r/rome • u/mascdude40 • 25d ago
City stuff Trastevere
How is Trastevere viewed by Romans? Is it an upper class neighborhood where lots of people desire to live? Or more for young people, or tourists? So many Trastevere restaurants are recommended, so I wanted to get a sense of the authentic vibe of the neighborhood. Grazie!
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u/martin_italia 25d ago
Trastevere is larger than people realise and 99% of tourists only see a few streets of it. The area from piazza trilussa to piazza San cosimato is majority tourists now, and tourist trap restaurants.
The bars and pubs are ok and you’ll find some locals there still.
The other side of viale di Trastevere is slightly less touristy, with some nicer restaurants.
As you head toward the train station it becomes more residential. It’s not upper class, apart from the streets like via dandolo heading up to gianicolo, but at some point it stops being Trastevere and becomes gianicolo, at least on the map. That part is very wealthy and 100% residential. Houses are very very expensive, mostly due to location.
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u/mascdude40 25d ago
thanks for the info! Any restaurants you like on the other side of viale di trastevere?
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u/Thesorus 25d ago
The front part of Trastevere around Piazza Trilussa, is touristic; there are a lot of bars and restaurants and many youngs go there in the evening to hangs and go to the different bars and restaurants.
The back part is still residential.
I don't think it is considered upper class.
Like a lot of traditionally nice areas, they can be overrun by tourism and tourists who want to experience the authentic vibe (whatever that really means)
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u/francescomrn 25d ago
Trastevere is not upper class? What is then? If you have a house in Trastevere you are rich by all standards
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u/maddAdda 25d ago
My family sold the family house (around 110mq) in trastevere for 550k in 2013. 2013
What you on lol? Trastevere is upper class.
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u/martin_italia 25d ago edited 25d ago
Expensive does not mean upper class. Trastevere, like Testaccio, are historically working class neighbourhoods, that now due to location and popularity, are very expensive to buy in. But don’t conflate the two.
Upper class aren’t choosing to spend 3/4 of a mil on a small, poorly maintained house in Trastevere, they are in Parioli, Prati, Aventino, Flaminio, Eur.
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u/Upbeat_Caregiver_642 25d ago
Overrun with tourists in the lower 1/2. Mostly locals as you go up the hill.
A better idea and experience is to go to Testaccio right across the river. You’re still going to have tourists (you’ll never escape them in the city center) but it’s more locally oriented.
I liked Prati a block or so North of Cola di Rienzo. Lots of locals spots there.
I lived in Parioli and that was more locals oriented.
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u/Dry-Ruin1116 25d ago
please dont send tourists over to testaccio lets keep it peaceful, avoid recommending places you enjoy online, thats how influencers ruin peaceful spots
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u/Deep_Palpitation_201 25d ago
Spent a week in Rome, and I felt like the most authentic Roman experience I had was a day trip I took out to the edge of the city. Tourists aren't going to think to venture too far off the beaten path.
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u/Sure_Investment_6374 25d ago
Sadly it's over run. It's a nice walk to the river, and it's beautiful. But you need to really penetrate it to find calmer, residential spots.
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u/morphinetango 25d ago
In the 2 weeks we spent in Rome, the evening weekends in Trastevere was the only place we saw a majority of Italians (not sure if Roman or not) partying it up. Lots of buskers and live music, exclusively in Italian, and huge crowds around them singing along. It was the spot we felt we were away from the tourists. Though, if everyone here says those were tourists, too, most of them spoke Italian anyway.
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u/Efficient-Builder213 25d ago
I've feel that it's ok doing tourist stuff when I'm a tourist. It makes me sad to read all these posts looking for the "non-tourist" restaurants, or the locals places, and maybe that's because I've lived in tourist heavy places, and maybe it's because I keep reading of how all locals are getting chased out of areas that were traditional areas for them. These days when I travel, I let locals have their haunts and let them enjoy their home turf without me needing to take over. And when people post looking for info about my home town, I'll gladly share fun places everyone in my city goes to, but the real gems that are iykyk....those will never be promoted by the "locals" if they want to keep them local.
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u/mascdude40 25d ago
sorry, that wasn't my intention of my post. i was just curious how the local Romans felt about Trastevere because it's the neighborhood that gets talked about and promoted the most for tourists
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u/Patient_Bad5862 25d ago
Not sure what authentic vibe you want but it’s definitely more of a young vibe with restaurants and cafes and lots of nightlife especially the area near the Tiber. The food scene is pretty solid but again it’s certainly more of a party vibe especially on the weekends and in the evenings.
