Living
The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions
1As temperatures plummet to the lowest lows in some parts of the world, and soar to highest highs in others, escape underground and explore the most amazing, quirky and creepy hidden wonders, on a short trip just below the earth’s surface.
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
2Coober Pedy, Australia – People often point to outback town Coober Pedy as the place they would like to be when *insert potentially apocalyptic event* happens. Not only do its countless caves and remote location promise a safe refuge in any doomsday scenario, those caves actually offer an appealing array of distractions for visitors waiting out the end of the world. The town’s name translates roughly as “white man in hole”, referring to the opal miners that dug their accommodations, but also hotels, restaurants, art galleries, museums and churches into the sandstone. cooberpedy.sa.gov.au [Photo: Jill Myers/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
3Montreal, Canada – While Australians build down to escape the heat, Canadians dig deep because of the cold. The recently rebranded RESO, better known as Underground City, is made up of 32 kilometres of mostly interconnected tunnels, used by up to 500,000 visitors and locals daily. Thanks to the sprawling network, you can get to work and back, shop, eat, visit a museum, concert hall, cinema, the library or even a hockey game, without ever stepping outside. While Toronto’s underground PATH is the longest continuous system of its kind, with 27 kilometres of uninterrupted tunnels, Montreal’s RESO, with several separate systems, adds up to the largest total area. montrealundergroundcity.com
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
4Krakow, Poland – Wieliczka salt mine was one of the original 12 UNESCO World Heritage Sites recognised by the agency upon the launch of the programme over 70 years ago. It’s been a tourist attraction far longer, possibly as far back as the 15th century, and the mine’s rich tradition of creating salt sculptures may date to the 13th century. Today, visitors venture 135 metres into the disused mining shafts to explore three kilometres of corridors, cavernous halls adorned with salt-crystal chandeliers, ornate chapels, intricately carved statues, and a subterranean lake. wieliczka-saltmine.com [Photo: Philip Milne/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
5Helsinki, Finland – The Finnish capital is a hotbed of subterranean wonders. The city has an underground master plan, outlining areas pegged for future stages of municipal development. In addition, new buildings over a certain size are required to include civil defence shelters, which are put to good use in peaceful times. A prime example is the Itäkeskus swimming hall, which houses a public pool, water slides, diving boards, a jacuzzi, sauna and steam room within dramatic, roughly hewn stone walls. If needed, it can provide emergency shelter for 3,800 people. visithelsinki.f [Photo:© Helsinki City Image Bank / Olli Häkämies]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
6Edinburgh, Scotland – All this talk of underground sightseeing and nary a mention of ghosts? There’s only so much exploring you can do below ground before you encounter the supernatural – or at least hear tell of it. If you believe in ghosts, Edinburgh’s Vaults are a place you would expect to meet them. Not technically below the earth’s surface, the series of cramped, dark, damp spaces was actually constructed in the arches of South Bridge. The 19th-century dwelling place of the city’s poorest inhabitants was only rediscovered in the 1980s, begging to be filled with spooky tales of the sinister happenings of yore. historic-uk.com [Photo: fw42/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
7Seattle, Washington, USA – Seattle is known for its cultural underground (as the home of countless grunge, indie and alternative bands) more than for its physical underground – an entire district of the city hiding just below the pavement of downtown Seattle. It was created after the great fire of 1889 destroyed most of the wooden buildings across 31 blocks. City planners decided that all new buildings would be stone-built and, while they were at it, they might as well raise the street level to prevent flooding. What had recently been street-level storefronts lay beneath ground once the new streets were completed – and soon became hubs for all manner of illegal activities, until the underground was shut down for good. undergroundtour.com
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
8New York, USA – The Lowline isn’t an underground attraction… yet! Since the city approved the proposal, all that stands between the current Lowline LAB on Essex Street and its proposed final destination, one level down in the former Essex Street trolley terminal, is a massive fundraising campaign. Just like the hugely successful Highline Park on the west side of Manhattan, the Lowline will repurpose an abandoned relic of NYC infrastructure, this time to the east. In addition to financial issues, it also faces the challenges of growing plants below ground. Visit the LAB to view the innovative solution proposed. thelowline.org
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
