11 Secret Places Hidden in Plain Sight
As soon as we’ve decided we know everything about famous sights of the world — if not in person, then thanks to the Internet — we learn there are more secrets to find that aren’t known to the general public.
Bright Side suggests taking a tour around some of the world’s greatest sights and taking a look at what else they have to offer that doesn’t meet the eye at once.
11. Gustav Eiffel’s private apartment, Paris, France
On the third floor of the Eiffel Tower, there’s an apartment that belonged to Monsieur Eiffel himself where he greeted esteemed guests, including Thomas Edison. Today the room where the Eiffel and Edison mannequins sit is open to the public.
10. The empty building in Times Square, New York, USA
Despite bringing its owners about $23 million every year, there’s nothing inside the One Times Square building except abandoned offices and a ground-floor drugstore.
The company that owned the building went bankrupt in 1992, after which it was sold to an advertising firm. Since then, One Times Square has been no more than a giant billboard with screens.
9. Abandoned City Hall subway station, New York, USA
The City Hall station of the New York subway functioned from 1904 to 1945 and was closed because of new trains whose cars were too long for making such a sharp turn in the tunnel.
You can see City Hall if you don’t leave train No. 6 at the end of the line: it turns back using that station.
8. Mount Rushmore and its secret chamber, USA
Apart from the four presidents sculpted in it, Mount Rushmore has its very own secret room. Inside, hidden behind a 1,200-pound granite capstone, the USA’s most important documents are kept safe, including the Declaration of Independence.
7. A prison in the Doge’s Palace, Venice, Italy
Beneath the Venetian Doge’s Palace there’s a prison that once held the notorious Giacomo Casanova: Piombi. Within its 400-year history, he was the only person to have ever escaped from it.
The existence of the prison is actually quite well known, but a visit to it is not included in the standard tour of the Palace.
6. The tunnels beneath Las Vegas Strip, Las Vegas, USA
A wide system of tunnels beneath the main entertainment street of Las Vegas is home to several hundred homeless people. It’s completely dark in here, but once you turn on a flashlight you see the unmistakable signs of human presence: furniture, clothes, and all sorts of everyday items.
5. Floor 103 of the Empire State Building, New York, USA
Everyone knows there’s a lookout platform on floor 102 of the building. However, you can enjoy the view from the 103rd floor too, where there’s a small room with a low balcony. It’s only open for staff and VIPs, though.
4. The bathroom of Cardinal Bibbiena, Papal Apartments, Vatican
A bathroom decorated by Raphael Santi and his apprentices in 1516 is a part of Cardinal Bibbiena’s apartments. What’s so unusual about it is that the scenes on the frescoes are far from decent.
The entrance to the bathroom is in the former bedroom of the Cardinal where today the Pope conducts meetings with world leaders.
3. Secret apartments in Cinderella Castle, Disney World, USA
The room looks like a suite in a very expensive hotel, yet you can’t book a night in it with all the money in the world. Still, you can win such an opportunity: every day in January, Disney World makes a lottery for it.
2. A lookout platform in the Statue of Liberty’s torch, New York, USA
Up until 1916, there was a staircase leading up to the balcony inside the torch the statue holds. But that year, the torch was damaged by an explosion, and tourists were banned from it forever. It’s still closed to the public, despite the torch having been replaced by a new one in 1986.
1. Cave of the Evil Spirit, Niagara Falls, Canada
Down the road from the waterfall, there’s the small "Cave of the Evil Spirit." An Indian legend has it that many years ago an evil spirit became trapped in this cave. From then on, everyone who visited it would be cursed with a life of misfortune. Visit this secret place if you dare!
Preview photo credit flickr