Discover the most colourful stations of the Stockholm metro with this complete guide: best photo spots, tips and route!
Stockholm is a beautiful city with plenty of interesting spots to visit and things to do. From the beautiful streets of the Gamla Stan to the amazing parks and gardens. However, there is one place that is not always thought of when visiting the capital of Sweden: the underground.
The Stockholm metro is probably the most beautiful (or at least colourful) in the world. It has been consistently ranked as one of the most beautiful and unique metro systems worldwide, together with Moscow, Naples and NYC.
What makes it special, though is not its history, but the unique colours and structures that can be found there. It is a live museum, with a very cheap fare that also has some unique photo opportunities.
If you are visiting Stockholm it is likely that you might have a rainy or snowy day. Use it to explore the city underground, and to make your Instagram shine!
How expensive is it to visit the Stockholm metro?
A single ticket valid for 75 minutes is 38 SEK. However, take into account that you will most likely spend more than 75 minutes in the metro. Also, you might want to get out at some point, have some food, or take a break.
The best option, then, is to get a 24-hour pass. It costs 165 SEK (around 15€), and it will give you peace of mind and no rushes when visiting the metro. Think of it as a ticket to a large museum that happens to include transportation.
When is the best moment to visit the Stockholm metro?
There is not the best moment to visit the Stockholm metro. However, if you want to have some stations by yourself, take some things into account.
First of all, rush hour. There might be times of the day when some of the centric and most beautiful stations are quite busy, thus making it a bit more complex to circulate or take good pictures. Nonetheless, with patience, you will get almost every station for yourself.
Also, take into account the commuting times. The stations listed above are not only the typical 8 that everyone recommends. Some of them are at a 30′ ride one from the other. It can take you some hours to visit them all.
What are the best metro stations in Stockholm?
The Stockholm metro system has around 100 metro stations. Of course, not all of them are worth visiting. However, not only the central ones are beautiful. After making a long and comprehensive search and spending a whole day in the Stockholm metro system, I came up with a selection of 20 stations worth visiting. These are the 20 best metro stations in Stockholm. At the end of this section, you will find a suggestion for an itinerary to visit them all.
Kungsträdgården
One of the most centric stations and also one that appears in every Stockholm metro guide. This station has two points of interest. The first one is the platform and its characteristic green colours. However, before going straight there, make sure to look for the colourful corridor, with its weird shapes and “nuclear warning” icons.
Akalla
The Akalla metro station is one of the best unknown metro stations in Stockholm. The reason why it is quite unknown is because of its location, quite separated from the other main stations.
However, it has a colour that you can’t find in any other station: yellow. Not only you will have it all for yourself, but also it’s very photogenic.
Näckrosen
Näckrosen is a quite unique metro station. Its main feature is the white dome painted with blue and green details, like a pond full of lily pads. Unlike other Stockholm metro stations listed in this guide, it has a quite natural touch and quite a lot of detail. The huge escalators are also interesting, especially if they have their characteristic lights turned on on both sides (usually it’s only one).
Solna Centrum
There is more than one station with the name Solna on it in this list. Solna is a municipality attached to Stockholm. However, it does not feel as if you were leaving the city. Its Centrum station is probably the most photographed station in Stockholm together with T-Centralen. With a very strong red colour, this station feels like it is from another world.
Do not mistake it for Rådhuset Station, which has an orange tone that some Instagram photos edited to make it look red.
Tensta
Another station that has more detail and less spectacular spaces (although equally beautiful) is the Tensta station. Its main distinctive trait is the giant blue circle painted on the top of its dome, but also the sun and creative animal shapes that decorate the walls of the station.
Rinkeby
The Rinkeby metro station is another of the “reddish but not Solna centrum red” metro stations in Stockholm. What makes this station unique is the weird shape in the centre of its platform dome, as well as the escalators. Although not as impressive as the Solna Centrum one, it is worth visiting.
Duvbo
This is one of the stations that most people do not visit. However, as a travel photographer, it offers a fantastic photography opportunity thanks to the symmetry and open space of the station. Its red details and black and white striped floor are perfect leading lines for a cool photo.
Sundbyberg Centrum
I almost did not stop at Sundyberg Centrum, and it would have been a mistake. Each station in the Stockholm metro listed in most guides has a wow-factor element. In this one, it might be less impressive, the corridor that separates the two platforms feels like being inside a whale or another giant animal.
Solna Strand
The second Stockholm Solna metro station is probably the weirdest of all the ones listed in this guide. This station has two things that make it different. The first one, like the Duvbo station, is that it is not separated by a giant rock wall with some colourful paintings. The second one is that the station is decorated with giant cubes with clouds pained on them that emerge from the ground and the walls.
Both the escalators and the platform are perfect photo spots.