9Fresno, California, USA – In a way, Baldassare Forestiere’s underground garden is a precursor of the Lowline – and a highly successful one at that. On the opposite coast, and almost 100 years earlier, he started digging down to create an extensive web of tunnels, rooms and a courtyard where plants flourish, protected from the blazing California sun (and cold desert nights). Although the trees, shrubs and vines grow below ground, benefiting from a more temperate microclimate, they do have access to natural light. The construction of the still-thriving garden by a self-taught horticulturist is an impressive feat, nonetheless. undergroundgardens.com [Photo: David Prasad/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
10Petra, Jordan – If Indiana Jones were to be believed, the iconic entrance to the Treasury, a temple hewn out of sandstone, gives way to a cavernous hall that houses the Holy Grail. In reality, none of the known structures extend very far into the rock, which doesn’t make their construction any less remarkable, or their appearance any less enchanting. The imposing desert city was mostly constructed above ground across several centuries BC, but when it was rediscovered in 1812, most of its monuments lay buried beneath the sand – and many remain so to this day. visitpetra.jo [Photo: Kristof Arndt/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
11Cappadocia, Turkey – All of the more recently constructed underground cities of the world pale in comparison to the vast subterranean dwellings of Cappadocia, a landscape in today’s Central Anatolia. Built as long as 3,000 years ago and housing up to 20,000 people, they were probably created as a safe refuge for religious or ethnic groups threatened by the warring superpowers of the region. Easily sealed and concealed from intruders, they allowed a safe, self-contained life for a homogenous community. Dozens of underground cities are known and many can be visited, but more may well be lurking below the surface. goturkeytourism.com [Photo: Moyan Brenn/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
12Lintong District, China – The necropolis built by the First Qin Emperor is famous for the awe-inspiring terracotta army that guarded his remains for over two millennia. Since its discovery in 1974, the complex has captured the imagination of historians and artists, as well as countless visitors of a travelling exhibition that marched a small selection of the soldiers around the globe. The Mausoleum Site Park allows visitors to explore the huge archeological site and view many of the objects that have already been uncovered, but just imagine what may still remain hidden below the surface in the tomb mound and underground palace that are yet to be excavated. whc.unesco.org [Photo: The.Rohit/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
13Istanbul, Turkey – You can visit underground cisterns in many cities around the world; their eerie, cavernous space, haunting acoustics and palatial dimensions are always impressive, even when their design is purely utilitarian. Add to that the ornate columns supporting the Basilica Cistern, and you’ve got a breathtaking subterranean marvel. The Byzantine underground reservoir was partly constructed with – in modern parlance – reclaimed temple marble. It’s named for the church that it was once built underneath, and a certain ecclesial air undeniably lingers in this underground space. yerebatan.com [Photo: Dennis Jarvis/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
14Turda, Romania – What do you do with a disused salt mine, over 100 metres deep, with tunnels almost 100 metres long and an enormous chamber measuring around 160,000 cubic metres? For this Transylvanian town, the answer was: put an amusement park in it. The Turda Salt Mines offer the usual historical mining tours, but also a ferris wheel, mini golf course, bowling alley and table tennis. Visitors can take a boat tour on the the underground lake, go to a concert in the underground amphitheatre, or play football on what must be the lowest-lying football pitch in the world. salinaturda.eu
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
15Rome, Italy – In its history spanning three millennia, the Eternal City has seen civilisations, religions and populations come and go; one visit to San Clemente Basilica can reveal many of those layers of history in one convenient and fascinating site. Beginning at the surface, in the ornate 12th-century church (with elements added as recently as the 18th century), visitors descend to underground tunnels and 4th-century frescoes – remnants of a subterranean church. Even further down, the remains of 1st-century life, including a pagan temple, can be seen. basilicasanclemente.com [Photo: Michael Foley/Flickr]
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The World’s Coolest Underground Attractions.
16West Virginia, USA – Thanks to governments planning for worst-case scenarios, particularly during the Cold War era, the world in general – and the USA in particular – has no shortage of bunkers. The quaintly named Bunker at The Greenbrier is just as exclusive as it sounds: 200-odd metres under an elegant West Virginia resort, the facility was to offer emergency shelter for the United States Congress. It was designed to accommodate 1,100 people and featured a TV studio, hospital, cafeteria and meeting rooms for the House and Senate. Although the bunker was kept stocked and completely secret until the 1990s, it’s a pleasant sign of the times that it now serves as a mere tourist attraction. greenbrier.com
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