Crystal Palace Subway
A breathtaking tiled Victorian pedestrian subway, all fan-vaulted brick like a hidden cathedral, opened for free on special days.
FREE
The lowdown
Beneath a busy road near the old Crystal Palace site hides one of London's most astonishing secrets, a Victorian pedestrian subway of breathtaking beauty. Built in 1865 to carry well-dressed visitors from the railway to the great glass palace, it is lined with red and cream brick laid in dizzying fan-vaulted patterns, like the crypt of a cathedral.
The palace burned down long ago and the subway was sealed for decades, but a dedicated group of volunteers now opens it on special days. It is free to visit on those occasions, a jaw-dropping reward for anyone who times it right, and one of the finest pieces of hidden Victorian craftsmanship in the city.
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