The 'World's Longest Art Gallery' Hides In The Metro System Of A Beautiful European City

In most urban subways around the world, riders keep their heads down and legs chugging to and from their destinations. In Stockholm, Sweden — the stunning archipelago home to one of Europe's best island getaways — the tunnelbana, or underground metro system, gives ample reasons to slow down and chin up. That's because the system is said to be "the world's longest art gallery." In fact, 94 of the 100 stations along its 68 miles have received steady makeovers by more than 200 artists over the decades. This process is ongoing, too, since the first work of art appeared in 1957 in T-Centralen, the network's largest and busiest station. In 2017, when the commuter rail station Citybanan opened, it did so with more than 1,300 feet of rippling light strands by artist David Svensson.

The artwork also gives each station a distinct identity that often reflects the neighborhoods above it, providing a kind of secondary map of the city for travelers. For example, at the stop for the Royal Institute of Technology, the artwork celebrates scientific achievements with five polyhedra representing the five elements of Plato (fire, water, air, earth, and ether). In Tensta, an area home to a large immigrant population, the subway contains artwork that helps embrace diversity entitled "A rose for the immigrants," "Solidarity," and "Kinship." The pixelated, 8-bit style art in Thorildsplan station was inspired by the video game-like world that artist Lars Arrhenius saw in the busy area's crossing walks, elevators, and stairs. 

While each station is an artistic wonder, several outshine the rest with stunning displays that integrate the natural earth or tell a story of the region's history. Rådhuset station is one of these, thanks to the pink hue covering the blasted stone cavern. The color was inspired by the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, and the walls incorporate hat-tips to history with baskets, wood bundles, and boots of craftsmen. Rinkeby Station adopts a similar reddish color on its stone walls but also adds gold, Byzantine-esque mosaics of rune stones in tribute to the ancient ones in the area. Kungsträdgården station recreates a baroque garden with mosaic images, replica statues, and green paint to echo the one that once stood above ground in the lost Makalös Palace.

Some, like Rissne station, add education. It includes a timeline of world history in a pastel script, with illustrations and maps. Solna Centrum station contains displays and illustrations of political debates in the 1970s. Östermalmstorg station highlights the women's rights movement with renderings of leading figures, while Stadion station heralds the 1912 Olympics held there. Its famous rainbow across the blue middle vault reminds travelers that the sky is still above. Stockholm's tunnelbana is easy to access almost everywhere. Single journeys cost about $4 and last only 75 minutes, leaving plenty of time in the day to experience the delightful Swedish custom of fika. Tickets can be purchased via the SL-Reseplanerare och biljetter app, contactless credit cards, or ticket agents in stations. Multi-day tickets are also available, which reinforces why Rick Steves considers subways to be the most efficient method of sightseeing in European cities.