January 10, 2025
Underground Art & Unexpected Joy – My Stockholm Metro Day
A little city adventure, one station at a time
I’ve never been a metro person.
Give me bikes, boats, walking — anything but tunnels.
But Stockholm changed that.
Actually… I think it kind of charmed me.
This wasn't just transport — it felt like a real-life scavenger hunt.
And I didn’t do it alone.
It started with a coffee and a question:
“Should we just… ride the metro all day and find all the art stations?”
My friend and I had no real plan. Just a little curiosity and a free afternoon.
So we bought a metro pass, pulled up a map of the most artistic stations — and went for it.
We didn’t know what we’d find.
But that made it even better.
Why does Stockholm even have art in the subway?
Here’s the cool part.
Since the 1950s, Stockholm has been turning its subway system into the world’s longest art exhibition — over 90 stations with installations by more than 150 artists.
Their idea?
That art should be for everyone — not just in galleries, but in the spaces people move through every day.
So they built color into the commute.
Murals into the movement.
Magic into the mundane.
Honestly? It worked.
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What it felt like: a grown-up treasure hunt
We jumped off at every station we were curious about.
No expectations. Just that feeling of “Ooooh… what’s down here?”
Some stations felt like a dream. Others like a cave. Some like a movie set.
Every escalator was a moment.
Every platform felt like a secret.
It was weirdly exciting — like we were collecting little portals.
Here’s what we found (and loved):
🌀 T-Centralen
Soft blue and white vines climbing across the ceiling. Peaceful. Dreamy. The kind of space you whisper in without knowing why.
🔥 Solna Centrum
Red ceiling, deep green walls. Like riding into a forest fire (in a good way). Wild and bold.
🌈 Stadion
A big rainbow painted across the platform ceiling. Pure joy. You step out of the train and literally smile.
👑 Kungsträdgården
Felt like a secret underground garden meets ancient ruins. Slightly haunted. Totally cool.
📐 Tekniska Högskolan
Geometry, science, symbols — like stepping into a Nordic sci-fi set.
- Business listings
- Promoted & featured
- Discount & deals
- Customer support
We kept saying: “One more station?”
Hours passed. We didn’t even realize.
We’d bike around the city, then dive back into the metro to see one more spot.
Every stop was different. Every moment felt playful.
We were fully in it — in the "omg look at this wall" and "did you see that ceiling?" kind of way.
Not every day has to be perfectly planned.
Some of the best ones start with “let’s just see where this goes.”
If you ever want to do this: Here’s how I’d do it again: Take the Blue Line — that’s where most of the art lives Travel off-peak so you can slow down and really take it in Get a 24-hr metro pass so you can hop on/off freely Bring your headphones, but take them off sometimes Start at Kungsträdgården and keep going Treat it like a game — what will this one feel like?
Want to do the same route? I made a little map of the stations we loved the most — plus a playlist with the tracks we listened to while riding escalators and taking it all in. 🎧 → Download My Stockholm Metro Art Guide + Playlist 📍 → Follow along for more soft city stories: @mytravelgids This might’ve been one of the most unexpectedly fun things I’ve done on a city trip. No pressure. No big expectations. Just color, creativity, and connection — above and below ground. I’d do it all over again. Love, Vanessa
If you ever want to do this: Here’s how I’d do it again: Take the Blue Line — that’s where most of the art lives Travel off-peak so you can slow down and really take it in Get a 24-hr metro pass so you can hop on/off freely Bring your headphones, but take them off sometimes Start at Kungsträdgården and keep going Treat it like a game — what will this one feel like?
Want to do the same route? I made a little map of the stations we loved the most — plus a playlist with the tracks we listened to while riding escalators and taking it all in. 🎧 → Download My Stockholm Metro Art Guide + Playlist 📍 → Follow along for more soft city stories: @mytravelgids This might’ve been one of the most unexpectedly fun things I’ve done on a city trip. No pressure. No big expectations. Just color, creativity, and connection — above and below ground. I’d do it all over again. Love, Vanessa