South, Rome: neighborhood guide

South Rome is not one neighbourhood but three, spread over the city's southern edge. EUR is the odd one out: a grid of white travertine offices, wide avenues and museums laid out from the late 1930s for a world exposition that the war cancelled. It feels monumental and empty at weekends, and it is where Romans go for concerts, exhibitions and the occasional film shoot.

San Paolo, around the Basilica of San Paolo fuori le mura, is ordinary residential Rome with a university campus, supermarkets and metro access. The Appian Way zone is the opposite: a rural strip of pine, cypress and ruins running southeast from the Terme di Caracalla, with the original basalt paving exposed in places and tombs, villas and catacombs along the verge.

Distances are the thing to understand. The Appian Way starts about 3 km from the Colosseum, but the interesting stretch — San Callisto, San Sebastiano, the Circus of Maxentius, Cecilia Metella — runs from roughly the third to the sixth mile, and the road continues walkable for another 6 km or so. Plan on a half day minimum, a full day if you add catacombs and EUR.

Stay if you want quiet, greener surroundings, easier parking and lower room rates than the centro storico, and you are happy to spend 20–40 minutes each way on the metro or a bus. EUR and San Paolo both have hotels within a few minutes of Line B, which reaches Termini in about 20 minutes and connects to Line A at Termini for the Spanish Steps and Vatican.

Do not stay if this is your first trip and you plan to walk to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain in the evening. The last metro runs before midnight and night buses are slow; taxis back from the centre cost real money. Families and repeat visitors do well here; a three-night first-timer usually does not.

A middle option: base in Aventino-Testaccio or the Colosseo area, which puts the Appian Way within a short bus or bike ride while keeping the centre walkable.

EUR has the widest choice: pizzerias, trattorias and bars around Viale Europa and the Laghetto dell'EUR, mostly serving office workers at lunch and locals at dinner. San Paolo and the streets near the basilica are residential, so you eat where Romans eat — simple pasta, pizza al taglio, gelato — at prices below the centre. Around the Appian Way there is very little: a handful of places near the main catacomb entrances and the odd bar, so carry water and eat before or after your visit.

Two local specialities are worth knowing. Roman pizza al taglio is sold by weight and makes a cheap lunch; cacio e pepe, carbonara, amatriciana and gricia are the standard pasta order anywhere in the city. In EUR, aperitivo culture is strong — a drink with a buffet of snacks, usually early evening.

Metro Line B is the backbone: San Paolo for the basilica, then EUR Magliana, EUR Palasport and EUR Fermi for the EUR district. From Termini it is about 20 minutes to EUR Fermi. Line B also connects to Line A at Termini, so the Vatican and Spanish Steps are one change away.

For the Appian Way, buses are the only public option and they are unreliable at rush hour. From Termini take the 714 and change at San Giovanni to the 218, which stops at the San Callisto and San Domitilla catacombs. The 118 runs from Piazza Venezia past the Colosseum to San Callisto and on along the Appia to Villa dei Quintili. To return, the 660 links the Appia to Metro Line A at Colli Albani, and the 765 runs between the Appia, EUR and Metro Line B at Laurentina. Walking back through Caffarella Park also brings you to Line A.

Cycling is the best way to cover the Appian Way: the park visitor office at Via Appia Antica 60 rents bikes, roughly 09:30–17:30 (check). The road is closed to cars on Sundays and public holidays in theory, but enforcement is weak, so watch for traffic. Taxis and ride-hailing work in EUR and San Paolo; on the Appia you will wait.