The design of subway stations generally sucks, with a few global exceptions. The Line 11 platform at the Arts et Metier metro stop, in Paris, is the most beautiful subway station I've ever been in. These are two shots I took of it in 2005.
The steampunk-style station had been redesigned that way in 1994 by Francois Schuiten, and though the photos may not convey it well, the copper lining the walls gives the space a warm glow you don't often find underground.
It's that warm unearthly light that makes Arts et Metier beautiful, at least to me. But I'd settle for earthly light, or anything besides fluorescent bulbs, to pretty up a station. The winning entry in a recent design competition in Tel Aviv, for instance, shows us what a subway could look like if lit by the sun.
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