In this post, we have collected some interesting metro map designs around the globe. These maps show the infrastructure of the city; each city is different from another because of the look, feel, regional culture, typography and many other things. These maps would be helpful for you in exploring these differences and would also come handy when you want to find out any place in the city. As designer, you can also learn a bit or two about wayfinding graphics when analyzing these designs. So, here’s the inspiring compilation of metro maps from around the world.
Europe
Paris, France
London Map
Berlin, Germany
Naples, Italy
Oslo, Norway
Lille – France
Frankfurt Subway Map, Germany
Oslo, Norway
Prague, Czech Republic
Barcelona, Spain
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Athens, Greece
Munich, Germany
Vienna, Austria
Lyon, France
Bucharest, Romania
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Lausanne, Switzerland
Brussels, Belgium
America
Boston, USA
NYC Subway Map
Chicago’s Metro
WASHINGTON D.C., USA
SAN FRANCISCO
Atlanta, United States
Baltimore
Osaka Railway System
Brasilia, Brazil
BARCELONA
Houston Metro Map
New York, United States
Montreal, Canada
Asia
Beijing, China
Hong Kong
Moscow, Russia
Pyongyong, North Korea
Tokyo City Map, Japan
Singapore Metro
Sapporo
DUBAI, UAE
Kyoto, Japan
Bangkok, Thailand
Mumbai, India
SHANGHAI, China
Deagu, South Korea
Kiev, Ukraine
This article is originally published on Oct 04, 2010, and updated on May 24, 2023.
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72 Comments:
Amazing! Some people say the Chicago Metro Map is crap though
Err... Russia is in both Europe and Asia. Moscow, however, is in Europe. It's on the west side of the Ural mountains, so there's no doubt about that at all.
official NYC Subway Map PDF:
very good post, i certainly love this amazing site, continue it
where is mexico?????
Guys,
I know that SP subway it´s the largest subway in Brazil, but all about the Rio de Janeiro´s subway?
Here is the link:
Don´t forget the excellent subway system of Middle-Earth:
Falto el metro de Caracas-Venezuela
And São Paulo????????????????????
In Brazil you just put the Brasilia subway, which is the smallest of the country, should have shown the subway in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest. Who sees the subway map of Brasilia think we don't have a good transport system and the subway in Sao Paulo is considered one of the best in the world.
See the link with map of São Paulo subway:
Here's the official map of the Stockholm Metro (Tunnelbanan).
The author is stuck in 1999 according to the map he picked for NYC subway system. Just for your information, it changed.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Montreal, Canada........is the one which i like most....almost all of them are nice anyways, but some are little complex...
+Info
y el Metro de Caracas? :S
Buenos Aires is in America
O___O buenos aires in europe? barcelona and osaka in america? sorry, but someone forgot to see the map of the wolrd here u¬¬
and i agree, where is mexico´s metro map? is one of the most biggest subway in the world (and is growing up today)
Please, anybody have statistics about this theme: What is the longest, the shortest, the fastest, largest, ....???
Wonder work. You May add Madrid and Sao Paolo - Brazil. Both have large recent ampliations
Nice.
Please update with the new São Paulo metro's map - São Paulo, Brasil ( ).
Tks,
Where´s Mexico?????
The map of the Moscow metro is better here:
Inspiring collection!
And here's a map of the metro in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Actually Metro is an Dutch acronym for:
Met Een Teringgang Rotterdam Onderdoor
In English:
Travelling very fast via Rotterdam's underground
Nice collection!
Here you can find Rome's map:
Where is the Map of Our Stylish and Modern Metro? - Sao Paulo City - The third biggest city in the World !
2 important cities metro are not mentioned (Stockholm, and Istanbul)
1-
2-
Where is São Paulo - Brazil?
METRO DE MEDELLÍN, COLOMBIA
why "Buenos Aries, Argentina" is under "Europe" category? and btw it's spelled "Aires" not "Aries"... see
you Americans... :-)
and São Paulo ? The biggest city in South America !!!
Buenos Aires en Europa, Barcelona en America... revisen eso, creo que no son los únicos.
Saludos
The NYC subway map in your post is waaay outdated...
Would love to see Los Angeles added. Yes there is a subway system!
