The Archaeological Crypt of Nice

In 2004, while workers were constructing a new tram line between Pont Michel and Las Planas in Nice, they stumbled across something odd: fragments of an old medieval city, hiding in a 6,000-square-foot chamber just beneath the ground. 

The crypt’s entrance is right next to the tramway that runs parallel to Place Jacques Toja in Old Nice, where a small trapdoor opens to reveal a staircase. An elevator bearing a poster advertising “La Crypte de Nice” is the only clue revealing what lies just 20 feet below the ground. During off-hours even the staircase disappears. A panel seals the entrance, making it blend in with the rest of the square.