Two Paris Metro Stations Named Among the World’s Most Beautiful Winning Global Recognition at the Prix Versailles 2025

Two new Paris Metro stations are turning heads around the world. Saint-Denis Pleyel and Villejuif-Gustave Roussy, both part of the Grand Paris Express project, have been named among the seven most beautiful stations in the world by Prix Versailles 2025. It’s an impressive nod to France’s growing reputation for blending architecture, innovation, and sustainability in everyday life.

The Prix Versailles, backed by UNESCO, celebrates global design that pushes boundaries while respecting people and the planet. This year’s finalists prove that public transport doesn’t have to be dull or purely functional. It can be inspiring. It can even be beautiful. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this saw the start of a move back towards the golden era of train travel?

The Prix Versailles 2025

Founded in 2015, the Prix Versailles honors architectural projects that combine beauty, innovation, and sustainability. Backed by UNESCO, it shines a light on how design can shape the way people live, travel, and connect. Each year, it recognizes exceptional achievements across categories, including airports, train stations, hotels, and cultural spaces.

The 2025 list of the world’s most beautiful passenger stations includes just seven finalists, all of which have been recently opened and represent some of the boldest examples of modern design. They range from futuristic metro stations in Sydney and Riyadh to a gleaming steel structure in Belgium and a vertical park in China. Together, they showcase how transportation is being reimagined as both a functional and cultural experience.

For France, having two stations recognized in the same year is a notable achievement. It reflects not only the ambition behind the Grand Paris Express, the largest urban transport project in Europe, but also the country’s ability to merge contemporary architecture with social and environmental vision. 

The winners will be announced on December 4 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, an apt stage for celebrating innovation on a global scale.

Saint-Denis Pleyel Station

Rising from the industrial heart of Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis Pleyel has quickly become one of the most talked-about additions to the Paris Metro. Designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the station opened in June 2024 and is already seen as a symbol of modern urban design. 

Once fully operational, it will serve four automated metro lines —14, 15, 16, and 17 —and handle approximately 250,000 passengers daily.

Covering 30,000 square meters across nine levels, four of which are underground, the station is built around a dramatic central atrium that allows natural light to reach nearly 27 meters below ground.

Kuma designed the building as a kind of “urban origami,” with folded forms that connect the city’s surface to its depths below. The extensive use of wood softens the geometry and brings warmth rarely found in underground architecture.

This station is a 5,000-square-meter cultural space called “Pleyel en mouvement” that hosts exhibitions, workshops, and community events. Floating above it all is a striking installation by French artist Prune Nourry, 108 suspended sculptures that seem to hover in the light-filled atrium. 

Villejuif-Gustave Roussy Station

On the southern edge of Paris, Villejuif-Gustave Roussy Station presents a distinctly modern vision of transportation design. Opened in January 2025, it was created by French architect Dominique Perrault, best known for the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Where Saint-Denis Pleyel celebrates wood and light, this station embraces metal and depth.

Descending nearly 50 meters underground, it’s one of the deepest metro stations in France. At street level, a vast circular glass roof spans 70 meters, allowing daylight to cascade through the structure and reach the platforms below. 

Inside, the walls shimmer with layers of stainless steel, smooth, perforated, meshed, and mirrored, creating a play of reflections that change throughout the day.

Located near the Gustave Roussy Institute, Europe’s leading cancer research center, the station is expected to welcome 100,000 passengers daily. It currently serves Line 14, with a planned connection to Line 15 South in 2026. 

Artist Iván Navarro has added a poetic touch with his “sundial” installation, made from 312 light boxes that give the illusion of infinite space. 

The Global Field of Finalists

This year’s Prix Versailles finalists showcase the significant evolution of transport architecture globally. Alongside France’s two contenders are five remarkable stations that redefine what public infrastructure can be.

In Sydney, Gadigal Station, designed by Foster + Partners, pays homage to Aboriginal heritage while incorporating futuristic design elements. Its colorful ceramic tile artworks and smooth, curved spaces bring light and energy deep underground. 

In Belgium, Mons Station, rebuilt by Santiago Calatrava, gleams like a white steel cathedral and connects travelers across Europe with light-filled arches and open pedestrian spaces.

Further east, China’s Baiyun Station in Guangzhou, designed by Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei, serves as a vast vertical park that links rail, metro, and commercial spaces under one roof. 

And in Riyadh, two stations, KAFD by Zaha Hadid Architects and Qasr Al Hokm by Snøhetta, reflect Saudi Arabia’s fusion of modern ambition and traditional forms, utilizing sculpted curves and desert-inspired lighting.

Together, these seven stations illustrate how travel architecture is being reimagined worldwide. Functionality remains key, but beauty, sustainability, and cultural storytelling now share the stage.

France’s Role in Sustainable and Artistic Transport

Both the French stations are part of the Grand Paris Express. This infrastructure project represents a shift in how France approaches public transportation, prioritizing architecture, community, and sustainability alongside engineering.

When complete, the network will span 200 kilometers of new lines, connecting areas that have long been underserved and linking suburbs directly without forcing passengers to travel through the city center.

Saint-Denis Pleyel and Villejuif-Gustave Roussy are standout examples of this new direction. Both demonstrate how modern stations can enhance daily life, not just transport people from one point to another.

Their designs emphasize the use of natural light, renewable materials, and the integration of art and culture into public spaces. They’re designed to minimize environmental impact while enhancing the travel experience for humans.

Jérôme Gouadain, secretary general of the Prix Versailles, summed it up best when he noted that stations have once again become a playground for leading architects. The renewed global interest in transportation design reflects a growing conviction that beautiful, functional spaces can inspire pride and connection, even in the most practical aspects of urban life.