London's eight most interesting — and surprising — Tube stations The Times Ben Aitken London's eight most interesting — and surprising — Tube stations These Underground stops are beautiful, fun or downright fascinating, and all offer a unique lens through which to view the capital's history Farringdon station's main building is over 100 years old Alamy Ben Aitken Friday October 16 2026, 5.00am BST , The Sunday Times Listen 0:00 / · 11:13 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save A s Dickens was writing Martin Chuzzlewit and the prime minister was repealing the Corn Laws, a fella called Charles Pearson was reaching the conclusion that the answer to London's traffic-stricken streets was an underground railway. That railway opened two decades later in 1863. It was called the Metropolitan Railway and was the first of its kind in the world. Over the next 50 years the capital's underground system expanded at pace, with private companies clamouring to snatch a piece of the pie. As engineers dug deeper into London's foundations, the city's boundaries pushed outwards to include ever more distant Metrolands. The Tube — as it became known — made a Greater London possible. It wrote a new chapter in the city's story, one line at a time. Most commented 1 Ukraine 'has run out of Patriot interceptor missiles' Russia-Ukraine war 272 comments 2 British-made drone boats used in attack on Russian port of Sochi Defence 176 comments 3 Severe drought declared in England for first time Environment 103 comments 4 Lisa Nandy 'minded to intervene' in Sky's ￡1.6bn deal for ITV Companies & Markets 72 comments 5 How Lewis Hamilton's brother overcame cerebral palsy to become racing driver Formula 1 20 comments In the first half of the 20th century the array of competing Tube lines was gradually incorporated into a single operation. A logo was conjured and a typeface commissioned, both of which survive to this day. Also still with us is the contribution of Harry Beck. In 1931 Beck sent a speculative new map of the underground network to the head office of London Transport. The map was eloquent and effective, chiefly because it made no attempt to mirror the precise tangled reality of the network it represented. Beck went on to map London's evolving Tube network for the next 30 years before being unceremoniously ditched when London Transport commissioned a rival redesign without telling him. Top stories 1 US inflation hotter than expected as Iran war stokes fuel costs Economics While I could bang on about many aspects of the London Underground, our focus here is on the stations themselves. It's probably important to mention at this juncture that I'm in no way a Tube fanatic. Indeed, during the ten years I've lived in London, I've paid scant attention to the Tube stations I've made use of and depended on. I'm absentminded when entering, distracted in transit, elsewhere on departure. Why? Because it's far too easy to overlook the brilliance of things that we have deemed mere utilities. The selection of stations below is unavoidably subjective. Some readers will bemoan the omission of Baker Street, while others will be livid about the inclusion of Canning Town. I revisited about a quarter of London's 272 Underground stations for the purposes of this article. What was I looking for? Anything really. A bit of charm, a touch of style, a smidgin of je ne sais quoi . There were two things the station had to deliver on, however: it had to be accessible and it had to be a purpose-built Underground station — so no Waterloo or King's Cross. And for some I've recommended a lovely place to stay nearby. Advertisement 1. Farringdon (Metropolitan, Circle, Hammersmith and City lines) The Edward Johnston memorial pays tribute to the typeface he designed in 1916 Alamy Farringdon's Tube station opened in 1863 as one end of the trailblazing Metropolitan Railway, which linked the city's western and northern edges with its commercial centre. The main building, which dates to 1923 and was designed by Charles W Clark, is clean, neat and easy on the eye. It's the sort of train station you'd happily introduce to your parents, which isn't a courtesy you'd extend to Blackhorse Road. The train shed that covers the platforms is at once purposeful and elegant, and I like the amount of London stock brickwork on show. Not to be missed is the memorial to the aforementioned typeface designed by Edward Johnston in 1916. An alphabet of letters set in Johnston and carved from cherry wood can be found adorning a wall near the Turnmill Street entrance. As far as memorials go, it's very much my type. Nearby the Barbican Centre is the spot for culture while the Rookery is a sumptuous Georgian townhouse hotel with 33 bedrooms. Room-only doubles from ￡224 (rookeryhotel.com) 2. Kew Gardens (District Line) Kew Gardens has a pub on the platform While the main station building here is by no means an eyesore — it's a classically handsome erection done in London stock brick — it's what's either side of it that's truly of note. On one side is Tap on the Line, a gorgeous platform boozer that, in terms of vibes, is a blend of The White Lotus and Brief Encounter . On the other side, in a disused station storeroom, is a brilliant café and garden centre called Trindle Stores. Elsewhere in “Richard Curtis-ville”, as Kew village is sometimes called, there's a bookshop, a florist and a cracking French restaurant. What's more, Kew Gardens is just around the corner (￡28; kew.org). Top stories 1 New The housing benefits trap: when work just doesn't pay Welfare Inquiry 2 New Theo Paphitis: I bought a ￡100m business for ￡1 and two packs of Benson & Hedges Family Finances 3 New Record fines for motorist victims of car cloning Family Finances 4 New Please, chancellor, no more tax grabs on our savings Saving & Investing 5 New Premium Bonds are making savers poorer. It's time to shut them down Saving & Investing Frankly, this is the sort of station where you don't want your train to turn up. (Should that actually come to pass, Kew Gardens Hotel is a gastropub with rooms just a hundred metres from the station.) Room-only doubles from ￡150 (kewgardenshotel.com) 3. Canary Wharf (Jubilee Line) Canary Wharf station was designed by Norman Foster Alamy Part of the Jubilee Line Extension that opened in 1999, Canary Wharf was designed by the celebrated architect Sir Norman Foster, who is known for several iconic buildings — and