How to visit the most beautiful stations of the Stockholm Metro

Art in the Stockholm Metro in Sweden

Perhaps you don't know that one of the great attractions of a tourist trip to Stockholm in Sweden is visiting… the Metro.

And not because the Swedish capital's metro is one of the most modern in Europe, but because its stations have become true centers of modern art.

To the point that on your route you should contemplate seeing several of its most artistic stations, ideally, you sign up for one of the guided tours of the Stockholm Metro.

Art in the Stockholm Metro in Sweden

The Stockholm Metro network began to be built in 1950, and currently has 110 stations distributed over three main lines with four complementary branches.

Art in the Stockholm Metro

The idea of artistically decorating metro stations began during the construction of the first stations.

These were designed by Peter Celsing, chief architect of the Stockholm Tramway, from whose lines the metro network developed.

But officially the Art in the Stockholm Metro did not appear until 1957, when the main station of the network, T-Centralen, was built, for whose decoration competition was called.

Guided tours to see art in the Stockholm Metro

Among the participants in the said contest, the twelve proposals that were implemented in the said station were selected.

Currently, there are 90 stations with artistic decoration, in the design of which more than 150 artists have participated.

Although no new stations are currently being built on the Stockholm Metro, other stations on the current network are being decorated.

To see the decoration of the stations, you have the option of going through the metro lines on your own and thus seeing the most outstanding ones.

But it can also be interesting to sign up for the guided tours offered by the Stockholm Metro, just like I did on my last trip to the Swedish capital.

Guided tours to see art in the Stockholm Metro

Tour of the most beautiful stations of the Stockholm Metro

Guided tours of the Stockholm Metro take place in the summer, from June to September, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 3:00 p.m.

These tours are conducted in English and are free (you just need to bring your metro ticket).

You must sign up for them at the tourist office in the aforementioned T-Centralen station.

The visit begins and ends at said station, next to the aforementioned office, and lasts one hour.

Of course, the first thing you will see will be the decoration of the central station itself, with its walls covered with tiles from the 1950s.

The decorations that you will find are very diverse, from artistic proposals developed on tiles, to others made by means of reliefs on concrete walls.

Guided tours to see art in the Stockholm Metro
There is even a station ( Kungsträdgården, on the blue line) where you will find columns and other archaeological remains.

But I think what will catch your attention the most are the so-called grotto stations, which began to be built in the 70s.

Instead of covering the excavated rocks in the construction of the tunnels with concrete, they were decorated with layers of paint creating an atmosphere of a decorated grotto.

This results in some very striking environments, which you can see on your tour of the Stockholm Metro, specifically, on the blue line, whose Masmo station was the first to incorporate this artistic proposal.