You can walk through ancient Egypt and Babylon at London's newest immersive experience
TIMEWALK will take visitors from Göbeklitepe to Ancient Egypt
London has spent the last few years turning just about everything into an immersive experience. We've had immersive theatre, immersive art galleries, immersive Van Gogh, immersive dinosaurs and more immersive versions of The Great Gatsby than anyone could reasonably ask for.
A new exhibition called TIMEWALK is heading to London this July, promising to take visitors on a journey through some of humanity's most influential civilisations, from the world's earliest known temple complex to the pyramids of Ancient Egypt and the giant stone heads of Easter Island.
Unlike your average museum visit, the idea isn't to stand behind a rope reading information panels. The goal is to make you feel like you've actually stepped into these ancient worlds.
Opening at Immerse LDN at the Excel Waterfront, TIMEWALK has been designed as a fully immersive walk-through experience that uses large-scale visuals, surround sound, cinematic storytelling and interactive environments to bring thousands of years of human history back to life.
The journey begins at Göbeklitepe, the extraordinary archaeological site in modern-day Turkey that's widely considered one of the oldest known temple complexes on Earth. Dating back more than 11,000 years, it predates Stonehenge by several millennia and has fundamentally changed our understanding of when organised human civilisation began.
From there, visitors move through a series of ancient cultures that helped shape the world as we know it.
Expect to pass through the mighty city gates of Babylon, explore the beliefs and rituals of Ancient Egypt, discover how the Maya civilisation used mathematics and astronomy to understand the cosmos, and learn about the cultural significance of the famous Moai statues on Rapa Nui.
The exhibition's creators say they've deliberately moved away from presenting these civilisations as collections of dusty artefacts and ruined buildings. Instead, TIMEWALK aims to recreate them as living places full of people, movement and stories.
That means visitors might find themselves sailing along the Nile at sunset, wandering through bustling ancient streets or standing beneath monuments recreated at full scale.
It's a concept that feels increasingly popular as museums and cultural institutions look for new ways to engage audiences who have grown up expecting experiences rather than information. Whether you're a history buff or someone whose knowledge of ancient civilisations begins and ends with whatever happened in The Mummy, the idea is to make the past feel immediate and accessible.
The exhibition comes from DEM Museums, the team behind the award-winning Hagia Sophia History and Experience Museum and Ephesus Experience Museum, both of which use immersive technology to reinterpret major historical sites for modern audiences.
According to DEM chief executive Eda Bildiricioglu, the goal is to tell the story of civilisation through a contemporary lens while remaining rooted in archaeological research.
A 25-language audio guide will also be available, helping visitors navigate what is essentially a globe-spanning journey through thousands of years of human development.
TIMEWALK is the latest addition to Immerse LDN, the growing entertainment district that's become one of London's biggest homes for large-scale immersive experiences. The venue says it has already welcomed more than 1.7 million visitors since launching, and TIMEWALK looks set to be one of its most ambitious projects yet.
Because while we've all seen ancient history in books, documentaries and museums, it's not every day you get the chance to walk through it.
TIMEWALK opens in July 2026 at Immerse LDN, Excel Waterfront. Tickets start from £28.50 for adults and £22.70 for children.
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