Tours were occasionally given by Diamond until the NYC Department of Transportation shut them down in 2010. After laying dormant for decades, it was rediscovered in 1981 by a Brooklyn teenager, Bob Diamond. Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, New York - Opened in 1845, this rail tunnel underneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn – often called the world’s first subway – was open for only a short time before rail locomotives were banned in Brooklyn and the tunnel was sealed. The Basicilia Cistern, about 500 feet from the Hagia Sofia at Yerebatan Caddesi 13, is the most easily accessed.Ĩ. Some have been rediscovered, however, and three are currently open to the public. Basilica Cistern, Istanbul - Istanbul has hundreds of ancient water cisterns underneath the city – most of which are abandoned and forgotten remnants of Roman-era Constantinople. The Crypt is on Via Vittorio Veneto 27.ħ. It’s been a destination for those interested in the macabre for centuries - the Marquis de Sade made a journey back in 1775. Even the light fixtures are made out of bones. Capuchin Crypt, Rome - Descending into the crypt below the church of Santa Maria della Concezione, one can wonder who in the world came up with the idea to decorate six chapels entirely in human remains. Excursions leave from Suikerrui 21, near the City Center.Ħ. Tours are in Dutch, French and English, but make reservations well in advance. In the 1990s the sewer system was reorganized, and today you can walk through the Ruien tunnels, which date back hundreds of years. Centuries later, these canals were covered and converted into sewers. Antwerp Ruien, Antwerp - Originally dug out as moats to guard the city during medieval times, the ruien were then used as an inland port and water supply system. Tours are Saturdays only, and book up well in advance.ĥ. Both Big Ben and the Liberty Bell were cast here. They still make the bells using the same casting process as 400 years ago. Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London - Dating back to (at least) 1570, this is the oldest factory in the British Isles, and arguably the oldest in Europe. Tours are twice a day, Tuesday to Friday, but in Japanese only.Ĥ. G-Cans Storm Drain, Tokyo - If you’ve ever seen a commercial (most famously for Land Rover), TV show, or movie featuring a giant underground chamber with pillars hundreds of feet tall, chances are it was filmed in Japan’s massive underground water-retention chamber, G-Cans, located on the outskirts of Tokyo. Entrance is at Building 11, 5th Kotelnicheskiy Lane, Moscow.ģ. But today, you can travel 65 meters below Moscow and see just that. Bunker-42, Moscow - If you’d have told me (or any American) in 1983 that in 30 years we’d be able to visit a Soviet nuclear-bomb shelter, I’d have thought you insane. The entrance can be found across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower, on the Quai d’Orsay near the Pont de l’AlmaĢ. Descend into the bowels of the city, and walk alongside an active part of the Parisian sewer system. Le Musée des Égouts de Paris ( Paris Sewer Museum) - A wonderful, up-close way to see one of the most significant engineering accomplishments of the 19 th century.
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