We spend an unimaginably long time travelling by subway. If you come to think of it, it’s a rather strange behaviour we humans have, but the advantages defy any discussions related to this odd mean of conveyance. We use it, and it helps us a lot to get from point A to point B, all across town. But there are a few places on Earth who have subway stations that stand for real museums, and tourists come from everywhere just to visit them. So therefore oddity is transformed in art in its strictest sense. Here are 6 of the most impressive subway stations in the world.
# 1. Moscow’s Central Ring
Moscow has its central subway route like a ring around city center, marked by impressive stops. The thing is that the Russians have kept all their post Communist pride inside these subway stations, which are absolutely stunning. With huge statues representing the workers and their leaders, fancy lamps and mosaics representing glorious phases from the history of Russia, they are worth every stop. In case you don’t have time for all of them, at least go visit the Kievskaya and the Komsomolskaya stations.
# 2. Stockholm’s subway
In Stockholm, the Tunnelbana is often considered the longest art exhibition in the world. The word actually stands for “underground” in Swedish. The station we’re talking about here is also referred to as the T-Centralen station, which is the core of the Stockholm Metro. Back in the 1950s, artists Vera Nilsson and Siri Derkert proposed that art should be part of the new subway system. The Tub3 section of the station is where the Blue Line runs, thus the blue and white artwork, which dates back to the 1970s. Inspired by the two, there are now more than 140 artists represented in 90 of Stockholm’s subway stations, including both permanent and temporary exhibitions.
Also check out Kungstradgarden Station, inspired by the Makalos Palace.
# 3. Shanghai’s Bund Sightseeing Tunnel
Actually the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel is not a subway stop. As the name “sightseeing tunnel” suggests, it is a touristic tunnel, running below the Huangpu River. It was originally planned to be a moving walkway to shuttle visitors from the Bund to Pudong, but this concept proved to be much more thrilling with flashing colored lights and exciting surprises.
# 4. Lisbon’s Olaias Station
The purpose of the Olaias station was to link the inner city with the Expo ’98 area. Portuguese architect Tomás Taveira and a team of Portuguese artists, including Pedro Cabrita Reis, Graça Pereira Coutinho, Pedro Calapez and Rui Sanchez, designed it. Like many others in Portugal, it has a contemporary interior design, including dramatic coloring and exquisitely crafted tiles.
# 5. Kaohsiung’s Formosa Boulevard Station
Formosa Boulevard is one of the busiest stations in Kaohsiung city, is also the location of the Dome of Light that’s located on the upper part of the station and is known as the biggest public art installation all over the globe. Artist Narcissus Quagliata is to be thanked for putting together the dome in a little less than four years, which included shipping pieces of colored glass directly from Germany.
# 6. Dubai Metro Stations
Dubai’s railway stations were designed by Aedas of Birmingham to combine both traditional and modern architectural elements. All trains and stations are air conditioned with platform edge doors. For instance the Khalid Bin Al Waleed station has interiors inspired by the four elements: water, air, earth and fire, along with oversized chandelier lamps in the shape of jellyfish.
So now you’ve got a good reason to plan your trips accordingly, and have no excuse to go back to your hotel when your feet are a bit tired of all the sightseeing. Get a ticket and enjoy the subways!