In stark contrast to airports – usually great ugly grey behemoths of concrete – there are a number of uniquely beautiful stations around the world, with awe-inspiring architecture that might even tempt you to take the later train.
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Prix Versailles, a prestigious French design and architecture body, has officially named the world's most beautiful stations for 2026: seven ultra-glamorous stations where design is as important as efficiency.
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Featuring nods to local heritage alongside creativity and innovation, these 'most beautiful' projects have emerged as new and iconic urban spaces.
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Jérôme Gouadain, Prix Versailles secretary general, said: 'Prix Versailles shines a light on the top locations that illustrate how excellence in design has become a driver of progress.
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In the realm of transport stations, the stakes are high when it comes to creating cultural expressions that are simultaneously beautiful, fashionable and sustainable, that reinforce passenger mobility whilst revitalising local neighbourhoods and support modernisation whilst showing respect for existing architecture.
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These strategies, with their ability to stimulate exchanges and assert a project's local roots, remain all too rare on today's global scene.
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'In succeeding in this endeavour though, the winning travel hubs give us proof that 21st century passenger stations can be the bridges to a more desirable future.
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Here are the seven that made the 'most beautiful list'...
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Melbourne, Australia
Town Hall Station in Melbourne is the first to be awarded the prize
Town Hall Station, in the heart of Melbourne’s historic centre, stands out for the sheer size of its underground volumes.
Designed to mimic trees, its concourse features eight imposing columns whose branches hold up the canopy above, giving the whole hallway a cathedral-like feel.
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Indeed, as with many of the stations on the list, Town Hall goes to show that art really isn't just limited to the walls of galleries and museums – it's everywhere you look.
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In Europe, Lyon Part-Dieu Station joins the list
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In Lyon, walking through a building to get from one street to another is a way of life and, although it wasn’t originally designed that way, Part-Dieu Station had become a shortcut between different neighbourhoods,' Prix Versailles says of this station.
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It is one of Europe’s top stations in terms of the number of connecting passengers transiting through it, and has doubled in size with additional access points and pass-throughs.
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Lyon Part-Dieu is also inspired by the hidden passageways of the historic Vieux-Lyon and Croix-Rousse districts in the city.
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Colosseo – Fori Imperiali Station
Rome, Italy
Next up is Colosseo – Fori Imperiali Station in Rome, Italy
Spanning four levels at a maximum depth of more than 30m, Colosseo has a vast underground cavity, where archaeological finds unearthed during construction now accompany passengers in transit.
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Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, in collaboration with Sapienza University, developed the museum portion’s design.
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Ancient wells are the common thread running through the architecture, which plays with shadow and light to reveal the different strata that form the bedrock of Rome.
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Another hub to be awarded the prize is Monte Sant'Angelo Station
'Descend into this Metro station and symbolically step through the gates of hell,' Prix Versailles says.
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Designed by artist Sir Anish Kapoor, two openings made of corten steel and aluminium provide access to a subterranean world that looks like Mount Vesuvius, also in Naples.
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The station itself is a sculpture that the public can enter – a work of art in its own right.
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National Museum Station
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
National Museum Station was praised for its artistic design
This Metro station was designed to be the gateway for visitors to the National Museum and the city’s historic centre.
The neighbouring coach station is reminiscent of a Bedouin tent, so the addition of this building brings the local landscape together with traditional Saudi dwellings in the same scene.
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Once inside, the blue walls transform into a glittering sky at the heart of a stone mountain.
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The vast atrium, steeped in natural light, accompanies passengers to the platforms, the deepest of which are located 33m below ground.
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Western Station
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Joining the list of winners is Western Station in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Located on the site of an old open-air marketplace, Western Station was designed to transform the spot without taking away from its public utility.
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Inspired by desert dunes, curved lines provide shady thresholds where light and air flow through the buildings freely.
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LAX/Metro Transit Center
Los Angeles, United States
LAX/Metro Transit Center was hailed for its opposition to the car-focused surroundings
In the heart of a Californian metropolis that has historically been heavily car-centric, this project is a complete departure from the massive freeway network all around it.
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Designed with the local climate in mind, the site uses limited air conditioning thanks to its natural ventilation and awnings.
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Solar panels cover about half of the building’s interior energy demand.
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The Aporia
