# Is Paris the only city where you can tour the sewers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 23, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653 "2022-10-23T02:31:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/1 "2022-10-23T02:31:17Z")
Is Paris the only city where the sewers are an attraction where one can go on organized tours?🇨🇵 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/2 "2022-10-23T02:47:14Z")
Vienna. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/3 "2022-10-23T02:48:50Z")
London. > **[A Day In The London Sewers - 1882](https://www.jack-the-ripper-tour.com/generalnews/a-day-in-the-sewers/)** > > An article from The Pall Mall Gazette, which presented readers with the experiences of a journalist who had spent a day in the sewers beneath London. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/4 "2022-10-23T04:02:26Z")
[Cape Town](http://www.goodhopeadventures.com/tour-tunnel-adventure.htm). I had an amzing plan for a friend’s bachelor party: dress him up like a mutant ninja turtle and emerge from manholes close to bars on the route… but we never did that, sadly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/5 "2022-10-23T04:50:29Z")
With enough willpower, you could probably tour the sewers in any city? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/6 "2022-10-23T05:43:38Z")
Hell, people make a living of that. Probably the worst job in the world though. > **[The worst job ever: India's sewer cleaners](https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/news/world/2018/10/24/worst-job-ever-indias-sewer-cleaners/1752672002/)** > > The worst job ever? India's sewer cleaners ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/7 "2022-10-23T08:07:23Z")
Sydney. The historic Tank Stream - the town’s original water source and later an open drain, then covered over as a sewer, storm water and sewerage channel - is intermittently available for tours. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/8 "2022-10-23T09:01:09Z")
Try [Naples](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187785-d2466778-Reviews-Underground_Naples-Naples_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html). And the [Cloaca Maxima](https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g187791-d12865199-Reviews-Cloaca_Maxima-Rome_Lazio.html) in Rome is also worth mentioning. In Istambul you can visit the cisterns, which are underground. Don’t know whether that counts or not, but [here](https://bazaarturkey.com/activities/cisterns-of-istanbul-walking-tour/) they are. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/9 "2022-10-23T09:23:53Z")
Not since the pandemic started, though they’re hoping to resume them in May of next year. (Of course, that’s what they also said last year.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2022, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/10 "2022-10-23T18:52:56Z")
Cleveland’s sewer tunnels are mostly too small for the public to tour through, but the sewer department has great public relations, and often has public tours of the sewage treatment facilities. They hand out flyers with the tagline “You’ve really gotta go”. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/11 "2022-10-24T08:48:41Z")
I’m not aware of tours inside London’s sewers, but you can visit the steam pumps they used to use at Crossness: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pjrxvAfansQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Crossness: The World's Most Beautiful Sewage Plant") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjrxvAfansQ) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/gvKSpH4ua6Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Crossness pumping station: An "industrial cathedral" to steam (BBC)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvKSpH4ua6Y) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/12 "2022-10-24T10:07:15Z")
I specifically remember my grade-school class doing a guided tour of one of Indianapolis’s water-treatment plants. It was the worst field trip EVER. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/13 "2022-10-24T13:45:21Z")
Doesn’t it have something to do with the various types of sewers? Older cities had a sort of combined wastewater/stormwater system, and from what I understand had larger pipes/tunnels and were less fetid than modern separated systems. For example, modern cities have separate storm sewers (basically drainage pipes/tunnels) and sanitary sewers (where your toilet and everything else goes). Sanitary sewer pipes aren’t as large; something like a 90" pipe (7.5 feet) is a _huge_ one. And not that big to go walking through either. Storm sewer pipes are a LOT larger, but probably less interesting. Except maybe large scale projects like this. Apparently back in the day(19th/early 20th century), the city just basically put a bunch of older streams/creeks into culverts and built over the top of them, and they’ve had drainage issues ever since. The idea is to have each of those ancient streams dump into this thing, and have it go over to the river, and essentially get siphoned/pushed out when enough water gets into the system. > **[Record breaking TBM completes water tunnel in Texas | Ground Engineering (GE)](https://www.geplus.co.uk/news/record-breaking-tbm-completes-water-tunnel-in-texas-16-08-2022/)** > > The US$206.7M (£170M) Mill Creek Drainage Relief Tunnel project will provide 100 year flood protection for nearly 2,200 commercial and residential ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/14 "2022-10-24T14:34:33Z")
London is nearing the end of a massive construction to cope with storm surge overflows Sadly, it is the case that both sorts of drains go into the same tunnels, and when there’s too much rain, the (mixed) overflow currently goes into the Thames (fortunately two massive tides a day means that nothing should linger, but even so…) > **[Reconnecting London with the River Thames](https://www.tideway.london/)** > > Tideway is building a 25km Super Sewer under the Thames to intercept those nasty spills and clean up our river for the good of London, its wildlife and you. ---
**Author:** ![Joeu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joeu/32/2911_2.png) [@Joeu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joeu)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/15 "2022-10-24T17:19:48Z")
There used to be a guy who led completely unofficial (and illegal) tours of the sewers here in Brooklyn. He would just pop a manhole cover, shoot down a ladder, and take a group down. I don’t think he does it anymore (maybe he got caught?), but you can tour the wastewater treatment plant. [Digester Egg Tours - DEP](https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dep/whats-new/digester-egg-tours.page) which is quite cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/16 "2022-10-24T17:24:35Z")
buildup of carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide, methane, & sulphur dioxide means going down to these places is not something one should do lightly. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2022, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-paris-the-only-city-where-you-can-tour-the-sewers/973653/17 "2022-10-24T20:13:20Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Doesn’t it have something to do with the various types of sewers? Older cities had a sort of combined wastewater/stormwater system, and from what I understand had larger pipes/tunnels and were less fetid than modern separated systems. There are now usually three distinct things being dealt with - stormwater [sharp demand to clear surface water after rain], sewerage [household water use], sewage [human waste]. The ideal geometry of their pipes differed, and was influenced by population density, anticipated demand, topography etc. In the pre-mechanical era the emphasis was on making the system work by gravity and natural forcing, so combined systems were designed to give extra water to push faecal matter through. This also meant big pipes/ channels. With flush toilets and pumping stations that is no longer needed and the focus has gone to getting these separated so that the water in the different systems can be efficiently treated in bulk. A sewer treatment plant takes up a lot of land so you don’t want to create a system that unnecessarily multiplies the volume you need to treat.