To get a sense of a city that’s new to you, nothing beats walking its streets. When you need to cover long distances, the bus will get you there while supplying a closeup of locals and daily life, but don’t miss out on another option: the subway. These arteries in the hearts of cities offer so much more than simply rapid, inexpensive rides.
Unless you’re a civil engineer, infrastructure may seem an unlikely topic for tourism. Yet underground transit systems can be a surprisingly interesting window into the history, architecture, and design of the cities they pass through, often with decorative tunnel treatments (such as murals and mosaics) and new and historic artworks lining stations. And if you really want to learn about these engineering feats, book a guided tour.
A love of art deco buildings led me to sign up for a recent walk in downtown Philadelphia with the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia called “Underground Philadelphia: Subways, Railways & Stations.” It opened my eyes to some of the geological and construction considerations and other factors shaping these underground systems. The City of Brotherly Love is one of several metropolises that offer the chance to dive deep and get in touch with your inner transit nerd. Read on for three places where going underground is a fine way to get a fresh view of the city.
Transit tours with the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia begin above ground in the architecturally striking William H. Gray III 30th Street Station.
Photo by Bryan Littel/Shutterstock
Philadelphia
Each weekend from May through November, the Preservation Alliance offers two different themed walks, which might focus on a neighborhood, era, or topic (such as Jewish immigration, sacred sites, or skyscrapers). On a recent visit in October, the scheduled walk was “Underground Philadelphia: Subway, Railways & Stations” ($15 for two hours), and the description’s promise of “two art deco masterpieces” sealed the deal for me. While the public tour is offered infrequently, transit fans can arrange a private tour for $100 for up to five people by contacting tours@preservationalliance.com.
I joined a group of 10, mostly locals, and our guide, a retired architect and transit expert, at our meeting point: the huge war memorial inside the William Gray III 30th Street Station. Built in 1933, the station is primarily neo-classical with massive Corinthian columns and then-modern art deco touches. Before heading underground, we walked around the 28-foot-tall bronze Angel of Resurrection to absorb the names inscribed on its pedestal. They were 1,307 former Pennsylvania Railroad employees who had died fighting in World War II. Our next stop was the 30-foot plaster bas-relief The Spirit of Transportation, which depicts modes of transit beginning on the far left with oxen pulling a Conestoga wagon and culminating on the right with a child holding an airship—the future in 1895 when it was carved.
Appropriately, given the tour’s topic, we rode the subway a few stops to emerge near City Hall and then descend into a public underground concourse network as our guide talked about the now-gone Broad St. train station (demolished in 1953), the evolution of the subway lines, and the challenges of building at multiple levels underground (ventilation, for one). We walked up and down stairs to follow seemingly endless hallways; most were gray and airport-like, but art deco details popped up occasionally. The oversize historic photos our guide had brought along helped demonstrate the changes over the decades. And traversing the concourse by foot gave me a good sense of the undertaking (pun intended).
We visited the Suburban Station, the first all-underground rail terminal and an art deco gem dating back to 1930, with a fancy black, pink, and gold exterior at street level. The tour ended aptly at the former Reading Terminal (Monopoly fans, take note), which is beside the bustling food market of the same name; celebrate all that underground walking with a freshly made soft pretzel from Miller’s Twist.
Baker Street is one of the historic Underground stations you can visit on a tour with the London Transport Museum.
Photo by Gordon Bell/Shutterstock
London
Private companies and official transit groups mean you’re spoiled for choice for tours of this capital’s expansive subway system. The London Transport Museum offers tours as part of its Hidden London series, which visit secret spaces such as disused platforms. The schedule changes every few weeks, but stations you might visit include Baker Street, where you’ll have access to corridors closed to the public for 75 years; Clapham South, which was built as one of eight deep-level air-raid shelters during World War II; and Aldwych, which has a turn-of-the-20th-century ticketing hall and has been used as a filming location for movies and TV shows. There’s so much to discover that these tours inspired a highly popular British TV series, Secrets of the London Underground, now in its fourth season and available to stream in the USA on Tubi and the Roku Channel. Tours average about 75 to 85 minutes and cost £45 for adults, and they’re also available occasionally in British Sign Language. Be sure to save time to visit the museum, open daily, in Covent Garden.
Private options include the 2.5-hour Secrets of the London Underground Walking Tour from Evan Evans (from £29 for adults), during which you’ll learn about the role the Underground played during WWII as an aircraft factory and storage space for items from the British Museum collection. And each Tuesday, London Walks presents its two-hour Lure of the Underground itinerary (£20 for adults), which focuses on subjects like graphic design, architecture, and engineering marvels.
One of the best ways to engage with NYC transit history is on a “nostalgia ride,” during which 1930s-era subway cars are temporarily put back into service.
Photo by Here Now/Shutterstock
New York City
Fans of pop culture, history, and transit nostalgia alike will find something to love in New York’s subway system, which has been featured in such movies as The Warriors, The French Connection, Saturday Night Fever, and The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three. And parts of its abandoned network of abandoned stations and disused tunnels inspired the Bat Cave and the Penguin’s secret base.
The New York Transit Museum, which occupies a decommissioned subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, offers public tours like the “Underground NYC Tour: Subway 101” ($30) and “Second Avenue Art and Transit History” walk ($40) a few times each during its tour season, which runs late February through June and late August through December.
Extra effort is necessary to see the city’s snazziest abandoned station, Old City Hall, from which NYC’s first subway ride departed to much fanfare in 1904. First, you need to become a museum member (starting at $65 for adults) and join the email newsletter for alerts of when tickets go on sale. Tours cost $50 per person and sell out quickly, but you will be rewarded with a real hidden wonder: a grand station, showcasing a vaulted tile ceiling, chandeliers, skylights, and stained glass.
The museum also sponsors nostalgia rides on 1930s train cars. Each Sunday this December, R1/9 cars will be making four scheduled departures along the F line (uptown from the Second Avenue–Houston Street stop at 10 a.m. and 12, 2, and 4 p.m.) and the Q line (downtown from the 96th Street–Second Avenue stop at 11 a.m. and 1, 3, and 5 p.m.).
Untapped New York offers a two-hour NYC Underground Subway Tour ($39 for adults) that includes a little time travel via a ride through abandoned stations, stopping at the Chambers Street station, originally intended to be the “Grand Central of Downtown.” A similar tour in Brooklyn includes the highest rapid transit station in the world and the filming location of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” music video. Another tour that combines walking and riding is the NYC Subway Art Tour, led by Bronx-born guide Darryl Reilly. You can discover sculptures, murals, tile work, and other art on weekdays for $40.
