03 January 2017

The Vatican is on my doorstep
for the next few days

The Vatican is just a few steps away for the next few days (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I arrived in Rome early this morning [3 January 2017] on the first flight from Dublin, and I am staying in the ‘Eternal City’ until late on Thursday.

This must be my tenth visit to Italy, but it is over ten years since I visited Rome. This week I am staying at the Hotel Franklin Feel the Sound on Via Rodi.

The hotel is set in Rome’s elegant Prati district, between the Vatican walls and Piazza Mazzini. I am just a few steps from the Vatican and the Sistine Chapel, and from here I can walk to Saint Peter’s Basilica and Castel Sant’ Angelo in just minutes.

If the weather is as good as it promises I hope to enjoy breakfast in the garden each morning.

The hotel, which is part of the Best Western Group, and is a music-themed hotel. The nearby metro stops Ottaviano and Cipro-Vatican Museums, and Ottaviano is on line A, the same line as the Spanish Steps and Termini Train Station.

Prati is known for its wide, sweeping avenues, elegant buildings, and modern European charm. The grid layout and elegant ‘Art Nouveau’ and ‘Umbertino’ style give Prati a unique personality, so that it has a distinct personality and a style reminiscent more of a quartier in Paris than a former marshland in Rome.

Wine bars, live music venues and international and classic Roman restaurants are spread throughout the neighbourhood and are mostly frequented by local Italians. Its convenient location above the Vatican and across the Tiber, its shopping streets and its restaurants are said to make it the Romans’ best-kept secret.

Apart from pasta and wine, my only agenda is some sight-seeing strolls. With Rome on my doorstep and the Vatican just a few steps away, join me on walks and for my surprises over the next few days.

The Hotel Franklin Feel the Sound on Via Rodi is just a stroll from the Vatican

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