Hang out with the locals
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 10/24/08
If you want to hang out with the locals visit Ostia. Don't get a lot of tourists there. Although, alot of airline pilots and flight attendants do stay at the Satellite Hotel (one of the primary hotels) because the hotel has a free shuttle back and forth to the airport. There is train service in and out of Ostia but it takes approx 1 hr and one train transfer to get to Rome's Termini station, so it is out of the way. If you have never been to Rome do not stay in Ostia as it is far from the tourist attractions. In the summer Ostia has a lot of locals hanging out at the beach. During the rest of the year, not much going on. There are a lot of "ordinary" clothing stores where the locals shop, but they close for a few hours mid day. There are some restaurants and gelaterias, but most folks don't eat dinner until 9 pm at night. A good portion of the folks who live in Ostia live in condos, and the locals say Ostia is a nice area. However, by USA standards it is "just ok" and they have a major graffitti problem. If you have a lot of time to kill, then go ahead and visit Ostia, but if you are limited on days then don't bother. Not much to do there, but you will get away from the tourists if that is what you want.