(1) A vestibule stood in the center of the complex, and either inside or outside (scholars disagree on the precise location) was the Colossus of Nero, a 120-foot statue of Nero as Helios / Apollo. (The Neronian attributes of the statue were removed by later emperors.)

(2) Next to the vestibule was the Stagnum Neronis, an artificial lake created in the valley. Vespasian filled in the lake and built the Colosseum in its place, a wonderful, politically-savvy gift to the people of Rome.

(3) The Stagnum Neronis was surrounded by fields, pastures, woods, vineyards, and both wild and domesticated animals. Martial summarized this aspect of the Domus Aurea with the phrase rus in urbe (the countryside in the city).

(4) There was a residence on the Palatine Hill, the traditional home of the emperors before Nero. Before he began construction on the Domus Aurea, Nero actually started a project called the Domus Transitoria, which was meant to connect the Palatine residence to the Gardens of Maecenas on the Esquiline Hill. After the fire in 64 AD, the Domus Aurea became an expanded version of the Domus Transitoria.

(5) Nero constructed a second imperial residence, in the style of a massive Campanian villa, on the Oppian Hill (part of the Esquiline Hill). Trajan built his baths on top of this site, marking the end of the Domus Aurea; a mere 50 years after its construction, Nero's Golden Palace was gone.