiumicino does not apply; the meter runs, capped at €80.