Originally Posted by
sinfonia
Perche, as usual, super helpful information. Thank you. I had heard the area near Boscolo had gotten run down but perhaps what the person meant was that it became overrun with tourists and traffic, not unsafe. Thank you for that clarification.
I was disappointed to read that we would need 30 minutes to walk to Piazza Navona or the areas we really would want to be from Boscolo, but appreciative of the information. On the website, it appears as if Boscolo is so centrally located to things tourists want to see, but judging from this entire thread, it really sounds like it may be close to sights but not the quaint part of Rome that tourists want to experience.
Based on the suggestions here, we are going to scrap the Boscolo and stay in a smaller, local hotel suggested here in the Piazza Navona area when we go. Thanks again!
That's a smart decision. When walking out of the Boscolo, you wouldn't even know you are in Italy. You'd be on a boulevard so large that it take three traffic lights to cross; the first one gets you one-third of the way; the next one gets you another third; and finally you run and might make the sidewalk before the light changes again, That's not where you stay if you want to feel like you are visiting Italy.
Beware of website informations if the hotel says, "close to everything." Rome is huge. You cannot be close to everything. You are in either one part, or another. For example, don't let them say you are near the Colosseum, and close to the Vatican. They are close alright, if you consider a 45-60 minute walk to be close.
Campo de Fiori is held up as an example of the damage that has been done to Italy by mass tourism. The only worse place to stay would probably be Trastevere. No, I'll take that back. Trastevere is one big tourist trap, but Campo de Fiori is really, really bad.
Get yourself close to the Pantheon, in a nice B&B.