Which area of Rome is like Marais in Paris

[Movingon2024]

Heading there for a week with a view to a move later this year (work)

I have to work and 17 year old DD will be tasked to research setting up home (she loves shopping and cooking)

Don't yet know the city at all, but I need an area where there are department stores/furniture shops - sort of like Debenhams, John Lewis etc here - if Rome does that, plus local supermarkets where she can get ingredients etc for cooking. Not so much tourist sights this time, we have time for that.

Not making much headway with google so wondered if anyone knew? Thanks.

It is a while since we lived in Rome but department stores of the type we have here are not very common. I used to get a lot of homewares stuff in Coin on the Via Cola di Rienzo - a useful shopping area near the Vatican that also had Zara, Mango etc. It is a bit like john lewis.

Furniture was a nightmare. It was either 'bed in which Pope Leo V died: 5,000,000 euros.' Roche Bobois or B&B Italia sofas: 15,000 euros. Or Ikea. I'm afraid we did a fair amount of Ikea hacks... we didn't have a car so there may have been other stores further out that had a better choice but we also lived up in tuscsny and had the same problems up there sourcing basic decent furniture.

The central area I lived in and loved best is Celio. Just beyond the Colosseum but amazingly tourist free because they all walk through the forum, get to the colosseum and then turn round and go back the way they came. There is a decent supermarket, lovely cafes without tourist prices, a great park, good transport...safe and quiet. Really worth looking at. We also lived in Trastevere (too noisy and crowded) and monte ( nice but celio was the king to it).

Just re- reading... I'm not sure anywhere in rome is an exact dupe for the marais. But the food market in campo dei fiori has lovely fresh cooking ingredients. Not cheap... That's near the pantheon area and piazza navona. Thing is - that area is also super stuffed with tourists. Fine in winter. Quite annoying in spring autumn and summer. You can get decent ingredients in most areas (although world foods were still hard to find.)

Read up on celio...a hidden gem.

Oh that is super helpful. Thank you! Will check out Celio.

Yes I'm struggling a bit on the furniture front. Shopping hardly worth it, and bed in which pope slept trashed in minutes. Suspect IKEA for us too.

Thank you so much.

Shipping hardly worth it! Shopping is what I'm trying to do...

Which area will you be working in, and does your DD need to get to eg work or college? Coelio near metro, on a good tram line, not far from Termini on a bus, and right side of city for Fiumicino. Am very very jealous that you are moving there! We didnt have a car - just rented for weekends as and when we needed one to eg get to ikea!

We did have a motorino. Bit death defying althougj the bike lanes are betteŕ now.

She will go to uni in the UK and come to Rome in the holidays. I need access to Fiumicino but work centrally.

Not sure about a car, will check out the driving situation. Think we may be making a lot of visit to Ikea for sure!

Thank you so much for the help x