Ooh, what fun. I lived on the Boston system all childhood and early adulthood. Funny how seeing that map gives me the warm fuzzies.
Priceless collection. But London Underground maps seems to be out-dated one.
Great collection! but is not Buenos Aries, is "Buenos Aires". And is in South America. Regards!
It is really interesting to see how they are all different, thanks
Barcelona (Spain) in America?
Kiev (Ukraine) in Asia?
Moscow (Russia) in Asia?
... something must be wron :D
and... why there is Munich, but not Hamburg?
Muy interesante, pero concuerdo con Raúl, ¡falta el de Chile!
Thanks for this post, it’s very interesting and I’ll definitly keep it bookmarked.
(sorry for the other comment, moderator).
Muy interesante, pero concuerdo con Raúl, ¡falta el de Chile!
Thanks for this post, it's very interested and I'll definitly keep it bookmarked.
I'm impressed with all the metro and underground maps over the world. Yet featured Singapore's (where I'm belong). *thumbs up*
I was just going to comment that....
FYI: Osaka (Japan) has been sorted under "America".
CityRail in NSW, Australia has a zoomable network map at o/stations/network_map
What about Kolkata(Calcutta) and Delhi Metro....
I don't know where you got the San Francisco map from, it does not look anything like the much nicer official one posted in the subway:
Most of SF's transit is buses rather than subways, and this is the map users see more often:
WTF, where it is São Paulo, Brazil?!
Nothing from Australia :( ?
Muy bueno, pero falta el Metro de Santiago de Chile
I would also like to chip in that Buenos Aires is definitely not in Europe, although it is very much like a European city.
Similarly, Barcelona is in Spain, which is Europe... Not the Americas.
That is an interesting collection. I remember seeing a show about the London map and the work that went into making it not only functional, but a selling point.
Most of the designs stem from the original work done on the London Underground map by Harry Beck.
See
Nice! But you forgot the second longest metro in Europe: Madrid's metro in Spain. It has a nice new design:
Also pretty interesting, its circular alternative:
Mexico City's
Monterrey City's
This post is very helpfull for me, thank you so much for sharing quality information.
Have been to Tokyo a few times and always so incredibly grateful at how well organised and designed their maps are. It was one of my biggest worries, as I’m not used to these mass networks of lines, etc. Next challenge; driving!
Excellent comparison!
Just note that Buenos Aires is in South America and Barcelona is in Europe. I think they got mixed up =P
Great stuff, nice to compare the differences between all these designs!
Also, I'd like note that Buenos Aires is not Europe. Quite far away from it, actually :)
Yes, Kiev and Moscow are both European cities. Russia, west of the Ural Mountains, is all Europe.
There is an official metro map for Moscow in this post.
But Ilya Birman have disigned a better map. Take a look, see the difference: ilyabirman.ru/portfolio/moscow-metro/
From his page (translated by Google):
"There are maps in the cars of one of the fastest and most reliable subway in the world, which is painful to see. I drew a good one."
Important differences between offical and Birman's map:
"Station, connected by junctions, integrated into knots. Names of stations not get on the adjacent line. Proper use of uppercase and lowercase letters, the names easily readable even in small bowls. Lines signed not only a legend, but in the end stations."
There is an official metro map for Moscow in this post.
But Ilya Birman have disigned a better map. Take a look, see the difference:
From his page (translated by Google):
"There are maps in the cars of one of the fastest and most reliable subway in the world, which is painful to see. I drew a good one."
Important differences between offical and Birman's map:
"Station, connected by junctions, integrated into knots. Names of stations not get on the adjacent line. Proper use of uppercase and lowercase letters, the names easily readable even in small bowls. Lines signed not only a legend, but in the end stations."
That's an impressive collection, boarding on nerdy infact :)
Moscow is in Russia :)
Both europeans and asians want to see it on their continent :)
Interesting how so many use the same design, give or take.
Convergent independent design, mimicry of original design or deliberate family style for ease of interpretation?
Nice post, don't forget the newly built Guatrain in South Africa. Recently launched, pre World Cup 2010.
Isn't both Moscow and Kiev in Europe? ;)
you missed Toronto's Subway Map
missed out new delhi , india
Those are great!
Well made .
Fabulous!