| Amsterdam | Line 53 was the first metro line and still has the most manifest metro characteristics. There's a viaduct several storeys tall between the stations Ganzenhoef and Gaasperplas. Line 50 has a massive flying junction near Van der Madeweg station. |
| Beijing | The short line 8 has the most interesting stations. Line 5 also has some. |
| Berlin | The S-Bahn between Alexanderplatz and Savignyplatz provides a good overview of the city. Note Hauptbahnhof station on the way for the modern glass architecture. Walk 500 m south-east through Grolmannstraße to Uhlandstraße station and walk or take line U1 to Wittenbergplatz. Take a look at the restored Historism-style station from ouside and inside, then take line U3 from there to the vaulted Heidelberger Platz station. Continue to Krumme Lanke open-air-station and walk a kilometer south to the spectacular Art Nouveau-style Mexikoplatz S-Bahn station. Take line S1 to Potsdamer Platz. The concourse from 1939 is notable for its interestingly lit columns. Take line U2 to Alexanderplatz for some good examples of architecture by Alfred Grenander and change to line U8 to Herrmannstraße for more examples. For Pop-Art stations by architect Rainer G. Rümmler, take line U7 and watch out between Fehrbelliner Platz and Rohrdamm. For Rümmler's lavish 1980s style, continue to Rathaus Spandau or take line U8 from Franz-Neumann-Platz to Wittenau. |
| Bochum | Line U35 as a light rail is almost a real metro and has some decent underground stations, but priority should be given to visiting the modern underground stations of Lohring, Rathaus (Süd), and Bochumer Verein on tram lines 302 or 310. An interesting technical detail on line U35 is the door mechanism that opens a door automatically when someone stands close to it. |
| Boston | On the Red Line you get a good view over the Charles River on the Longfellow Bridge between Charles/MGH and Kendall. |
| Brussels | Explore the artworks in almost every station, pick up a copy of the 184-page book "When Art Takes the Metro..." for only 5 euros from metro operator STIB's "Bootik" at Rue de l'Evêque 2 (De Brouckère station) or in a bookstore and explore the art in the metro stations. Visit the Transportation Museum for its metro exhibits. |
| Budapest | Ride line M1 (the oldest line) and visit the two metro museums. |
| Catania | Ride the at-grade part of the metro line along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. |
| Chicago | The famous downtown subway Loop runs through urban canyons and provides spectacular views of the world's first and most famous skyscrapers. Stop at Quincy station as it has been restored inside and outside to its original appearance of 1897. Jackson, Monroe, and Washington underground stations on the Blue Line have a long common platform. You can walk along that platform from station to station, which is very special. The same is true for the stations of the same name on the Red Line one block further east. The modern O'Hare station on the Blue Line with its illuminated glass walls was designed by Helmut Jahn, who also built the Unites Airlines Terminal. |
| Chongqing | The monorail offers a nice view. |
| Dortmund | For some interesting stations, ride line U43/U44 between Unionstraße and Ostentor and change at Reinoldikirche. Take line U42 to Möllerbrücke. To get to the H-Bahn suspended monorail, take line S1 from Hauptbahnhof to Universität. |
| Dublin | The suburban metro line called DART runs partly along the coastline and thus offers exceptionally nice views of the Irish Sea coast. |
| Duesseldorf | There's a modern suspended monorail at the airport. Lines S1 or S7 take you to the city. You can see the older standard Düsseldorf Stadtbahn station type on lines U74-U79 between Nordstraße and Hauptbahnhof, the newer type between Hauptbahnhof and Oberbilk. A must-see is the century-old suspended monorail in the neighbouring city of Wuppertal. To catch it, take line S8 to Wuppertal-Hauptbahnhof or Wuppertal-Oberbarmen. |
| Frankfurt | Ride line U6/U7 from Hauptwache to Kirchplatz for its stations. Walk outside Bockenheimer Warte station and find the entrance that resembles a metro train that broke through the sidewalk from below. |
| Genoa | The only metro line has just a handful of stations, all by Renzo Piano. |
| Hamburg | Take line U3 from Landungsbrücken to Hauptbahnhof for an elevated view of the harbour on the right hand side and a steep decline into the tunnel after Rödingsmarkt station. Change to line S21 and watch out for the Alster lake on both sides of the track before getting off at the nicely preserved Dammtor railway station. Walk across the pedestrian bridge to Stephansplatz station and take line U1 to Klosterstern for its preserved Art Deco style. If you have more time, ride the circular line U3 for an overview of the city and some interesting stations. |
| Helsinki | At the main station (Rautentiatori) walk outside the building to take a look at its Art Deco architecture by Eliel Saarinen. In Kaisaniemi station, watch out for the works of art behind glass at one end of the platform. |
| Hong Kong | The short Disneyland Resort Line has fancy trains with Mickey Mouse-shaped windows. |
| Lisbon | Get the free leaflets about station art of each metro line or visit the excellent metro bookshop at Metrotropolitano de Lisboa's headquarters (Avenida Barbosa du Bocage n°5 at Campo Pequeno station) and pick up a copy of "Public Art in Lisbon Underground" for about 15 euros. |
| London | Visit London Transport Museum, the largest and most influential of its kind in the world, and browse for books or fancy metro memorabilia in the large attached museum store. Ride the Circle Line and take a special look at Baker Street, the world's first underground station from 1863. Note the tube logo, the ubiquitous Johnston typeface and the tube map, the three groundbreaking design elements that remain almost unchanged since the beginning of the 20th century. For some Modernist stations from the 1930s by metro station architecture guru Charles Holden, ride the Piccadilly Line to Cockfosters. Take a seat in the first row of a DLR train for elevated views of the city and the Docklands. |
| Los Angeles | The Red and Purple Lines are the only real metro lines and have works of art on most platforms and concourses. Book the guided MTA tour at metro.net and learn about arts in the stations. |
