Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
Caucasus - Geghard Monastery, Armenia
Armenia • 15 days, 14 nights
Caucasus Road Trip: Azerbaijan, Georgia & Armenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Al Jazirah Al Hamra Heritage Village
Complejo Cultural Fábrica Imbabura
Guptill's Arena
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
In this deceptively simple dish, top-quality ingredients are paramount.
Kor Panich
Customize your bowl with sliced pork, pork balls, fish cake, and offal.
Rung Rueang
Pasties are an Upper Michigan tradition dating back to mining days.
Lehto’s Pasties
Stock up on picnic supplies with a side of history.
Horton Bay General Store
Take some of Michigan’s produce home with you.
American Spoon
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Podcast: Finding ‘The Great Gatsby’ in Louisville
about 18 hours ago
Here’s which treats you can safely lug home without risking a fine.
Dear Atlas: What International Food Can I Legally Bring Into the U.S.?
2 days ago
Cely’s map is not only accurate, but captures the unique characteristics of Congaree’s trees and waterways.
How One Biologist Drew a Hyper-Accurate, Ranger-Approved Map of Congaree National Park
3 days ago
Though they’re protected inside the park, wolves can be killed when they cross its borders.
Wolves Have a Bad Reputation. One Yellowstone Naturalist Is Trying to Fix It.
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Canada Ontario Ottawa The Diefenbunker
AO Edited

The Diefenbunker

Canada's subterranean Cold War museum has doubled as a movie set.

Ottawa, Ontario

Added By
Luficer
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
  http://diefenbunker.ca/pages/visit_diefenb...
  http://diefenbunker.ca/pages/visit_diefenb...
Propaganda poster in one of the Diefenbunker offices.   patrickjbrooks / Atlas Obscura User
Exhibit photo of Diefenbunker under construction.   patrickjbrooks / Atlas Obscura User
Government of Canada poster.   patrickjbrooks / Atlas Obscura User
Carp Branch of the Ottawa Public Library, formerly Diefenbunker repair shop   dbert / Atlas Obscura User
The old mess hall, now community hall   dbert / Atlas Obscura User
Diefenbunker National Historic Site marker   dbert / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  Max Cortesi / Atlas Obscura User
  bsempowski / Atlas Obscura User
  bsempowski / Atlas Obscura User
  bsempowski / Atlas Obscura User
  bsempowski / Atlas Obscura User
  bsempowski / Atlas Obscura User
Diefenbunker exterior   Andrew Vail
  Andrea Vail
Cafeteria   cb24602 / Atlas Obscura User
CBC Broadcast Centre   cb24602 / Atlas Obscura User
Prime Minister’s Office   cb24602 / Atlas Obscura User
Main Gate   cb24602 / Atlas Obscura User
Zombie recruitment poster.   patrickjbrooks / Atlas Obscura User
Bank of Canada Vault   cb24602 / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

When one thinks of Canada, they rarely think of nuclear annihilation, but the Canucks were ready for one.

The Diefenbunker was built in the late 50s to protect the Canadian Government from nuclear attack and nicknamed after John Diefenbaker who was the Prime Minister at the time. It was part of a number of bunkers and locations to be used during a nuclear attack, and was officially known as the "Central Emergency Government Headquarters". The Diefenbunker was in operation for 33 years as communications station CFS Carp before it was turned into a museum in 1998, and opened to the public. It is also a National Historic Site of Canada.

In addition to being a museum, the Diefenbunker has also been used as a movie set in several movies including "Sum of All Fears", "Zygote" and most recently "Fatman." A highlight among the exhibitions is "Lost Nuke: The World's First Broken Arrow" which is the story of the first 'lost' nuclear weapon, featuring artifacts from the site of the infamous plane crash.

The original property stretched down to the Carp River. Two buildings, originally part of CFS Carp, that are still used today are the Mess Hall and maintenance building. Respectively they are now used as a municipal community hall and public library. The bases' old baseball diamond is still visible, although now it is used as a cow paddock.

Related Tags

Cold War Museums Tunnels Subterranean Sites Military

Community Contributors

Added By

Luficer

Edited By

dbert, SamM, Max Cortesi, cb24602...

  • dbert
  • SamM
  • Max Cortesi
  • cb24602
  • bsempowski
  • patrickjbrooks

Published

May 20, 2010

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.diefenbunker.ca/index.shtml
  • https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=823
  • https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?locations=Diefenbunker%20Canada%27s%20Cold%20War%20Museum,%20Carp,%20Ontario,%20Canada
  • https://facesmag.ca/mel-gibsons-fatman-a-christmas-movie-filmed-in-ottawa-north-dundas-and-carleton-place/
  • https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/branch/carp
  • https://diefenbunker.ca/escaperoom/
The Diefenbunker
3911 Carp Road
Ottawa, Ontario, K0A 1L0
Canada
45.351709, -76.044628
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Dr. James Naismith Statue

Almonte, Ontario

miles away

Pink Lake

Gatineau, Québec

miles away

Carbide Willson Ruins

Chelsea, Québec

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ontario

Places 16
Stories 2

Nearby Places

Dr. James Naismith Statue

Almonte, Ontario

miles away

Pink Lake

Gatineau, Québec

miles away

Carbide Willson Ruins

Chelsea, Québec

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Ottawa

Ottawa

Ontario

Places 16
Stories 2

Related Stories and Lists

The Canadian Team on the Hunt for Radioactive Artifacts

radioactive

By Emma Jacobs

23 Places to Relive the Cold War

List

By Gemma Tarlach

Related Places

  • Harry tunnel at Stalag Luft III.

    Żagań, Poland

    Stalag Luft III Prisoner Camp Museum

    The site of one of the largest prison escapes of World War II.

  • George Street entrance to the Guardian Telephone Exchange.

    Manchester, England

    Guardian Telephone Exchange Tunnels

    This nondescript building hides an entrance to an underground nuclear tunnel system.

  • The FBI’s spy house on Wisconsin Ave. Cameras could be seen in the tinted skylights on the roof.

    Washington, D.C.

    FBI Spy House

    A painfully obvious spy house sits right across the street from the Russian Embassy.

  • Gesundbrunnen Bunker - Entrance from inside

    Berlin, Germany

    Berliner Unterwelten (Subterranean Berlin)

    A tour of underground Berlin takes you through WWII air raid shelters and tunnels used to smuggle people out of East Germany.

  • Old air purification system.

    Tallinn, Estonia

    Tallinn Kiek in de Kök

    This medieval Estonian tower provides access to a series of tunnels that have been home to soldiers, punks, and fine art.

  • The Sarajevo Tunnel

    Ilidža, Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Sarajevo War Tunnel Museum

    This museum preserves the hand-dug tunnel that kept Sarajevo afloat during the Serbian siege.

  • Zagreb, Croatia

    Grič Tunnel

    A World War II evacuation tunnel turned into a history display of Croatian state and people.

  • The ladder leading into the interior.

    Nynäshamn S, Sweden

    The Landsort Artillery Battery

    A southern Swedish island is home to the last ERSTA artillery battery, meant to protect the shoreline during the Cold War.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.