Our planet is so full of surprises! We are often left awestruck by the beauty that is on the surface of cities, made of monuments, roads and bridges. Now, imagine that in a lot of cities that beauty is mirrored in mysterious, parallel underground metropolises that get discovered little by little, in a myriad of ways, underneath roadwork sites, or while digging tunnels for the next extension of the underground network, revealing the remains of the city’s former imcarnation. The great thing is, a lot of these remains are open to the public, allowing us to discover the world hiding beneath our feet, made of narrow passages, rooms, caves and secret objects. Get your flashlight ready, and join us on our journey, to discover the most beautiful underground cities in the world. Underground Rome, Italy

The Eternal City, whose history is extoled in so many books, has a crazy underground world beneath it. How many times were your walks around Rome interrupted by construction sites" Well, blame the riches of the Roman Empire for that, since it left us with such an underground treasure. Among the things you shouldn’t miss, we recommend going to the Catacombs of San Calisto, to the underground section of the Basilica of Santa Cecilia, and to Mecenate’s auditorium. It will take time to see the rest, but don’t forget, Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Underground Rome (Flickr Maria Pia Forbicioni)
Derinkuyu, Cappadocia, Turkey

In 1963, some tunnels were dis...