| Lyon | The extension of line B (Place Jean Jaures to Gerland) and the new automated line D have the most interesting stations, planned by different architects. Visit Valmy station for its frosted glass illuminated from inside. |
| Madrid | Interesting stations on line L8 are Campo de las Naciones (one station away from Aeropuerto station, impressive mural about people from all the countries) and Nuevos Ministerios (big mural about Madrid and other works of art). Change there to line L10 and go to Chamartín (new big mezzanine for the L1 extension), Alonso Martínez (walk north to the historic Andén 0 Chamberí underground station which has been turned into a museum), Príncipe Pio (built under the Norte railway station, with nice views of the old station). Change there to line L2 and go to Retiro (nice station with tile murals by Mingote). |
| Mexico City | A small circular tour through some interesting stations: Pino Suárez (with a real pre-hispanic pyramid discovered during the construction of the station), take line 2 to Zocalo (mezzanine with some scale models of Tenochtitlan city), continue on line 2 to Bellas Artes (Guimard entrance and some pre-hispanic art reproductions), continue to line 2 terminal Cuatro Caminos (big mezzanine to control the crowds access in peak hours), take line 2 and then line 7 to Auditorio (a gallery with information of metros all over the world), continue on line 7 to Tacubaya (with some impressive murals about the history of the city), take line 1 to Insurgentes (with two corners decorated like the Paris and London metros), continue on line 1 back to Pino Suárez. |
| Miami | Don't miss the automated downtown people mover to get a view of the city. You don't even need a ticket, it's free. |
| Montreal | There are interesting stations on all lines. Trains have no departure announcements. |
| Moscow | Ride the Ring Line and get off at every station to explore the highly decorated platforms and councourses. Don't miss Komsomolskaya station, one of the most lavish ones. Some entrance buildings are also worth noting, like Arbatskaya. Visit the Metro Museum. |
| Munich | Find the most interesting modern stations on U1 line between Candidplatz and Mangfallplatz and between Gern and OEZ and on U2 line between Am Hart and Hasenbergl. |
| Naples | Line M1 is the "Metro dell'Arte" with a lot of artworks in most stations. Museo station accommodates an archaeological exhibit of many objects found during metro construction. |
| New York | Watch out for the ceramic station name plates in many of the stations. |
| Paris | Make a circular ride on the partly elevated lines 2 and 6 to get an overview of the city. In the streets watch out for Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau metro entrance structures. The biggest ones are at Porte Dauphine and Abbesse stations. Take a look into the historic ticket hall at Saint Lazare station where lines 12 and 13 meet. Other noteworthy stations are Louvre Rivoli (line 1) and Arts et Métiers (line 11). The most interesting RER line is E. Riding the modern automated line 14 is also obligatory. The most rewarding tram line is T3 that runs along the city's border. |
| Prague | The stations of Line A are the most interesting ones with fancy repetitive aluminium or glass tiles creating an air of science fiction. |
| Rio de Janeiro | The metro stations are not spectacular but at a closer look you'll notice that most of the underground stations on line 1 are marble-clad and of a decent design. Explore Cardeal Arcoverde station. |
| Rotterdam | Examples of interesting stations are Wilhelminaplein, Stadhuis (water flowing along vertical glass panels), Oostplein (glass windows in the floor) and some stations on the new stretch of the Calandlijn between Marconiplein and Tussenwater. |
| Shanghai | Though both are not real metros, ride the Maglev to the airport at 430 km/h and take an automated cabin through the Bund Tourist Tunnel to watch the colourful light show along the tunnel. |
| Stockholm | Get the free "Art in the Stockholm Metro" booklet from the ticket booths at T-Centralen or other stations. Ride the Blue Line for the most spectacular works of art, get off and explore the stations that are painted rock caves. |
| Tokyo | The metro network is huge, clean and rather featureless. The Oedo Line is different because every station has been designed with ambition by different architects. The elevated Yurikamome Waterfront line provides nice views. |
| Toronto | The stations along the Spadina part of the Yonge-University-Spadina line are quite interesting, e.g. Dupont Station and the recently upgraded Museum Station with museum-themed pillars and interesting wall treatments. Ride the Sheppard Line for its interesting stations. Union Station has a small store that sells TTC mechandise. |
| Toulouse | Pick a copy of the leaflet "Galeries d'Art" from a ticket couter and explore the artworks in the stations. Most rewarding are the legs of Line A between Marengo SNCF and Reynerie and Line B between Francois Verdier and Canal du Midi. As the small trains run every 3 minutes, it is easy to hop off and on at every station to take a look at the concourse levels which are also worth seeing. |
| Valencia | Visit Alameda station, a big cavern under the old river course architectured by Santiago Calatrava. |
| Vienna | To see nicely renovated Art Nouveau stations by Otto Wagner dating back to 1895, make a circular tour of lines U4 and S45 (changing at Heiligenstadt and Hüttelsdorf) and ride U6 between Längenfeldgasse and Spittelau. The entrance buildings of the stations are especially noteworthy. In the ticket hall of Stephansplatz underground station, watch out for a window in the wall through which an ancient chapel is visible that had been excavated during metro construction. |
| Washington | All underground stations have similar concrete vaults by Harry Weese architects. Note the difference between the original coffered design and a simpler design with larger concrete elements used in later stations. Metro Center as a transfer station consists of two intersecting vaults. |
| Wuppertal | Explore the unique suspended monorail line from 1901 end-to-end with its mix of historic and modern stations. |
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