At a time of maximum globalisation like the one we are living in, one thing is certain: the world’s greatest cities receive millions of visitors a year and therefore no longer hold any secrets. Everything has been visited, every route of interest has been scrutinized and even the most inhospitable corner of any large city has been photographed by some tourist.
In spite of this, at BYHOURS we don’t lose hope, that’s why today we want to talk to you about places that do not appear in the main cities’ guides. Because although we will hardly discover in this post some route that isn’t already known by many, we do believe that we can show you places that maybe are new to you. And who knows, maybe you’ll even find here inspiration to start organizing your next getaway.
If you find yourself in Madrid, you probably plan to visit the Museo del Prado, Plaza del Sol, Puerta de Alcalá, Parque del Retiro… if there’s something the Spanish capital doesn’t lack, that’s points of tourist interest. However, if you’re into the underground scene, you’ll enjoy visiting the Chamberí metro Ghost Station. “What are you talking about?” you might ask. Well, it’s a real metro station opened in 1919 and abandoned in 1966, which has been recovered as a museum preserving the aesthetics of that time. A unique experience that will transport you back to mid last century and will help you understand how was life in the capital back then.
If your trip includes a visit to Barcelona, you will surely have already walked along the Rambla, taken a stroll along the Paseo Maritimo or climbed the Montjuic mountain. But the Catalan capital is also famous for the quality and quantity of its museums, from the Miró Museum to the Picasso Museum, including the Macba or the CCCB. But here we want to discover you another type of museum, one that will allow you to revisit works by classic and contemporary painters, while interacting with them as you have never done before. We are talking about Barcelona’s Museum of Illusions, where the visitor is immersed in all kinds of works through elaborate optical illusions. A unique experience for a special museum.
We can’t talk about cities full of secrets without mentioning Rome. Probably the city that holds the largest number of secrets in the world, mainly because most of them are still buried under the ground in the form of a Roman Empire site. And those that have been discovered, you know them well so we won’t go through them. We’d rather talk to you about Rome’s Orange Garden, a not very well known place despite having a magical aura, especially at sunset. From its almost eight thousand square meters of extension and thanks to its elevation, you will enjoy the best views of the city you can imagine. Rome will shine at your feet like in the times of Julius Caesar.
We got a slice of the underground world talking about Madrid, now we fully go into it with a trip to Berlin, the most alternative European capital. There you will find many underground places full of mystery, but perhaps the most curious of them all is the Spreepark, the only amusement park in Germany that was closed to the public and later abandoned. A post-apocalyptic scenario that will make lovers of the creepy-crawlies fall in love.
The same applies to London, another of the meccas of the alternative culture, cradle of the punk and hippie movements of the 80s. Now you can feel as if you were in the years of flower power fervor, visiting Neal’s Yard, an oasis of color in the heart of the city. It actually is a square with a couple of adjacent streets that are home to bars and terraces full of life. A space that, strange as it may seem, is still relatively unknown to many, so hurry up and visit it before it becomes mainstream route.
In South America, the main cities of each country are cradles of secrets and mysteries, impossible to name them all, but we have two spaces that can awaken your interest if you take your steps towards Latin America.
The first one is in Mexico City. Known as “the market of witchcraft”, we are talking about the Mercado de Sonora, located in the city center. It is distinguished by having a great offer of magic, spirituality and religion items of all kinds, being able to find potions and amulets for all kinds of evils. A must visit in what will turn out be a real walk through the roots of Mexican society, deeply rooted in spirituality and Santeria.
The second point to be discovered is in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. Football, tango and politics form its citizens particular triangle of the passions of their. You will be able to discover all of them by visiting the Boca or River stadiums, the thousands of tanguerias in the city or the famous Casa Rosada, house of the Argentine Republic government. But if you want to get out of the classic tourist route, your place is the ecological reserve of Buenos Aires Costanera Sur, where you will discover an authentic green lung very close to the financial district and where you’ll get in touch with dozens of native bird species.
Our journey through the secrets of cities around the world ends here. We hope we have inspired you to undertake your next trip to one of these destinations and if that is the case, don’t forget that with BYHOURS you can book 3, 6 or 24 hours microstays in all of them, as well as in more than 3,000 cities around the world. Whether it is to take a shower, a nap after lunch or to wait for your flight departure, remember BYHOURS supplies your comfort space in the best hotels in the world.