Metro stations, which almost resemble an art gallery with their extraordinary architecture and striking mosaics, add an unthinkable touch of culture to an ordinary journey. Be careful not to miss your train while enjoying the world’s most interesting metro stations, which have gained personality with their aesthetic lines.
While many metro stations are known for their dirty, noisy, and cold tiled walls, there are such stations that have turned into art galleries in almost every corner of the world. We delve into the underworld to find exceptions; we discover metro stations that have become holistic destinations in terms of architecture, art, and history.
Formosa Boulevard Subway Station – Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Would you be surprised if we told you that a metro station has a mission of spreading love and tolerance? Formosa Boulevard Subway Station, located in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, is an interesting stop in many ways. This station, known as the “Dome of Light”, is known as the largest glass work in the world. The message of this very impressive station is based on love and tolerance. At Formosa Boulevard Metro Station, the elements of fire, water, air and earth are designed to indicate the cycle of human life. Designed by Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata, the station took more than four years to complete, and the diameter of the magnificent dome is over 30 meters. More than 4,500 colored glass panels were specially brought from Germany.
Another impressive feature of the station, designed by the Japanese architectural firm Shin Takamatsu Architect and Associates, is that it has four different pedestrian entrances made of glass, extending from street level to the station. In order to take the best photos of this stop, which attracts attention with its entrance and design, you should be there during the day when it is less busy.
Bund Sightseeing Tunnel Metro Station – Shanghai, China
Imagine watching a visual show during your subway trip; colors changing as you progress through the tunnel and music that goes with it… This is exactly possible in the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel in Shanghai! You will be amazed by the special multimedia effects of the tunnel, which creates an underground virtual facility ambiance. The compartments of the train, which consists of two wagons, are completely transparent and provide 360-degree visibility. It is also a little different from the subway wagons we know; It has a fully automatic rail vehicle system pulled by cable. In the tunnel, where a six-channel surround sound system is used, the sound directions are adjusted realistically. As you progress through the 646.7-meter-long tunnel, the light shows and sound effects change accordingly. The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, which operates between only two stops, passes under the Huangpu River connecting the Bund and Lujiazui District of Pudong District.
The Moscow metro, which has eye-catching architectural details in many of its stations, has been serving the city for nearly 100 years. We think that you will enjoy many of these stations, called ‘Underground People’s Palaces’, as if you were visiting a museum. Komsomolskaya station is one of the must-see stations of the Moscow Metro, which expands and grows over time. This station, which almost resembles a historical palace building, was designed in 1952 with the joint work of Painter Pavel Korin and Architect Alexey Schusev. Although the station design started under the strong influence of baroque architecture, it was completed with the Stalinist style; In fact, its designers were deemed worthy of the Stalin Prize.
The stories of the generals who played a role in the Soviet Revolution are told on the golden panels of Komsomolskaya station, which is adorned with 8 large mosaics depicting Russian freedom and independence. We can say that this station, which is dazzling with its three-vaulted deep structure, impressive columns, magnificent chandeliers and embossed decorations, is a door to the past. You are allowed to take photos at the station, where you will feel all its magnificence and elegance, and you can even find signs on the ground indicating the best angle for taking photos.
T-Centralen Metro Station – Stockholm, Sweden
Stockholm metro is shown as the world’s longest art gallery, with 90 stations featuring many works of art, from paintings to sculptures, installations and reliefs. You reach a different world at each new station in the city metro, which features the signatures of 150 artists from different fields. The design of T-Centralen Metro Station, the main transfer center where three different lines meet, belongs to artist Per Olof Ultvedt. In the station, where the color blue dominates, large blue and white stripes decorate the ceilings and walls, as well as the rustic arches and columns decorated with mosaics. The peaceful effect of the color blue at Sweden’s most crowded station calms the excitement of modern life, even if only for a moment. Don’t miss your train while watching the station with its simple atmosphere…
Plac Wilsona – Warsaw, Poland
Plac Wilsona station, which is part of Warsaw’s M1 metro line, is located right under Wilson Square in the north of the city. The station, designed by Polish Architect Andrzej M. Choldzynski, evokes extremely different feelings in passengers. When you step into the station, whose ceiling is covered with ellipses in different colors, you may feel like you are inside a giant UFO. Plac Wilsona, which has many awards, won the “World’s Best Metro Station” award at the Metro Rail Conference held in Copenhagen in 2008, and in 2014, CNN added this station to the list of the most impressive metro stations in Europe.
