Hidden World War II tunnels to open to public

In this week’s roundup of travel news: Denver’s weed church, zodiac predictions for the Year of the Snake, plus what promises to be London’s most ambitious – and deepest – new visitor attraction.

Going underground

Some 30 meters (98 feet) below central London lies a mile-long network of tunnels that is set to be the UK capital’s glitziest new tourist attraction, according to the company that’s secured planning approval for the $149 million transformation.

The Kingsway Exchange Tunnels were built in the 1940s to shelter Londoners from the Blitz bombing campaign during World War II. That was the last time they were open to the general public. Their next wartime role was as the home of Britain’s top-secret Special Operations Executive, an offshoot of MI6 and the real-life inspiration for James Bond’s Q Branch.

The new attraction will be a memorial to the Blitz, which Angus Murray, chief executive of the London Tunnels, told Reuters will be part museum, part exhibition and part entertainment space.

The plan is to open to the public by late 2027 or early 2028. Read more here in our earlier story announcing the project.

If you can’t wait until then to get down in the city’s bowels, London Transport Museum runs exclusive guided tours of its abandoned tube stations, including Down Street, a secret underground bunker that helped win World War II.

How the tunnels look now, as seen in this photo from January 29, 2025.

How the tunnels look now, as seen in this photo from January 29, 2025. Chris J Ratcliffe/Reuters

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