This post contains affiliate links to trusted partners. If you purchase through these links, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you!
In the Intelligence trade, a safe house is “a secret refuge for spies engaging in covert operations.” These places look unassuming on the outside — and good luck finding the door — but on the inside are spaces for conducting clandestine activities. Serving hungry agents since 1966, The Safe House is a spy-themed restaurant and museum containing mysteries and even a hidden exit. Wandering down dark, narrow hallways, you’ll find a phone booth where you can get an alibi if you blow your cover, as well as the world’s largest mechanical puzzle, where you must figure out whose the double agent. Ladies, make sure to check out the bathroom and touch Burt Reynolds package — if you dare. Other highlights include a magician’s bar, fun house mirrors, the country’s oldest running Press Club, a petrified cat that’s also the Press Club’s mascot, a key-shaped dance floor, hidden booths, a secret phone booth exit, an interrogation chamber where you’ll be a questioned in an 86′ bomber ejection seat and more.
The museum is separated into different “sectors” — like the Hong Kong Sector, Mediterranean Sector and, the most fact-focused area, the German Sector — with a mix of factual and fictional exhibits and artifacts. In the German Sector, you’ll see a Checkpoint Charlie replica and a genuine piece of the Berlin Wall.
The building is hidden in an alley and misleadingly labeled International Exports Ltd. You’ll need a password to enter, or at least enough sense of humor to make animal sounds, dance and do silly poses until the doorman lets you in. Hint: Control never turned away agents on the run because they didn’t know the password. Enjoy spy-themed drinks, like the “Spy’s Demise” and the “Double Agent,” in a vintage bar. Overall, it’s a fun mix of history, surprises, delicious food, strong drinks, music, magic and secrets.
Jessie Festa is a New York-based travel content creator who is passionate about empowering her audience to experience new places and live a life of adventure. She is the founder of the solo female travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and is editor-in-chief of Epicure & Culture, an online conscious tourism magazine. Along with writing, Jessie is a professional photographer and is the owner of NYC Photo Journeys, which offers New York photo tours, photo shoots, and wedding photography. Her work has appeared in publications like USA Today, CNN, Business Insider, Thrillist, and WestJet Magazine.
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.