The average tourist usually pays attention only to the most famous attractions. A real traveler strives to get to know each new city from the inside and, at least for a day, turn into a local resident. One of the surest ways to do this is to take the subway. Which stations fascinate the most?
Formosa Boulevard,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
This kaleidoscope station impresses with its grandeur and beauty. Instead of a ceiling, there is a huge 30-meter stained glass window, considered the largest glass work in the world. Its author, Narcissus Quagliata, depicted the four elements in a mosaic of thousands of pieces of glass. The locals themselves call this work of art “the dome of light.”
Kungsträdgården (Kungsan),
Stockholm, Sweden
The Stockholm metro is known as the largest gallery in the world because every station here is colorful and attractive. But the Royal Garden, decorated in the Baroque style, has a special atmosphere. The history of its construction is associated with violent protests from the townspeople, who were so opposed to the cutting down of trees in the park above that they even chained themselves to them. Now the truly royal corridors of this station are guarded by a statue of a red-skinned warrior.
Westfriedhof,
Munich, Germany
Here you can feel like an object to be explored under the bright light of huge lamps. Westfriedhof station looks like it came out of a horror or science fiction film, with its bare concrete walls and unusual yellow, blue and red floor lamps. However, the locals themselves compare it rather to a cozy room with soft lighting, despite the impressive four-meter diameter lamps.
Toledo (Toledo),
Naples, Italy
You can go down to this station not only for the unusual interior, but also to freshen up. Being one of the deepest in the world, Toledo, with its magical appearance, resembles both a snow and sea kingdom at the same time. Even in the hottest weather it is quite cool here. It was decided to create an unusual frame for the station in order to increase the authority of not the safest and richest city in Italy.
Westminster (Westminster),
London, UK
Huge cast iron tubes, glass walls, concrete columns – Westminster station is ideal for lovers of high-tech style. And although it looks like a well-oiled clockwork mechanism, it is the one that receives most of the complaints about non-functioning stairs and elevators. However, it’s still worth stopping by, because getting stuck in the elevator of one of the Harry Potter filming locations, which the station was in 2007, will be quite an adventure.
Olaias,
Lisbon, Portugal
The combination of bright stained glass and powerful metal structures makes the station in Lisbon a real work of art. In a sense, this is true, because it was built for the opening of the Expo-98 architectural exhibition. The interesting design makes it look like a mysterious underground city.
Bund Sightseeing Tunnel,
Shanghai, China
The Shanghai metro is not even a method of transportation, but a whole attraction! Throughout the more than 600 meters of tunnel from one station to another, passengers will be treated to a fascinating light show with amazing sound effects. When moving in a glass cabin, sometimes you can even get scared by fancy pictures or large dolls standing right in the way. All in all, the only regret you’ll have after a trip like this is if you don’t have a return ticket.
Champ de Mars (Field of Mars),
Montreal, Canada
Another station that is made unusual by its huge stained glass window. Glass was allocated by the Canadian government to support automatists – Montreal surrealist artists who tried to reflect the games of the mind in their works. The stained glass window is specially installed on the south side so that the light passing through it is reflected in bright colors throughout the station.
Bockenheimer Warte,
Frankfurt, Germany
Here a trip on the subway can be compared to a flight into space. The completely white station with a round ceiling resembles a space shuttle. Despite the simplicity and minimalism in design, Frankfurt’s most important station took 15 years to build. The entrance to the subway also looks unusual – in the form of a subway car flying out of the ground.
Khalid Bin Al Waleed (Khalid Bin Al Waleed),
Dubai, UAE
Although they say that the metro is not for the rich, the stations in Dubai look like luxurious halls of expensive hotels. Khalid Bin Al Walid is also distinguished by his sculpture “Water”. The artist depicted the fall of a waterfall, but the townspeople decided otherwise and renamed his creation “giant jellyfish.” It’s hard to disagree with them, since the hanging “drops” really look more like tentacles.
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