In many cities, using the subway means encountering dirty seats, low and gloomy ceilings, unidentified puddles and above all means avoiding the gaze of other people. Metro stations are certainly not a place to spend time! In some locations around the world, however, there are exceptions. These huge caverns from which fast trains depart glow with art, history, architecture. There are three basic architectural styles through which to identify a metropolitan line. The first concerns metros like New York, which is essential, efficient and functional. The second can be identified in the London tube, a more commercial approach to design, as every possible empty space is filled with advertising. The third style is the one that understands the subway as a public park, that is, beautiful and uplifting. We have brought together in this ranking the metro stations that belong to the latter category, where the functionality of the urban connection system is combined with an environment, in some cases, truly spectacular.
10 - Formosa Boulevard Station, Kaohsiung
- Country: Taiwan
- Year of inauguration: 2008
One of the busiest stations in the city, Formosa Boulevard is known for its installation called "dome of light". Created by the Italian artist Narcissus Quagliata with individual pieces of colored glass, it is the largest installation of its kind. This station, given its beauty and particularity, is often the venue for weddings.
9 - Champ-de-Mars Station, Montreal
- Country: Canada
- Year of inauguration: 1966
Champ-de-Mars is a station on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro, Canada. It is characterized by magnificent stained glass windows, made by the artist Marcelle Ferron. Some of the works featured in this station are also considered to be the artist's most famous.
8 - Olaias Station, Lisbon
- Country: Portugal
- Year of inauguration: 1998
It is a station on the Red Line of the Lisbon Metro. With its colorful tiles in a variety of geometric shapes covering its surfaces, Olaias station is nowhere near comparable to the dark and dirty spaces of traditional metro stations.
7 - Zoloti Vorota Station, Kiev
- Country: Ukraine
- Year of inauguration: 1989
One of the best known and busiest stations on the Kiev metro network is Zoloti Vorota, the product of a series of contributions by a large number of artists. His artistic details include gorgeous chandeliers with candle-shaped lights and mosaics covering columns and surfaces. There are a total of 80 large mosaics that run clockwise around the station. The reproductions illustrate the history of Kievan Rus.
6 - Komsomolskaya, Moscow
- Country: Russia
- Year of inauguration: 1952
Located in Komsomolskaya Square and the crossroads of three different metro lines, this station is very busy and beautiful. Its position and internal design make it a perfect representation of Russian identity and its culture.
5 - City Hall Station, New York
- Country: USA
- Year of inauguration: 1904
It is an abandoned station and not in use since 1945. Nevertheless, it can be admired by those who pass aboard the IRT Lexington Avenue Line trains. Inaugurated on October 27, 1904, this station was designed to represent the flagship of the new metro. Thanks to the particular conformation and to the colors of the tiles, the station remains unique in its kind and very suggestive, so much so that it is often chosen as a set for films and TV series.
4 - St. Quirin Platz Station, Munich
- Country: Germany
- Year of inauguration: 1997
It is part of the Munich U-Bahn metro system. The station is enclosed by a full glass roof which transforms the normally dark and gloomy spaces of a subway station into a large, bright and open space.
3 - Kirovsky Zavod Station, St. Petersburg
- Country: Russia
- Year of inauguration: 1955
The station, named after the nearby Kirov factory, houses a statue of Lenin and includes a wonderful checkered floor.
2 - T-Centralen station, Stockholm
- Country: Sweden
- Year of inauguration: 1957
The many patrons of this station (about 163.900 people pass by here every day!) See a real show. All three lines of the Stockholm metro system intersect at the station. The station is decorated with works that reminiscent of the old cave paintings, made by about twenty artists who have contributed, since its opening, to develop the various artistic contributions.
1 - Toledo Station, Naples
- Country: Italy
- Year of inauguration: 2012
It is precisely in Italy that it is considered the most beautiful metro station in the world. The new design of the Toledo station in Naples is characterized by colored mosaics from a full range of shades of blue. During the construction of the station, excavations have brought to light several archaeological finds, dating back to the end of the fifteenth century-early sixteenth century but also Roman structures dating back to the second century AD
