A new espionage podcast is setting out to answer one of the great arguments among spy fans: which city can truly claim to be the world’s greatest spy city?
The answer, according to Spy Cities, is London.
Hosted by spy writer Angus Blair and former diplomat David Ludlow, Spy Cities takes listeners through the real and fictional geography of espionage — from intelligence operations and Cold War landmarks to the hotels, bars, safe houses and backstreets that shaped the spy stories we love.
“Every great city likes to think it has a secret life. We wanted to find out which one truly deserves the crown — not by reputation or romance, but by the evidence. We followed the spies, real and fictional, across the globe. London wins by a country mile.”
Angus Blair – Spy Cities Podcast
The weekly podcast begins with The World’s Greatest Spy Cities, a major report comparing real-life intelligence history with a century of spy fiction across films, novels and television.
Its verdict puts London firmly at number one, ahead of Washington DC, Paris, Moscow, Berlin and New York.
The report cross-references the operational records of 100 celebrated intelligence figures with the locations used in the top 100 spy films, 100 spy novels and 50 spy television series worldwide. It also looks at spy tourism, including museums, walking tours and hotels with documented intelligence history.
For Spybrary listeners, the appeal is obvious. This is a show built around the places where espionage history and spy fiction meet: London, Lisbon, Istanbul, Berlin, Shanghai, New York, Washington DC and more.
“Every great city likes to think it has a secret life,” said Blair. “We wanted to find out which one truly deserves the crown — not by reputation or romance, but by the evidence. We followed the spies, real and fictional, across the globe. London wins by a country mile.”
The report says London tops every measure. Around 45 of the 100 real intelligence agents studied are said to have worked there, while the capital also dominates fictional representation across film, novels and television.
Washington DC ranks second overall and comes out as the strongest city for spy television, with series including The Americans, Homeland, 24 and The Night Agent.
Paris places third, with figures including Mata Hari, Virginia Hall and Noor Inayat Khan helping its real-world claim, alongside the acclaimed French spy series Le Bureau des Légendes.
Moscow and Berlin complete the top five, reflecting their central place in Cold War history and spy fiction. Shanghai, Seoul and New Delhi also appear in the global rankings, reflecting the rise of Chinese cinema, Korean spy films and Indian streaming drama.
Blair is the author of the espionage thriller Shock Therapy, named Thriller of the Month by The Times. Ludlow served in Moscow, Geneva and Brussels, three cities closely tied to Cold War and contemporary intelligence history.
Both hosts are trustees of the Cambridge Security Initiative, chaired by former MI6 chief Sir Richard Dearlove.
“Having experienced the paranoia of the Cold War first hand, working a stone’s throw from the Kremlin, and travelling widely across the Eastern Bloc, it’s great to have the opportunity to dig deeper into its secrets,” said Ludlow.
Each episode of Spy Cities will focus on a single city, following real spies and fictional characters through locations still visitable today.
The podcast is produced by Chatterbox Audio and is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major platforms.
What do you think? Is London the World's Great Spy City? Share your thoughts with 5,000+ spy fans in the Spybrary Community.
Notes for Spybrary readers
The full World’s Greatest Spy Cities report runs to around 15,000 words and includes league tables, city comparisons and appendices mapping spy films, novels and TV series to their locations.
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