Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.
Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.
Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
13 Places to Wade Into the Wondrous History of Sewers
From guided tours of the world below to a chunk of a fatberg.
Sewers are, in most cases, designed to be invisible. Deep underground, they ferry urine and feces (and other things) out of sight, and few people give them much thought until something goes wrong, when murky water fills the basement or some stench drifts up from below.
But the history of sewers, in all their smelly glory, deserves a closer look. These essential networks revolutionized urban living, sparked reams of lore, and inspired grand civic monuments. From odes to the workers keeping cities unclogged to excavated slabs of filth to an ornate tunnel with marvelous acoustics (and a supremely fancy lighting scheme), here are 13 places to learn about these underground worlds.
Recent Lists
16 Places to Fall in Love With The Nordics
16 Places to Fall in Love With The Nordics
Sponsored By The Nordics
16
Including Cisternerne, Forgotten Giants, and Your Rainbow Panorama
Chart Your Own Odyssey Across the Mediterranean
Chart Your Own Odyssey Across the Mediterranean
Dazzling destinations that evoke Homer’s epic.
17
Including Tophet at Carthage, Valley of the Butterflies, and Scala dei Turchi
Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.
Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.
Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook