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An artist’s illustration of the London Tunnels, a planned tourist attraction in a World War II-era labyrinth beneath central London
The London Tunnels
In the early 1940s, amid heavy bombing by Nazi troops, the British government built a network of secret tunnels beneath the streets of London. The subterranean passageways, which were intended to serve as shelters during the London Blitz, are roughly 100 feet below the surface.
Now, plans are taking shape to transform the World War II-era tunnel network into a tourist attraction. Angus Murray, CEO of the London Tunnels, recently revealed more details about the project while leading a small group of investors and journalists on a tour of the labyrinth.
The tunnels are expected to open to the public in late 2027 or early 2028, report Reuters’ Sarah Young and Gerhard Mey. The completed tourist attraction will feature a memorial to the London Blitz, as well as a museum, an art gallery and a bar, per CNN’s Maureen O’Hare.
The 86,000-square-foot space will undergo a $149 million overhaul, led by architects from the firm Wilkinson-Eyre. The firm has worked on several international landmarks, including the Sky Bridge at the Hong Kong International Airport and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge in England.
Designers plan to keep many of the tunnels’ remaining historical artifacts, which will be displayed in a “History and Heritage” section of the attraction. An “Arts and Culture” section will host rotating art exhibitions, as well as immersive displays using projectors, screens, scents and sounds. The bar will be the attraction’s centerpiece, with room to accommodate several hundred people at one time.
“This is going to be a massive space, and it’s that impression of ‘wow!’ that makes a difference,” Murray tells CNN.
The renovated space will feature a large bar that can accommodate several hundred people. The London Tunnels/https://tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer_public/ec/47/ec47cd4f-713c-4c7e-848b-359ce818088c/the-london-tunnels-img-gallery-50.jpg)
Murray plans to begin construction during the second half of 2026. After the venue opens, he hopes to bring in three million visitors each year—roughly the same as the Tower of London, the most visited paid attraction in England.
“In London, if one thing works, it’s tourism,” Murray tells Reuters.
Built in 1941 and 1942, the tunnels are located in central London below High Holborn and Chancery Lane, reports Time Out’s Daniela Toporek. They were constructed to provide shelter for Londoners during German bombing campaigns, but by the time work was finished, the London Blitz was over.
Though the tunnels were never used as wartime bunkers, they did serve as the offices of British Intelligence’s Special Operations Executive. Ian Fleming, the English author who wrote the James Bond novels, worked in the tunnels as a liaison officer for the British Navy in 1944. The setting likely served as the inspiration for the headquarters of his fictional “Q Branch.”
In the 1950s and ’60s, the tunnels became the Kingsway Telephone Exchange, which facilitated phone calls during the Cold War.
“Because during the war some of the telecommunications exchanges got bombed, they needed a deep level telecommunications exchange,” Murray tells Agence France-Presse’s Marie Heuclin.
Later, British Telecom moved in and added an underground bar and game room for employees.
The labyrinth, which had been largely vacant since the 1980s, was put up for sale in 2008. Murray, an Australian private equity entrepreneur, bought the complex in 2023.
“They have a fascinating history,” he told the New York Times’ Claire Moses last year.