Huvudsta
In this guide to Stockholm metro stations, there are mostly rock-carved structures with weird colours. It might make the Huvudsta metro station, not the most impressive one. However, the green-painted dome and the lean and open space of this station are quite unique and more impressive in person than in the image.
Fridhemsplan
Not only the platforms of the Stockholm metro stations are worth visiting. In the Fridhemsplan station, there is a really unique tunnel that connects the two metro lines that find themselves in the station. This tunnel, with very characteristic green and white tones, is not the only cool tunnel in Stockholm, make sure to check my Stockholm photo spots guide to find out what is the other one.
Thorildsplan
Are you into gaming? Then Thorildsplan has to be on your list of stations to visit. This outdoor metro station is on this list because of its unique decoration. After stepping out of the metro, head towards the exit, and you will find a Mario Bros-inspired ceramic tiles mural that is worth a couple of photos. Besides the characteristic pipes and mushrooms, there are references to other games, like Pacman.
It is not the most impressive or beautiful station, but it is probably one that you would not expect to find in any metro system in the world.
Rådhuset
The Rådhuset metro station is sometimes confused with Solna Centrum, because of its colour. This station, however, is orange instead of red, and in the escalators, there is a massive column on one side. Nonetheless, it is one of the most visited stations and a must on any Stockholm metro stations guide.
T-Centralen
This is THE STATION. Probably the most Instagrammed location underground in Stockholm, an image is worth a thousand words. An impressive Greek-inspired decoration, that no one visiting the city misses. Moreover, being the central station of the city, it is difficult not to transfer or get the metro there.
The main problem at this station is that it is the central station, so lots of people are always commuting there. Taking a photo with no people on it can be a challenge, although if you wait long enough, it is definitely possible.
Skarpnäck T-bana
Something that will happen if you visit most of the stations in this guide is that after 10-12 of them, nothing will look impressive or different. I visited this station after T-Centralen, and although it is a quite long metro ride from there, at that time I thought it was not that impressive. However, looking at the pictures afterwards, the massive stone seats and the perfectly symmetric station are quite unique and I would recommend adding it to your list if you have a bit of extra time.
Hötorget
A station without an impressive dome, beautiful symmetry or a massive open space. However, Hötorget is on this list because of that. because although it is a “normal” metro station, it is really beautiful. The led-style lights, the tiles and the colours of the station are way different from the other ones and make it a nice stop.
Stadion
Another quite photographed station is Stadion. The reason is the massive rainbow painted on the central dome of the station, which besides its beautiful symbology, is also a fantastic photography spot. This station felt very quiet and it was easy to get a great photo.
Tekniska
Immediately after Station station, there is the Tekniska station. Its most distinctive feature is the polyhedron that hands from the dome, together with the blue and white paint. As in all stations, try to get a photo when the train on the other side is moving for a really cool effect.
Universitetet
As its name indicates, this station is close to part of Stockholm University. There are two things that can be highlighted from this station: first, the massive emergency exit-inspired painting in the central dome. Secondly, the beautiful escalators. They really caught my attention.
Mörby centrum
Last but not least, Mörby centrum. In any city, it would be a really beautiful one. Here it barely made it to this guide. However, it had a tone that I had not seen anywhere else in the route, light pink, thus I included it. Also, it has a cool wall with colourful tiles in an interesting shape.
Suggested route to visit all Stockholm metro stations
With 20 metro stations on the list, it might be difficult to decide where to start and where to finish, how to optimize your visit and how to make the most of your precious travel time.
Stockholm has 3 metro lines. This route suggests taking metros in a specific order to avoid changing lines multiple times. However, note that at each station, when you hop off the train, you will need to wait for the next time, and at the end of the route it can take some time.
TIP! Copy the URL of this article and paste it into your phone notes for when you are in Stockholm!
- Start in Kungsträdgården. I decided to start there because it was convening and quite centric. also, it was on the end of the blue line, which was quite convenient for me.
- Take the blue line to Akalla, at one of the two ends of the blue line. Then, go back, stopping at Nackrosen and Solna Centrum. At the Västra Skogen station, take the other end of the blue line, all the way to Tensta.
- Then, take the blue line in the other direction, stopping at Rinkeby, Dubvo, Sundbyberg Centrum, Solna Strand, Huvudsta, and Fridhemsplan. There, take the green line to Thorildsplan for only one stop.
- Go back to Fridhemsplan and take the blue line again, stopping at Rådhuset and T-Centralen. From the central station, take the green line all the way to Skarpnäck, the longest ride of the day.
- Take the green line again, and ride to Hötorget, one that I could not find a better way to include in the trip. Afterwards, it’s red line time: Stadion, Tekniska, Universitetet and if you feel like Mörby Centrum.
I hope you found this Stockholm metro stations guide useful. If you have any questions or if there’s any information missing feel free to reach out via Instagram (@aniolvisuals) or through the contact form.
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