Staromestska Metro Station – Prague, Czech Republic
Let’s say from the beginning that this station definitely does not appeal to those suffering from trypophobia. The walls of the station in Prague look like the back of a bubble wrap. Staromestska Metro Station, with its bright and modern design and optical illusion, is located right in the heart of Prague. The stop, located in the area called the old city, leads to the Charles Bridge. In his design, architect Lubomír Hanel chose to cover the ceiling and walls with adonized aluminum panels, while the columns are decorated with white marble. The station, which has a characteristic feature, attracts attention with its multi-colored wall covering and contemporary structure.
Let’s share another interesting aspect of this station; steep stairs consisting of 533 steps await you! Of course, there is a reason why the station with the longest escalator among the European Union countries is so deep. While the construction of the Prague city metro was ongoing, it was feared that the country would be the target of possible nuclear bombs, depending on the historical conditions of the period, and metro stations could be used as shelters when necessary. For this reason, the metro station is quite deep.
Westfriedhof – Munich, Germany
Munich Metro, also known as U-Bahn, is much more than a metro! Offering a colorful and extraordinary design to passengers at almost every station, the city metro attracts the attention of tourists as well as locals. At Westfriedhof station, one of them, your perception of space changes and you can feel like you are in a very ordinary cave, but the trademark of this station is its interesting lighting system. The station, which was opened in 1998, was touched by the hand of Industrial Designer Ingo Maurer, who is known as the poet of light, in 2011.
It is equipped with 11 lamps, each with a diameter of 3.9 meters and emitting blue, red and yellow light into the environment. Let’s face it, the experience of waiting for the subway under these gigantic lamps, which are extremely unusual, is quite different… Another important point in the design of this station, which is frequently used by advertising agencies due to its interesting ambience, is the contrast created by the rough tunnel walls with the rest of the space. The colorful lights emitted from the giant lamps emphasize this contrast magnificently.
Arts Et Metiers Metro Station – Paris, France
Arts Et Metiers metro station in Paris, the capital of France, has a very distinctive character, just like the city itself. This station of the Paris Metro, which started operating in 1904, was opened in 1935 and gained its current effect in 1994. The fate of the station, which was covered with typical white tiles until this date, changed with the redesign in collaboration with Belgian cartoonist and stage designer François Schuiten and French screenwriter Benoit Peeters. The station has extremely modernist lines, with symbols that call to the works of world-famous writer Jules Verne.
That anything is possible; designed as a tribute to the steampunk movement, which argues that machines, steam and people will evolve together and create a new world, the station is one of the areas that has become a symbol of technical progress. The platform tunnel at Arts Et Metiers is lined with copper cladding joined together by portholes and exposed bolts. The station, which fascinates those who see it, definitely bears a resemblance to the submarine Nautilus in Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea!
Sao Bento Station – Porto, Portugal
Porto is a very fascinating city with its elegant bridges, charming houses and historical texture. Sao Bento station, where history and aesthetics meet, is one of the spots with this legendary beauty. Every step of Sao Bento, where thousands of people pass every day, is full of details reflecting the history of the city. Although there is no special detail on its façade that attracts your excitement, we cannot say the same for the approximately 20 thousand azulejo, or Portuguese, tiles that decorate the interior.
The walls covered with 22 thousand tiles, mostly blue and white, by artist Jorge Colaço, reflect great battles and pastoral scenes in Portuguese history, such as the Battle of Valdevez and the Conquest of Ceuta. They have such fine details that even the flooring work took more than 11 years to complete. The building, which functions as a museum, is one of the stations with a very high number of visitors during the day. Seeing Sao Bento is one of the most fascinating things to do in Porto.
Toledo Metro – Naples, Italy
Construction of the Naples Metro started in 1911, and it grew by adding new lines and platforms over the years. The design and layout of the city metro, which went through a different development in the 2000s, was entrusted to contemporary artists and architects. In the “Art Stations”, an innovative and bold plan, more than 180 works of 90 Italian and international artists are exhibited in stations on metro lines 1 and 6. Toledo Station, designed by Architect Oscar Tusquets Blanca, who was inspired by water and light, is one of the stops that attracts attention. In the upper halls where light installations are located, there are two large mosaics by South African artist William Kentridge.
The waves of blue and white tiles on the escalators resemble fractal light, creating the effect of diving into the depths of the ocean from the escalators of a subway station. Even if you only have a day or two to spend in Naples, be sure to take the time to take the metro and explore its stations.
