One of Naples' so-called Metro Art Stations, Toledo station was designed around themes of water and light.
Toledo (Naples, Italy) —
One of Naples' so-called Metro Art Stations, Toledo station was designed around themes of water and light.
MARIO LAPORTA/AFP/Getty Images
Enormous dome lights, bathing the platforms in haunting blue, red and yellow, make Munich's otherwise ordinary Westfriedhof station roar.
Westfriedhof (Munich) —
Enormous dome lights, bathing the platforms in haunting blue, red and yellow, make Munich's otherwise ordinary Westfriedhof station roar.
Flickr/Tara Gordon
Shall we dance? Looking more like a ballroom than a metro station, Moscow's baroque-style Komsomolskaya stop was inspired by a wartime speech by Stalin.
Komsomolskaya (Moscow) —
Shall we dance? Looking more like a ballroom than a metro station, Moscow's baroque-style Komsomolskaya stop was inspired by a wartime speech by Stalin.
Newly opened Fulton Transit Center train station in lower Manhattan isn't for creatures of the dark -- at least during daylight hours.
Fulton Transit Center (New York) —
Newly opened Fulton Transit Center train station in lower Manhattan isn't for creatures of the dark -- at least during daylight hours.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Jellyfish chandeliers add to the water theme of the Khalid Bin Al Waleed station beneath Dubai's BurJuman shopping center.
Khalid Bin Al Waleed (Dubai, UAE) —
Jellyfish chandeliers add to the water theme of the Khalid Bin Al Waleed station beneath Dubai's BurJuman shopping center.
Courtesy RTA
Olaias station is a welcome leftover from Lisbon's 1998 world expo, which celebrated 500 years of Portuguese inventions.
Olaias (Lisbon, Portugal) —
Olaias station is a welcome leftover from Lisbon's 1998 world expo, which celebrated 500 years of Portuguese inventions.
flickr/jaime silva
London Underground might be the world's oldest metro but Westminster has to be one of the most futuristic-looking stations anywhere. The austere design opened days before the new millennium.
Westminster (London) —
London Underground might be the world's oldest metro but Westminster has to be one of the most futuristic-looking stations anywhere. The austere design opened days before the new millennium.
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
Epic murals by artist Mario Toral cover the walls of Santiago's Universidad de Chile station, depicting Chile's historic struggles.
Universidad de Chile (Santiago, Chile) —
Epic murals by artist Mario Toral cover the walls of Santiago's Universidad de Chile station, depicting Chile's historic struggles.
Metro de Santiago
Stockholm's central station gets stranger the further you descend, until you reach the cave-like platform level, with its abstract floral designs.
T-Centralen (Stockholm) —
Stockholm's central station gets stranger the further you descend, until you reach the cave-like platform level, with its abstract floral designs.
flickr/pascal boegli
Like a reminder of the things whizzing around beneath your feet, Zbigniew Peter Pininski's design for Bockenheimer Warte in Frankfurt, Germany, suggests a subway car that went off the rails.
Bockenheimer Warte (Frankfurt, Germany) —
Like a reminder of the things whizzing around beneath your feet, Zbigniew Peter Pininski's design for Bockenheimer Warte in Frankfurt, Germany, suggests a subway car that went off the rails.
DANIEL ROLAND/AFP/Getty Images
Called "Little Fosters" after their ubiquitous architect-creator, Norman Foster, these station entrances sum up Bilbao, Spain's, fondness for up-to-the-minute style.
'Fosteritos' (Bilbao, Spain) —
Called "Little Fosters" after their ubiquitous architect-creator, Norman Foster, these station entrances sum up Bilbao, Spain's, fondness for up-to-the-minute style.
yen baet
It's hard to stand out in a city as beautiful as Paris. The beaded Palais Royal -- Musée du Louvre metro entrance design from 2000 doesn't try to be meek.
Palais Royal -- Musée du Louvre (Paris) —
It's hard to stand out in a city as beautiful as Paris. The beaded Palais Royal -- Musée du Louvre metro entrance design from 2000 doesn't try to be meek.
PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP/Getty Images
Russia's subway stations are among the world's most impressive. The 2011 Admiralteyskaya addition to St. Petersburg's system blends classic and modern design.
Admiralteyskaya (St. Petersburg, Russia) —
Russia's subway stations are among the world's most impressive. The 2011 Admiralteyskaya addition to St. Petersburg's system blends classic and modern design.
flickr/sebastian-panwitz
This 2005 underground stop in Warsaw, Poland, named after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, won a metro design award -- possibly from visiting UFOs.
Plac Wilsona (Warsaw, Poland) —
This 2005 underground stop in Warsaw, Poland, named after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson, won a metro design award -- possibly from visiting UFOs.
JANEK SKARZYNSKI/AFP/Getty Images
Actually, all of Prague's stations, not just Staromestska deserve a place here for the unforgettable dimpled wall design, different for each stop and just on the fun side of good taste.
Staromestska (Prague) —
Actually, all of Prague's stations, not just Staromestska deserve a place here for the unforgettable dimpled wall design, different for each stop and just on the fun side of good taste.
MICHAL CIZEK/AFP/Getty Images
Life might be grim in North Korea, but Pyongyang's metro stations aren't. Their opulence contrasts with the city's drab realities.
Various stations (Pyongyang, North Korea) —
Life might be grim in North Korea, but Pyongyang's metro stations aren't. Their opulence contrasts with the city's drab realities.
AFP/Getty Images