Painting on a wall is one thing, but art comes in all different forms, including buildings and monuments. The architects and artists responsible for designing famous landmarks have created not just masterpieces, but secret Easter eggs hidden within the landmarks themselves. Perhaps they did it as a cheeky way to keep the public guessing, or maybe they did intend for us to find out intentionally. Here are the most well-known landmarks and surprises hidden within them that you never knew about.
1. The Sphinx and its secret chambers
This gigantic monument sits in the middle of the desert, but there’s something else you don’t know about it. Inside, the Sphinx contains multiple elaborate chambers and tunnels found on the Sphinx’s side and leading down to the base of the structure.
2. A little police station in Trafalgar Square’s lamp post
Trafalgar Square is one of the most popular and busiest locations in London. It’s thoroughly protected and surveilled at all times, but how? Architects decided to build a secret police station in the area, hidden as an unsuspecting design aspect.
3. A hidden street beneath Charing Cross Road
When walking across Charing Cross Road, you would never guess that an even older street was hidden beneath it. It was once built over a street called Little Compton, and remnants of it are still visible as a utility tunnel covered with railings and grills along the road.
4. Track 61, the mystery beneath The Waldorf Astoria
Wouldn’t it be bizarre to hear the sound of train tracks when spending the night in a hotel? Back in the day in NYC’s Waldorf Astoria, it actually wasn’t uncommon at all. The bottom houses the old steam trains from Manhattan’s Track 61, which is now long forgotten.
5. Leonardo da Vinci statue’s disguised hatch
A gigantic statue of Leonardo da Vinci sits in front of the Italian airport. Somewhere in the middle of Da Vinci’s robe, the sculpture hid a secret. Creator Assen Peikov was famous for leaving Easter eggs within his masterpieces. The compartment contains parchments.
6. The Cave of the Evil Spirit at Niagara Falls
One of the world’s most majestic wonders, these famous falls stretch through New York State and Canada. There’s a chasm between them in the Niagara Gorge called the Cave of the Evil Spirit. The foreboding name is due to the legend that anybody who enters the cave will continue to go on bad luck in their lives.
7. Underground tunnels under the Roman Colosseum
This place is full of vibrant Roman history that dates centuries back. But only when archaeologists and historians scratched the surface and dug underneath did they find some insane discoveries beneath the arena floor. This includes a series of intricate tunnels known as the “hypogeum.”
8. Disneyland’s private Club 33
Disneyland is a place where everyone can have fun — but there’s also a secret level to sophisticated available members. Disney Parks contain a private club called Club 33 that’s extremely exclusive — it even has a huge waitlist of membership applicants, each of whom had to write a letter to even be considered.
9. Gustave Eiffel’s Secret Apartment
If you’ve heard of Paris, France, you likely know about the monument known as the Eiffel Tower which tourists flock to yearly. Designed by Gustave Eiffel, the artists himself built a small apartment for himself near the top of the tower. It was small, cozy, and furnished simply, but it did contain a grand piano — and a 1,000-foot high view.
10. Burp Bubble Button on Buffalo Bayou
Overlooking the Buffalo Bayou off Preston Street is more than a lovely view — there’s a red button hidden in a brick pillar. If pedestrians are observant enough to notice it and brave enough to press it, they’ll see the Easter egg: a large bubble that emerges from the bayou, churning water and pushing air up to the surface. This bubble actually provides oxygen to plants and organisms in the Bayou.
11. Hidden Art Deco Tunnel beneath New Yorker Hotel
Although the New Yorker’s big red sign is often photographed, beneath that concrete on 34th street sits a real treat: the gorgeously tiled Art Deco tunnels. Thousands of people walk by this busy corner on Eighth Avenue without realizing that a tunnel runs beneath them, filled with hotel fittings, carpets, chairs, and most importantly, this striking tile.
