Cover One of the stations on the Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Stations 2026 list, two angled concrete volumes, perforated with Najdi-inspired triangular openings, make up Arup’s National Museum Station in Riyadh (Photo: Hufton+Crow)
One of the stations on the Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Stations 2026 list, two angled concrete volumes, perforated with Najdi-inspired triangular openings, make up Arup’s National Museum Station in Riyadh (Photo: Hufton+Crow)
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From an Anish Kapoor sculpture that leads 48 metres beneath Naples to a Riyadh station wrapped in a lattice modelled on Tuwaiq Mountain, seven transport hubs across five countries make the Prix Versailles 2026 list
On 28 September 2026, the Prix Versailles announced its World’s Most Beautiful Stations List 2026, naming seven passenger stations in Australia, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia and the United States. The laureates include two stations on the Riyadh Metro, metro stations in Rome and Naples, an expanded Lyon Part-Dieu, a Melbourne station on the Metro Tunnel and a transit hub serving Los Angeles International Airport. Three of the seven will receive a World Title (Prix Versailles, Interior or Exterior) at Unesco Headquarters in Paris on 10 December.
Much of this year’s selection sits well below street level. Monte Sant’Angelo in Naples reaches 48 metres, Colosseo-Fori Imperiali in Rome descends more than 30 metres across four levels, and the deepest platforms at Riyadh’s National Museum Station are 33 metres down. Several projects take their cues from local references, among them Lyon’s covered traboules, the wells of ancient Rome, Najdi triangular motifs and the wadis of the Arabian desert. Prix Versailles Secretary General Jérôme Gouadain said the laureates show that “21st-century passenger stations can be the bridges to a more desirable future.”
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Town Hall Station, Melbourne, Australia
The City Square entrance to Town Hall Station in Melbourne by Hassell, RSHP and WW+P sits beneath a glass canopy held up by branching steel columns (Photo: Jim Stephenson
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Hassell, RSHP and WW+P designed Town Hall Station, which sits beneath Swanston Street in Melbourne’s historic centre. Its concourse lies under City Square. Eight tree-like columns branch out to support the canopy above. Over the platforms, which are unusually wide, coppery vaulted ceilings rise 10 metres. The station shares a “trinocular" structure with neighbouring State Library Station, in which three tunnels intersect to form large open halls.
Orange-red ribs arch over the platforms at Town Hall Station, with a column of pendant lights running along the centre of the Melbourne station (Photo: Jim Stephenson)
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Artwork runs through both stations. Maree Clarke’s Barerarerungar lines Town Hall’s Federation Square entrance, and Danie Mellor’s Forever occupies the glass façade of State Library. Clarke’s Tracks runs along the platforms of all five new Metro Tunnel stations.
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Lyon Part-Dieu Station, Lyon, France
Above Stainless steel columns hold up a canopy of hexagonal metal panels over the lower level of Place Charles Béraudier, the two-level square outside Lyon Part-Dieu Station (Photo: Romuald Nicolas)
Above A looping ramp connects the levels of the bicycle parking garage beneath Place Charles Béraudier, France’s largest, with separate bays for cargo bikes (Photo: Romuald Nicolas)
Stainless steel columns hold up a canopy of hexagonal metal panels over the lower level of Place Charles Béraudier, the two-level square outside Lyon Part-Dieu Station (Photo: Romuald Nicolas)
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Lyon Part-Dieu is one of Europe’s busiest stations for connecting passengers, serving regional, national and international lines. Over the years it has also become a shortcut between neighbourhoods, a habit in a city where people routinely walk through buildings to get from one street to another. Architects AREP and L’AUC have doubled the station’s size over roughly a decade of works, adding new entrances and through-routes.
Stairs and escalators under the hexagonal canopy connect the lower square to the station concourse at Lyon Part-Dieu (Photo: Romuald Nicolas)
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Place Charles Béraudier, a two-level urban square, now houses France’s largest bicycle parking garage. The gallery, also named after the square, is 210 metres long and 15 metres tall, and it opens onto new public space. The design draws on the traboules, the hidden passageways of the Vieux-Lyon and Croix-Rousse districts.
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Colosseo-Fori Imperiali Station, Rome, Italy
Above Ticket gates lead to a gold-framed enclosure of stairs and escalators down to the platforms at Colosseo-Fori Imperiali Station in Rome (Photo: Metro C)
Above Passengers changing lines at Colosseo-Fori Imperiali Station in Rome can see the Colosseum through an angled oculus cut into the concrete (Photo: Aldo Magnani / Casalgrande Padana)
Ticket gates lead to a gold-framed enclosure of stairs and escalators down to the platforms at Colosseo-Fori Imperiali Station in Rome (Photo: Metro C)
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The station sits at the junction of Rome Metro Lines B and C. It spans four levels and reaches a maximum depth of more than 30 metres. Archaeological finds unearthed during construction are displayed throughout the station in a museum section designed by the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum with Sapienza University.
A street-level entrance to Colosseo-Fori Imperiali Station faces the Colosseum across Via dei Fori Imperiali (Photo: Metro C)
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Ancient wells serve as the organising motif, and light and shadow are used to expose the layers of Rome’s bedrock. Passengers descend past these strata on their way to the platforms. At the interchange level, an oculus frames a view of the Colosseum above.
