Art is everywhere: Subway Stations

Because art is above, below and all around us, we're making categories (30)

We’ve mentioned our love for the Metro before. It’s clean, easy-to-follow, and generally seems to run on time. It’s also quite young, as we learned when we watched this brief video on both the history and future plans for the system (yes, the video’s in English, we wouldn’t do that to you). Our neighborhood was connected to the yellow line in 1998 and the airport was only hooked up to the system a decade ago.

Apparently, they’re actively in the process of creating new stations and extending existing lines. Which means that beneath the surface of Lisbon, something large is digging holes. For some reason, we’ve always assumed subways were something built in the early 1900s and not really changed much since. That’s not the case here, for sure.

One of the most striking features of the stations in Lisbon is that each seems to have been decorated by a different artist. The styles change dramatically from stop to stop. While we’ve come nowhere close to seeing them all yet, here, in no particular order, is a sample of some of the delights that await travelers.

Saldanha is where the yellow and red lines meet.

This is the red side:

This is the only station so far where we’ve seen text incorporated into the art. All images by Scott unless otherwise noted.

We disembark at Colégio Militar/Luz when we visit some of our doctors; it’s on the blue line.

There’s also a giant shopping mall, Colombo, here, where we had our first bifanas.

Scott saw this on his way to the Oceanarium - Cabo Ruivo on the red line.

It’s a prehistoric motif. Other images elsewhere in the station were of people with spears and such.

Aeroporto (end of the red line):

Bonus points awarded for anyone who can name the pianist.

Picoas, two stops down the yellow line:

We would be remiss without a nod to our closest stop, Rato:

This is not actually in the area where the trains arrive. Rather, it’s at the top of the stairs on one side,

And last but not least, there are many amazing images in Oriente. Here’s but one:

Not all of the art is on the walls. Next time, we’ll have some busts and statues to show.

Which is your favorite from above? Let us know in the comments.

That’s all for now.

Love from Lisbon,

Scott & Amy