Fodor's Expert Review Lascaris War Rooms

Back in 1943, this underground tunnel complex arguably decided the course of World War II. It was then that President Eisenhower and the Allied commanders were plotting the invasion of Sicily (known as Operation Husky)—one of the first major assaults to retake Europe from the Axis powers. The site of this top-secret British HQ has been carefully restored (it was later used by NATO to track Soviet subs up until 1977) to its heyday, and hourly guided tours take you through the intricacies of planning such a game-changing operation long before computers were able to plot each movement—complicated military coordination was done with phones, string, and a chalkboard. The entrance is up at the Saluting Battery, with steps leading down from there. Exclusive guided tours of the rooms and tunnels are available at 10:30 and 1 pm.