First time to Rome

Pick-up a RS book, it's all laid-out. Anywhere within or, around the Centro Storico you'll be fine.

Termini Station has a number of hotels and hostels nearby, as does the area Southeast of the Colosseum.

Use the search function or, skim through the forum, as there's plenty of ideas.

As @zocosair said, anywhere within the historical center works out fine. Then it all comes down to where you'd like to walk to vs bus to. Rome is overall an incredibly walkable city and their bus system works really well, if you can get the hang of where the bus lines run to. My mother and I stayed in an AirBnB over near the Piazza Navona, which made for an easy walk to many of the historical sites and the Vatican. Safe and there is a lot of fun going on in the Piazza and Pantheon area at night. Some areas near Termini are a bit more seedy, so just pay attention on where you book, if you end up looking over there.

What do you mean by cities? Are you planning more places than Rome? How many days including flight days do you have?

I believe OP means “sights” just misspelled as “cites”

We stayed very near the Pantheon and will do the same next trip in May.
Central, safe and easy walking to most anywhere.

Haha yes I meant sites. Awesome thank you all for the advice. I kept reading that the Trastevere are is cool and feels a bit more local but for my first time, but being in the heart of the sites might be better? Also looking to spend 5 nights there.

Trastavere, while lovely, is a little out of the way. It’s on tram lines, but not Metro. You’ll have to be doing some commuting to reach the central sites, Vatican, etc. But with five days, that little bit of adventure in navigating and the unique character of Trastevere might be a nice combination for a solo traveler.

I stayed in Prati, which is right off the metro line near the entrance to the Vatican museums. I found it very convenient if you use the Metro there. There were also plenty of restaurants in the area, and it felt very real and safe. The big upside for Prati was the price.

We stayed for 9 nights in an airbnb near the Pantheon two years ago. The location was fantastic. We could walk to all of the historical area, and could easily use public transportation to the Vatican, Trastavere, etc. Many restaurants and sites were nearby.

Friends of mine loved staying near Piazza dei Fiori. I prefer to stay where there's better access to public transportation, so I've found I like staying near Barberini, lots of bus lines and a metro station. The only part of Rome I've heard may be unsafe is the block or two around the Termini train station.

Wear a money belt, especially on the Metro.

In 2017 we stayed near the Spanish Steps and the location was very central.

Buon viaggio,

Trastevere is lovely and really not very far. It's walkable to much of the historic core if you like to walk. I do - if it's under 2 miles and the weather is not horrible I walk. Santa Maria in Trastavere is 1 mile to the Pantheon (and therefore similar to Piazza Navona, less to Campo di Fiori), 1.3 miles to St. Peters, 1.6 to the Colosseum.

Use google maps to figure out the bus routes if you don't want to walk - the metro doesn't go everywhere, even if you are staying near a stop.

My personal favorite area is the Campo di Fiori/Pantheon/Navona area. I find it super central and pleasant to walk around. Trastevere is great too. I prefer to avoid the Termini Station area (safe and has some great things so many people suggest it but I think it is not as pleasant to wander around).

I got a VRBO (the Rabbit hole) apartment in the Jewish quarter/ghetto. Easy 10 minute walk to the Pantheon, near Campo di Fiori, and near a bridge that goes over to Trastevere. It's also near buses to go to the Vatican and Borghese park/gallery. I liked it because the Ghetto has many restaurants so I could go to dinner and be close to "home", and the owner was happy to text suggestions and help if needed. But with so many people out and about, it all feels pretty safe even solo later at night

Thank you so much everyone for all of your suggestions.