If you enjoy seeing the process behind the product, taking a hard-hat tour of a building site is definitely the way to go. But these experiences aren’t very well-publicized, so here’s how to find them.

For starters, look for citywide “open house” days, where the public can take tours of buildings and sites–both finished and unfinished.

London holds open house days every September; New York City has an open house weekend in October. Along with architecture tours and lectures, you can participate in hard-hat visits to sites like One World Trade Center and unopened sections of the High Line park, which was constructed on old railroad tracks.

Sometimes, hard hats are required to tour sites that have been around for a while.

In Houston, the 97-year-old Battleship Texas has behind-the-scenes tours between October and May. Guests can tour the underbelly of ship and explore sections that most people never get to see.

And sometimes, those all-access tours are in the places you don’t expect.

For example in Wisconsin, the New Glarus Brewing Company has weekly hard-hat tours of its brand-new facility. It’s a three-hour experience that provides much more access than most brewery tours, so you can immerse yourself in the process… and of course, enjoy the product after the tour!

Get more tips in our Group Tours section.