Stansted airport. The station is at once capacious and dashing — befitting the kind of work that goes on hereabouts, where you're more likely to be flogged a financial derivative than a pound of bananas. While the vast glass canopy over the west entrance is an unmistakable highlight, I rather like the smaller entrance at the other end of the station that evokes the segmented exoskeleton of a king prawn. In Bilbao, where Foster's fingerprints are all over the metro, such shrimpish canopies are known as Fosteritos . The beautiful and historic Lansbury Heritage Hotel is just across the river on Poplar High Street. B&B doubles from ￡189 (lansburyhotel.com) Advertisement 4. Caledonian Road (Piccadilly Line) Caledonian Road opened in 1906 Alamy Leslie Green designed 50 Tube stations in a four-year burst before dying of pulmonary tuberculosis at the age of 33. Opened in 1906, Caledonian Road is textbook Leslie, being clad in oxblood tiles and featuring a number of arched bays topped with semicircular windows. There's ornate tiling throughout and lots of info about the station's architect in the ticket hall. In one of the station's five bays is a charming café called Piccolo, where a suitably diminutive Azerbaijani lady (piccolo means small in Italian) will do you a cracking ham and cheese crêpe for ￡3.50. The neogothic railway hotel St Pancras London — which was conceived by George Gilbert Scott and rescued by John Betjeman — is about a mile down the road. Room-only doubles from ￡320 (stpancraslondon.com) 5. Earls Court (District and Piccadilly lines) The Warwick Road entrance to Earls Court was designed by Charles Holden You get two stations for the price of one at Earls Court. Whereas the Edwardian entrance on Earls Court Road is clad in toffee-coloured tiles and looks ready to welcome a dignitary, the Warwick Road entrance is a brick plinth topped with a 1970s glass atrium that looks ready to welcome a delegation of androids. The plinth was the work of Charles Holden, an architect known for his quietly brutal and reliably quirky designs (see also Arnos Grove and Southgate, which resembles a lowkey UFO). In between the station's arresting entrances is one hell of a train shed, a host of retro destination indicator boards, and a brilliant exhibition by Claire Lindsey, the Transport for London writer in residence. Read more Explore our full travel guide to London 14 of the best hotels with a view in London 8 of the best affordable family hotels in London 6. Canning Town (Jubilee Line) One of the entrances to Canning Town opens straight on to the River Lea Alamy Of the 11 stations that made up the Jubilee Line Extension, Canning Town, north of the river in east London, was perhaps the least heralded. Granted, one of the station's entrances is as drab as they come — it gives onto a bus station and makes no concessions to beauty — but the other is a delight. It not only delivers you straight on to the River Lea (which you could follow north to the Olympic Park, Hackney Marshes, then Walthamstow Wetlands and even Epping Forest if you so wish) but also resembles a biscuit tin merged with a robot. On exiting the station I crossed the footbridge in front of me and spent a while exploring London City Island, a brand-new residential zone that has been dubbed Mini Manhattan (by the developer one imagines). In the short time I spent wandering the island I discovered a sculpture of a dolphin on a bike, a historic steamship called the SS Robin (now a maritime museum), and a piece of music that's been playing for 27 years in London's only lighthouse. Never before has the lesser-used exit of a Tube station delivered such an adventure. Canning Town scores an extra point for devoting a good portion of its ticket hall to a celebration of female engineers. 7. Wembley Park (Metropolitan and Jubilee lines) The vast staircase at Wembley Park sees plenty of footfall Alamy The main draw here is the view on emerging from the station: England's national stadium at the other end of Wembley Way. Before the first Wembley Stadium was put up here in 1923, plans were afoot to build a tower that would make the Eiffel Tower seem piddly. It was to be called Watkin's Tower, and Wembley Park Tube station was basically created to make it accessible to the millions who would surely find it irresistible. Like many engineering plans, it didn't come to fruition, and a set of goalposts went up instead. The present station dates to 2006. I like its photogenic staircase, its huge sign and the slightly nautical nature of the main station building, which looks as if it's about to set sail for Harrow or Willesden. 8. Battersea Power Station (Northern Line) Battersea Power Station is both retro and modern Alamy Battersea Power Station is the riverside terminus of the Northern Line extension that opened in 2021. It is also the only Tube station on the network that has the word “station” in its name. The ticket hall contains a vast kinetic sculpture by Alexandre da Cunha called Sunset, Sunrise, Sunset . By recourse to an old-school rotating billboard, the artwork hints at the cycles and rhythms that underpin (and sometimes undermine) the life of a London commuter. The main station building is somehow retro and modern all at once. One can imagine Ziggy Stardust using it as an office. The station's forecourt, meanwhile, is a pleasing arrangement of benches and flowerbeds where one can ponder the elegant heft of the former coal-powered power station, now a well-heeled leisure and retail complex. You can stay upstairs at the smart and luxurious art'otel London Battersea Power Station with its rooftop pool, Joia Restaurant with skyline views and funky pink suites. Room-only doubles from ￡413 (artotel.com) Advertisement Think we've missed your stop? Let us know which Tube stations you find most fascinating, beautiful or fun in the comments Inspired? Our in-house agency Times Holidays can help you book your trip, tailored to your specific interests Travel newsletter Your weekly round-up of the best travel inspiration, guides, hotel reviews and advice from our experts. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the Travel newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Travel newsletter Explore our newsletters Travel Destinations UK England London London London hotels London today Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save Promoted Content Previous Article Next Article