When the wanderlust starts to get unbearable, the heavy breathing that comes with the anticipation and you start feeling your feet to itch you know you have to do just one thing to do: get a backpack ready: prepare and select your meals for the first days -and remember to bring snacks and water. You are all set to conquer the unknown road. Check out the 10 world’s most Beautiful Subway Stations!

See also: CREATIVE TYPOGRAPHY BY JACOB EISINGER

Whether you are coming or leaving, this are the most important places in the city. They usually breath life and don’t really ever stop. Here you have a list of the 10 of the world’s most beautiful subway stations:

1. Champ-de-Mars Station in Montreal, Canada

Champ-de-Mars Station opened in October 14th, 1966, as part of the initial subway network of Montreal. Situated in Old Montreal in the Ville-Marie borough, the station is now on the Orange Line of the Montreal Metro rapid transit system.

The station is particularly spectacular on a sunny day, when the light enters the stained glass windows by Automatiste painter Marcelle Ferron. The windows comprise the artist’s masterpieces and, according to some, it’s her most famous work. Back in 1968, they were given by the Government of Quebec as the first work of non-figurative art commissioned for the metro.

2. Formosa Boulevard Station – Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Formosa Boulevard is a transfer station between the Red and Orange Line in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. The station is famous for the “Dome of Light,” the world’s largest public art installation that comprises individual pieces of colored glass. Created by artist Narcissus Quagliata, the “Dome of Light” was completed just under four years and it was overseen by Quagliata himself, who had the pieces shipped from Germany for installation. This ceiling gives a really unique lighting to the building.

With a 30-meter diameter and a total area of 660 square meters, the dome tells the story of human life in four chronologically arranged themes: Water: The Womb of Life; Earth: Prosperity and Growth; Light: The Creative Spirit; and Fire: Destruction and Rebirth, with an overall message of love and tolerance.

3. T-Centralen Station – Stockholm, Sweden

In “T-Centralen,” “T” is an abbreviation for “tunnelbana,” which in Swedish means “underground” or “subway.” The T-Centralen station is the core of the Stockholm Metro; that means it’s the only station in which all of the three lines (Tub1, Tub2, and Tub3) meet. As such, this subway station it’s the one with the highest traffic in Stockholm.

4. Westfriedhof station light installation by Ingo Maurer – Munich Deutschland

Munich’s u-bahn subway system only began in 1972, but it has quickly grown into a 98 station system spread across the entire city. Due to its young age, Munich had the advantage of learning from the mistakes of other systems creating spacious and efficient stations. While the first stations were quite plain, the architecture of its new stations is often quite daring. Some stations that stand out include the colorful Dulferstrasse Station designed by Peter Lanz and Jurgen Rauch and Westfriedhof, which features lighting installations by Ingo Mauer.

5. Komsomolskaya Station – Russia

Located at the intersection of three major rail hubs, this cathedral of trains is the gateway to Russia. If the vast dome, portico, Corinthian columns, Baroque details, and chandeliers don’t impress you, then the mosaics surely will. The eight ceiling mosaics, designed by the legendary artist Pavel Korin, depict Russia’s heroes and finest victories. A unique and classic design that one could expect to see only in a king’s palace.

6. Kirovsky Zavod Station – St. Petersburg, Russia

The St. Petersburg subway might not be as majestic as its Moscow counterpart, but it is still impressive. In fact, it deserves a mention simply because it is the deepest subway station in the world by the average depth of all the stations.

The Kirovsky Zavod station opened on November 15th, 1955. Its name comes from the Kirov factory, which is nearby. In addition to grand halls and checkered floors, you can see a statue of Lenin here.

7. Zoloti Vorota Station – Kiev, Ukraine

Zoloti Vorota station is one of Kiev’s most well-known subway stops. It is named after the Golden Gates historical structure, and opened as part of the first stage of the Syretsko-Pecherska Line on December 30, 1989. A series of architects contributed to the design, yet the station itself was constructed thanks to Boris and his son Vadim Zhezherin, as well as the artistic architects S.Adamenko and M.Ralko.

See also: The 15 Most Beautiful Subway Stops in the World

It contains a column trivault with the theme of the Architecture of Kievan Rus. To be seen are large chandeliers with light bulbs in the shape of candles. Mosaics by artists G. Koren and V. Fedko can be found on the vault and columns, which are made of white marble with a matte polish, while the floor is made of granite.

8. Bund Sightseeing Tunnel – Shanghai, China

The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel may not officially be a subway station. However, it is a train trip well worth taking. To be exact, the Bund is a tunnel that runs underneath the Pu river. It has a weird lighting that gives that wonderland look.

Tourists can enter a small cable car, which takes them through the tunnel of colorful light beams, waving puppets and suddenly disappearing movie screens. During the journey, house music is played.

9. Central Park Station – Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Named after the nearby Central Park, this station lies on the Red Line of the Kaohsiung subway. A two-level underground station, the Central Park stop was designed by British architect Richard Rogers. Design-wise, purple is the prevailing colour throughout the station. The courtyard grass areas, in turn, are covered in a slope of yellow windmills shaped liked sunflowers. The lighting here is all natural and the nature part is really important and the plastic flowers really light up the ambiance.

10. Bockenheimer Warte Station – Frankfurt, Germany

The Bockenheimer Warte Station is one of the most important transfer stations of the Frankfurt subway system. Here the C-line crosses with the U6 and U7, as well as the U4 which runs in the D-tunnel. You can also transfer to various bus lines and trams here.

The construction of this station first begun in 1986 and expanded in 2001. The station is worth viewing not only for its underground architecture, but also for one of its subway entrances. Click here to see the unique entrance, which looks like a train bursting through the sidewalk from below. Architect Zbiginiew Peter Pininski said he felt inspired by surrealist artist René Magritte when creating it.

*sighing*

What do you think of these beautiful subway stations? Writing about subway stations make me anxious like something it’s telling me to move, move, move… Okay, I’m just going to put on my shoes there and head anywhere. Will you join me?

See also: CREATIVE TYPOGRAPHY BY JACOB EISINGER