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Apartment help in Rome

Apartment help in Rome

Old Jul 14, 2015, 9:30 am
  #1  
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Apartment help in Rome

We are a family of 4 planning a trip to Italy next year and will be driving from Naples to Florence. We'd like to spend a few days in Rome on the way but not give up our rental car. Any ideas for where to look for an apartment or B&B close to the Autostrada where we can park the car and take a Metro or train into central Rome? Obviously I would prefer not to drive into downtown.

Grazie in anticipo.
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Old Jul 15, 2015, 10:06 pm
  #2  
 
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Originally Posted by cfrayne56
We are a family of 4 planning a trip to Italy next year and will be driving from Naples to Florence. We'd like to spend a few days in Rome on the way but not give up our rental car. Any ideas for where to look for an apartment or B&B close to the Autostrada where we can park the car and take a Metro or train into central Rome? Obviously I would prefer not to drive into downtown.

Grazie in anticipo.
I'm not sure I get this. There are only two Metro lines in Rome, lines A and B. They don't go too far out of the city to where the highways are. The outskirts of Rome are not like a US highway heading into Atlanta, lined with lots of motels with ample parking. From the highways outside of Rome you can't take a Metro into the city. You'd have to take a regional train in, maybe with stops, or transfers to a bus. And the hotels on the outskirts of Rome are decrepit. It's not going to be pleasant.

Instead of staying outside of Rome and taking a train, probably with an obligatory transfer to another train or bus, maybe even more than one transfer to get into the city, every day for two days why not just forget the car and take a train from Naples to the historic center of Rome, and stay there. Driving from Naples to Rome is not pretty or pleasant at all. Depending on the age of the children their tickets might be free, and the two of you can get a train for as little as 52 euros for both. Then you won't have to stay at a dumpy hotel outside the city.

If you really want to drive to Florence (and that's another story), why don't you just pick up the car as you leave Rome and drop it on the outskirts of Florence?
Perche is offline  
Old Jul 16, 2015, 12:45 am
  #3  
JBD
 
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I would never drive in Italy, but that's me.

But answering the OP's question about where to stay while keeping their rental car, my top suggestion would be on the Aventine. It's outside the ZTL and it's a beautiful, calm and quite pricey residential area. There are a few B&Bs and I know that the Hotel Aventino on Via di S. Domenico has free parking. But it's based on availability so that might be too much of a gamble. However, I did a quick scan on airbnb and saw a couple of apartments that included parking. From the Aventine you could actually walk to where you'd want to go. Or, hop on the B Metro at Circo Massimo, or there are many bus lines that serves that area.

The other suggestion would be in Prati, which is also outside the ZTL. Tons of lodgings there because of the Vatican's allure. So it's a matter of finding who offers parking.

RoninRome who used to post here has a page on ZTLs in Rome:

http://www.roninrome.com/%20transportation/ztls-in-rome
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Old Jul 16, 2015, 1:22 am
  #4  
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Just looking over that Ron In Rome page, and see his page on where to park in Rome. You'd probably have noticed it yourself, but here's the direct link:

http://www.roninrome.com/%20transpor...arking-in-rome

I see there are parking garages in the Prati area - which is great. You'll have an abundance of choices of B&Bs as well as apartment rentals so no need to limit your choices to those that provide parking. When doing your searches, type in Prati, or the Vatican area. Reference the ZTL maps seen in my first link to make sure you're "safe".

I'm aware this doesn't answer the OPs request of finding something near the autostrada - but it would seem to be do-able if he's intent on keeping his rental.
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Old Jul 16, 2015, 5:27 am
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I agree there are a lot of garages. I think the OP wanted a hotel on the autostrada next to public transportation into the city, so that he could park for free at the hotel, and get into the city from there. I assume by autostrada he means the tangenziale. The garages in the city generally charge an hourly rate, or a daily rate. It's still not clear why he would want to pay for a car for two days that he is not going to be driving, plus paying for transportation into the city each day, when it will be much cheaper and ten times more convenient to take a train in from Naples and rent the car when leaving Rome instead of beforehand, then leaving it parked in the city in a garage, or outside of the city at a hotel for two days.
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Old Sep 3, 2015, 2:11 am
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The Aventine is a great suggestion

I strongly second JBD's suggestion of the Aventine. In fact, I am currently writing this from a lovely apartment on Viale Manlio Gelsomini. I found the apartment on Airbnb, but I also looked and VRBO and FlipKey. Although I didn't bring a car, the apartment rental comes with space for one and there is actually legal street parking on this block as well.

The Aventine is great location for a family-- I am here escorting my older daughter to boarding school (St. Stephens) and my 12 year old daughter is also with me. There are many Italian and international families in the area, I see strollers and dogs out with people at all hours.

The neighborhood is, in many ways, reminescent of lower manhattan in the mid eighties. That is, pricey rents, but a lot of graffitti and a very diverse, international flavor. Several good places to eat within a 10 minute walk. The roman transit system is fast and easy to navigate as well.
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Old Sep 3, 2015, 6:40 am
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Originally Posted by DeirdreTours
...The neighborhood is, in many ways, reminescent of lower manhattan in the mid eighties. That is, pricey rents, but a lot of graffitti and a very diverse, international flavor...
Mind you, several floors shorter, less traffic, much less noise, and so on. I lived for a short while during the eighties in the upper East side (56th between 1st and Sutton) and even if I try a lot, I just can't see anything in the Aventino that vaguely reminds me of Manhattan. Nevertheless, the area is, indeed, very nice...
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Old Sep 3, 2015, 5:52 pm
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For apartments in Rome, I know some people who live in Rome speak very highly about using cross-pollinate when looking for an apartment throughout the city. It was started by an American Couple, Steve Brenner and Linda Martinez, who moved to Rome 15 years ago. They started a small, sort of hip B&B, an noticed that there was almost never a vacancy, such is the demand for apartments. So, they started cross-pollinate, where they seek out nice apartments, vet them thoroughly, and act as a booking agent for a nominal fee.

They are very trustworthy, and it takes some of the risk out of renting from a stranger on BnB, where surprises are not uncommon. There is also the benefit that if something goes wrong, there is a physical place where you can go to go to and talk them about it at their B&B, as opposed to trying to sort out a problem with someone who is renting their apartment to you while they work in London. They have places spread throughout the city, and have started vetting and listing apartments in Florence, Venice, and other cities. http://www.cross-pollinate.com/about

Last edited by Perche; Sep 3, 2015 at 6:39 pm
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