Viator Viator Travel Blog

My home town, Melbourne in Australia, got its underground train line in 1981. Five stations. Very exciting – a world city (finally). Big enough to have to send people underground to move them around. Ha! Although five stations… one loop. Not exactly huge and complex. And it changes direction from morning to evening which always scares me – what if they mess it up and trains meet face to face? Is there any other city in the world where you have to factor this into the usual delays, dirty seats, dirty old men and high prices?

But, strangely, I have come to love the world’s metros, so much so that recently in Prague I insisted we use the Metro to traverse a walkable distance, just for the sheer joy and experience of it. In that spirit, here’s my list of world-favourite metros.

London Underground

Moscow Metro

Surely the Moscow Metro is the pinnacle of them all. You really can’t avoid using it in a city this huge (12.3 million people), and with such bad traffic congestion. When I was trying to get to the airport on a Friday night, the taxi driver ended up dropping us at a metro station because he said there was no way we’d make the plane traversing the city above ground! Even with metro then taxi from the outskirts of Moscow, we were lucky to make it. Especially with the rain and the crazy driving… aargh.

First opened in 1935, they’ve got 12 lines, 177 stations, and about 7 million riders a day; now that’s what I call a metro. It’s the second busiest in the world, after Tokyo. And the interval between trains is only about 90 seconds – a clock counts it down. The other essential factor of the Moscow Metro is its design, which makes it a must-see. In fact, go on it just to get off and look at many of the stations. Chandeliers, vaulted ceilings, socialist realist art – fabulous.

One night, in the rain, getting a taxi seemed impossible so we decided to be brave and risk the last Metro, about 1am. We had to go in the Exit doors as the entrance was locked, but lots of locals were doing it and they didn’t look like homeless looking for a bed for the night. Just inside the doors, each phone booth was occupied by a stray dog – quite a feature of Moscow – but they were not hungry so we passed unmauled to the escalator, still running in a downwards direction for the cleaner. The whole thing was much less challenging than we feared; there were lots of women alone on the train and it all seemed quite safe. Not sure I would have done it if I wasn’t with a 6-foot tall man though. A drunk on a crowded daytime train punched another friend of mine, male, for no reason so you can just never tell.

Moscow's Metro

But during the day, I quite happily travelled the Metro alone. I found the ticket system easy to negotiate and loved the long long escalators with their clean design and great lamps. Even the signage began to make sense after a while though it was in Cyrillic. And I hopped on and off to look at various stations. Photography is not allowed but I sneaked a few…

Prague Metro

Only three lines, clearly colour-coded: red, yellow and green. Prague’s Metro is the 18th-busiest in the world with about 1.5 million riders a day. It can’t be that hard to use, right? Wrong. You see some of the stations are really big. Especially the ones in the centre of Prague that we the tourists are going to use: Muztek and Muzeum. Make sure you get the right exit or you can end up a long way from your destination and end up walking for longer than the Metro ride took.

And make sure you pay your fare. A friend of mine was stopped by ticket inspectors, on the tram but it’s all the same: his tourist status was not accepted as an excuse and he had to pay an on the spot fine.

The Prague metro dates from the 1970s so the stations are quite modern, simple and clean. They are also quite close to the surface, so expect stairs rather than escalators.

London Underground

Is the Underground, or the Tube, the most famous of them all? Just because of that iconic symbol and map of the lines, originally designed by electrical engineer Henry Beck in 1931, who based it on electrical circuit diagrams? The announcement ‘Mind The Gap’ has also become iconic. And, it’s worth taking notice because at some stations the gap between the train and the platform is really wide.

London’s Tube is pretty old and grimy although many stations have been or are being upgraded. The most useful thing you can do on any trip to London is check the Transport for London website to see which lines are closed for ‘improvement works’ because it can really mess with your plans and if you have to use a bus instead, you’ll probably need to add to your estimated journey time. This site also has a great journey planning function that tells you which trains and buses to take from point A to B – very useful.

Tunnels leading to the platforms are often filled with music from buskers – who now have to apply for a permit. There have even been CDs released of music from the London Underground.

It’s the 8th busiest Metro in the world with 4.25 million riders a day, most of them complaining about the service. But, so far, I’ve never had any really big problems with it. Minor delays, and of course line closures for ‘engineering works’. When you stay in South London as I often do, this can be a real pain as this part of town is not well served by the tube – often the overground rail system is a better bet here.

Please, c'mon, seriously, mind that gap!

As anything in London, travel can be expensive. Check out daily or weekly travel cards, or even a pay as you go Oyster card that cuts each journey cost. These can be used on the buses also. (The London sightseeing pass also includes a free Travelcard for use on the London Underground in Zones 1-6).

Paris Metro

The Metro in Paris is the sixth busiest - 14 lines, 4.5 million rides a day, opened 1900 - and I remember being impressed to hear that the wheels have rubber tyres – no angry squealing for these trains.

However, there are other angry moments in the Paris Metro. I often get the feeling it breeds quite an unhappy population of underground dwellers. Catching a very early train one Sunday morning, I was approached by a fairly scary man and then had the great privilege of seeing another man sleeping on a bench with his hands down his pants. I looked away.

But there’s no doubting the need for using the Metro in Paris, or the beauty of the iconic Art Nouveau signage on some of the stations (apparently 86 of these entrances are still there). I sometimes find the station entrances quite subtle and hard to find, but maybe that’s just me. Or maybe it is just art…

Runners Up: NYC & Cairo

I don’t have much to say about the New York subway because we’ve all been there done that, even if only through the movies. But it was my first real experience of an underground system and I was nervous. I lived to tell the tale and seem to remember even quite enjoying it. Although when you’re in Manhattan, walking is half the joy.

I regret that I didn’t explore the metro when I was in Cairo. It only has two lines, the first opened in 1989, but it has 2 million rides a day: that’s a lot for two lines! And the middle carriages of each train are reserved for women only. Although women can also ride in the other carriages. Given the chaos of the traffic above ground, I would be fascinated to see how the Metro functions. Chaotic? Crowded? Calm? Doubt it. Next time, definitely.

There’s nothing quite like the confusion of popping up from a Metro station in a strange city. But remember, when you’re turning the map around and around trying to get your bearings, standing in a crowded Metro entrance, you’re prime pickings for the world’s thieves.

Mind the gap.

-Philippa Burne