Domus Aurea

After the fire of 64 Nero took a large part of central Rome for a palace of gilded rooms, an artificial lake and a colossal statue of himself. His successors erased it: the lake became the site of the Colosseum, and Trajan filled the halls with rubble and built baths on top, which accidentally preserved them. In the 1480s people found they could drop through a hole into the ceilings, and artists including Raphael and Michelangelo were lowered in to copy the painted decoration, calling the buried rooms grottoes, which is where the word grotesque comes from. Visits now use virtual reality headsets to show the rooms as they were.

What you actually see

• The buried halls - rooms preserved because Trajan filled them with rubble.
• The Renaissance graffiti - names cut by artists who were lowered in.
• The octagonal room - a domed hall with an oculus, ahead of its time.
• The virtual reconstruction - headsets showing the decoration and the lost views.

When to go

Year-round; tours run on limited days, usually weekends, and must be booked well ahead. It is cool and damp inside whatever the season, so a layer is needed.

Honest expectations

Access is by booked guided tour on restricted days and slots sell out. The site is an active excavation and parts are closed. It is damp, cold and dimly lit.

Nearby

The Colosseum lies below; the Baths of Trajan are on the same hill.