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Monte Sant’Angelo Station, Naples, Italy
Above Anish Kapoor’s corten steel entrance to Monte Sant’Angelo Station sits on a paved plaza in Naples (Photo: Amedeo Benestante @ Anish Kapoor)
Above Below ground, an escalator and staircase run beneath the deliberately rough walls and ceiling of Monte Sant’Angelo Station in Naples (Photo: Mallardo)
Anish Kapoor’s corten steel entrance to Monte Sant’Angelo Station sits on a paved plaza in Naples (Photo: Amedeo Benestante @ Anish Kapoor)
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Anish Kapoor designed Monte Sant’Angelo with the architecture firms Future Systems and AL_A, on a project that began more than 20 years ago. Two monumental entrances in corten steel and aluminium lead underground and recall Mount Vesuvius, a cave and the legend of the Cumaean Sibyl.
Above Passengers ride the escalators up through the corten steel entrance of Monte Sant’Angelo Station towards the sky in Naples (Photo: @Anish Kapoor)
Above Two tracks run between the concrete platforms of Monte Sant’Angelo, the first station to open on Naples Metro Line 7 (Photo: Amedeo Benestante @ Anish Kapoor)
Passengers ride the escalators up through the corten steel entrance of Monte Sant’Angelo Station towards the sky in Naples (Photo: @Anish Kapoor)
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Inside, deliberately rough walls and ceilings continue down to a depth of 48 metres. The station is the first to open on Line 7 and covers 6,500 sq m. It serves Federico II University’s Monte Sant’Angelo campus and the city’s western neighbourhoods.
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National Museum Station, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
A glazed entrance sits beneath a gold-toned faceted canopy at National Museum Station, the interchange for the Riyadh Metro’s Blue and Green Lines (Photo: Hufton+Crow)
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Designed by Arup, National Museum Station serves as the gateway to the National Museum and Riyadh’s historic centre. Its exterior is a concrete shell modelled on Tuwaiq Mountain's topography. Najdi-inspired triangular openings cut through the shell and reveal a blue interior.
Above Escalators and stairs run alongside a wall of faceted blue panels inside National Museum Station in Riyadh (Photo: Hufton+Crow)
Above Seen from below a glass floor, a triangular light well lined with white and gold faceted panels rises towards a skylight (Photo: Hufton+Crow)
Escalators and stairs run alongside a wall of faceted blue panels inside National Museum Station in Riyadh (Photo: Hufton+Crow)
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The station stands beside a coach station whose form recalls a Bedouin tent. Inside, blue walls line a naturally lit atrium that leads down to the platforms, the deepest of which are 33 metres below ground. The station is an interchange for the Riyadh Metro’s Blue and Green Lines.
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Western Station, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
At dusk, two arches clad in faceted sand-coloured panels frame the main entrance of Western Station in Riyadh (Photo: Omrania)
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Omrania designed Western Station on the site of a former open-air marketplace, keeping the land in public use. Shops, a mosque and pedestrian areas surround the tracks. The station consists of two long volumes under undulating roofs inspired by desert dunes.
Above At night, lights trace the undulating roofs and planted plazas of Western Station, Omrania’s Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Stations 2026 laureate in Riyadh (Photo: Omrania)
Above Ribs in the ceiling run the length of a glazed concourse at Western Station in Riyadh, where full-height windows overlook the surrounding site (Photo: Omrania)
At night, lights trace the undulating roofs and planted plazas of Western Station, Omrania’s Prix Versailles Most Beautiful Stations 2026 laureate in Riyadh (Photo: Omrania)
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The curves create shaded thresholds where light and air pass freely through the buildings. A passage modelled on a wadi, a seasonal riverbed, links the two structures. The station is a multimodal hub and a major stop on the Riyadh Metro’s Orange Line. Its trains run on a viaduct along the length of the site and are visible from the squares and gardens below.
LAX/Metro Transit Centre, Los Angeles, United States
Planted beds and walkways run down the centre of the bus plaza at the LAX/Metro Transit Center in Los Angeles, with bus bays on either side under long canopies (Photo: Jason O’Rear)
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Grimshaw Architects designed the LAX/Metro Transit Centre with Gruen Associates. It links Metro’s C and K Lines, 16 bus lines, a regional bike hub and the airport’s forthcoming automated people movers. Sweeping canopies and glass ceilings cover the platforms.
A white sculptural installation hangs beneath the ribbed canopy of the upper concourse at the LAX/Metro Transit Center in Los Angeles (Photo: Jason O’Rear)
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Natural ventilation and awnings keep air conditioning to a minimum, and solar panels meet about half of the building’s interior energy demand. The open, lightweight structure stands in contrast to the concrete freeway network that surrounds it.
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Jennifer Choo is Regional Managing Editor of Tatler Homes, covering architecture, interior design, and art across Asia. Based in Malaysia, she oversees regional content on luxury residential design and contemporary art collections. Legally trained but choosing to pursue her passion for design, she previously led notable design publications and worked as an interior stylist and art consultant for property developers, design firms, and private clients.