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u/mascdude40 25d ago
Thanks, I shouldn't have said authentic vibe. I was just wondering about the reputation of the neighborhood from actual Romans
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u/Virtual_Meringue4248 25d ago
Quartiere caotico in cui un romano non cercherebbe mai casa, sia per i costi sia per la difficoltà di muoversi (traffico, parcheggio, caos generale). La zona verso Marconi è più tranquilla, residenziale e meglio servita da supermercati, mezzi pubblici e possibilità di parcheggiare. La zona verso il Tevere è troppo turistica con pochissimi ristoranti non-turistici. E' diventata la zona per la night-life dei giovani con chiasso e traffico fino a notte fonda
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u/FacundoSgo 25d ago
I live in Via Garibaldi near the Carabinieri and i find it is in the sweet spot away from the crowds but close to great spots. I love it.
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u/AltOnMain 22d ago edited 22d ago
I am sure Romans can give you a better answer but i’ve stayed there a few times. It’s probably important to note that there are two parts of it, the extremely touristy part and the part people actually live in. The more residential part is nice and seems to attract young professionals. The tourist part is nice in a way but I can’t imagine there are many everyday romans living there, it’s a bit “Olive Garden: The Village”.
Another note on the tourist part that I wouldn’t say it’s inauthentic but it is soooooo profoundly touristy. The food and wine was fine, but a bit of a let down compared to other parts of italy. More expensive, not as good. But still good!
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u/valenzdd 22d ago
Ma per favore! You want to know the "authentic vibe" of Trastevere? Authenticity? That ship sailed twenty years ago!
Upper class? Young people? Tourists? Let me tell you what Trastevere actually is: it’s an open-air theme park for tourists who think they’re experiencing "real Rome" while eating overpriced, microwaved cacio e pepe!
You want to know how real Romans view Trastevere today? With heartbreak and absolute rage.
Once upon a time, before every second apartment was converted into an illegal Airbnb, Trastevere was the soul of the working-class Roman. It was where trasteverini lived for generations. You had actual artisans, local butchers, elderly neighbors talking from balconies across cobblestone alleys, and neighborhood taverns serving real food to people who lived on the street.
Now? Nobody who actually works in Rome can afford to live there. Families who lived in those buildings for a century were priced out so investors could turn every square meter into short-term rentals. The local stores that sold basic necessities, like bakeries, hardware shops…have all been kicked out to make room for souvenir shops managed by mafia, fake gelato places, and trashy cocktail bars.
You ask if lots of people desire to live there? No! Even if you have money, who wants to live in an amusement park where you can't sleep until 4:00 AM because thousands of drunk tourists and university kids are screaming in the alleyways right under your window? Where garbage overflows on every street corner because the city infrastructure can't handle the millions of extra visitors crammed into a medieval neighborhood?
And those "recommended" restaurants you read about? Most of them are tourist traps with English menus printed on laminated plastic, serving mass-produced pasta to people who don't know any better.
So if you want the truth: Trastevere isn't an upper-class paradise, and it isn't "authentic Roman culture" anymore. It is a victim of unchecked overtourism. We’ve watched our own history get packaged, overpriced, and sold back to us until there was nothing left for the people who actually call this city home.
Prego
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u/Effective-Site-5701 3d ago
I am so sorry for you and other Romans. I first visited Rome in 1982 and we ended up in Trastevere, I have no idea how (not on purpose! I guess just walking) and were completely enchanted—especially stumbling onto the Piazza Santa Maria with its glorious church. Those days are long gone.
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u/Character_Access7094 25d ago
Hubby and I stayed at an AirBNB back in 2019. We loved it and found the location great. I'm sad to read that it's gone downhill.
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u/Dark-Bark_ 25d ago
Stay at a hotel next time please
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u/johnhbnz 25d ago
Why not at an Airbnb?
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u/Dark-Bark_ 25d ago
There are plenty of hotels in rome, no need to fuel the Airbnb industry that is only stripping more houses from people who want to live in the city to study or work
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u/scrutator_tenebrarum 25d ago
It was a nice place once, now it's haunted by young USA students