Traveling during the holidays can be difficult because museums and other attractions may be closed, leaving travelers with time to kill. This was exactly my predicament a few years ago while traveling through Sweden for Christmas and New Year’s. One thing you can guarantee, however, is that the public transit will be running! So I took advantage of this coupled with Stockholm’s fame for unique subway stations and managed to get some sightseeing in on New Year’s Day. All for the mere cost of a metro ticket! (and I stayed warm underground instead of freezing in the intense winter air above)
Here are some of the best stops on Stockholm’s T-bana (in geographical order based on line):
T-Centralen – this is Stockholm’s central station. And it is ENORMOUS, connecting 3 (soon to be 4) metro lines as well as the regional trains. The entire underground here is white and light blue. Some sections are painted with darker blue leaves and others are painted with shadows of workers, a tribute to those who built the station.
The Green Line:
Skarpnäck – the organically-shaped concrete ceilings of the subway stations give them an other-worldly feel. And the dark red ceilings of the Skarpnäck are no exception, making you feel like you’re on landed on another planet. The large Stonehenge-esque granite benches are reminiscent of earth, while the escalators could be part of a space station.
Bagarmossen – this was the first of the subway stations I visited on my own Stockholm subway tour. Although not the most exciting of the metro masterpieces, the appealing neon rainbow panels are calming as trains whiz pass.
Hötorget – you must look up to find the art at Hötorget. Long white tube lights zip from one end of the station to the other.
The Red Line:
Universitetet – wall murals created on the tiling portray everything from maps to doodles to quotes.
Tekniska Högskolan – this station gives a whole new meaning to “out of this world”. Most of the art in this station is evocative of outer space, but has other random elements leaving you wondering “what?”
Stadion – one of my favorite stations, Stadion is filled with rainbows and flowers!
The Blue Line (the best line):
Tensta – an underground subway station seems like such an appropriate place for cavemen style drawings. This station is covered with murals of animals and sayings in various languages. Can you spot the porcupine family? The mammoth? All of the birds in the trees? You can really spend a good amount of time in this station looking at everything. Tensta is probably my favorite station, as indicated by the number of photos I have from this platform.
Duvbo – this industrial looking station contains more sculpture than the other underground stops.
Huvudsta – a very green station with candy-like pipes dangling from the ceiling.
Solna – like Tensta, Solna takes advantage of the underground nature of the underground. This station is like being on the inside of a volcano!
Rådhuset – the dusty red interior of this station leave you wondering if you’ve just arrived at Stockholm’s city hall or on Mars.
Thorildsplan – Pac man and mushrooms, oh my! What a fun station! The designs are made using large square tiles, evoking memories of pixelated video games.
Kungsträdgården – The candy cane stripe around this metro reminds me of Christmas, but the strange mix of statues and murals on the ceilings make me think the artist had a different intention.
What’s your favorite Stockholm station? Have I forgotten any underground masterpieces?