Domus Aurea

The Domus Aurea ('Golden House') is one of Rome's most extraordinary and underrated ancient sites, the vast, fabulously opulent palace built by the emperor Nero after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. Sprawling across the city's hills, it was a pleasure palace of unimaginable luxury, with frescoed halls, gilded ceilings, an artificial lake (where the Colosseum was later built), and an ingenious revolving dining room. After Nero's fall, his successors deliberately buried it and built over it (the Baths of Trajan rose on top), which paradoxically preserved its frescoed rooms underground for centuries, where Renaissance artists later lowered themselves to marvel at the 'grotesque' wall paintings that inspired their own.

Today it's an atmospheric underground archaeological site, visited on guided tours that often use virtual-reality headsets to reconstruct the lavish original above the bare brick vaults. It's a fascinating, less-crowded counterpoint to Rome's headline sites, right by the Colosseum. Tours must be booked in advance; bring a layer, as it's cool underground.

Don't miss

• Nero's vast, opulent buried palace
• Preserved ancient frescoes and vaulted halls
• Guided tours with virtual-reality reconstructions
• The rooms that inspired Renaissance 'grotesque' art
• A less-crowded ancient site by the Colosseum

Tickets & tours

Ways to visit Domus Aurea

Cheapest way inColosseum and Roman Forum Sightseeing Area Walking Tour4.8★ · 175 travelers~2 hoursFree cancellationFrom$5 per personSee dates →Most bookedColosseum Arena Floor, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill Tour4.3★ · 9,545 travelers~3 hoursFrom$34 per personSee dates →Top ratedRome Underground: Catacombs Tour, Aqueducts and Appian Way4.8★ · 1,408 travelers~4 hoursFree cancellationFrom$64 per personSee dates →

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Getting there

Know before you go

• Visits are by guided tour only, book well in advance.
• Tours often use VR headsets to reconstruct the lavish original.
• It's cool underground, bring a layer even in summer.
• It's right by the Colosseum, but far less crowded.

A bit of history

Nero built the Domus Aurea after the fire of 64 AD as a colossal palatial complex. Reviled as a symbol of his excess, it was stripped, filled in, and built over by later emperors (the Colosseum rose on its lake, the Baths of Trajan above its halls), which preserved the buried, frescoed rooms now being excavated and restored.