Composite blue image used to advertise new Secret Maps exhibition at the British Library

Secret Maps

Start date: 24 October 2025
End date: 18 January 2026
Time: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm
In-person at the British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB, UK
Third-party event
Composite blue image used to advertise new Secret Maps exhibition at the British Library

Step into the shadows at Secret Maps, a major new exhibition revealing the stories hidden in some of history’s most mysterious maps.

Maps have always been more than just tools for navigation – in the hand of governments, groups and individuals, maps create and control knowledge. In Secret Maps, we trace the levels of power, coercion and secrecy that lie behind maps from the 14th century to the present day, and uncover the invisible forces that draw and distort the world around us.

Some of the maps on display reveal hidden landscapes, offering insight into places long forgotten or erased from official histories. Others are purposefully deceptive, designed to protect treasures, mask strategic locations, or reshape the way we see the world. This exhibition uncovers each of their individual secrets, revealing their hidden purposes and power.

Discover the maps you were never meant to see.

[Tickets vary in price. Please pre-book to attend.]