Most Popular PlacesRandom PlaceListsItinerariesAdd a PlaceDownload the App Metro Argüelles Mosaic Wahpper: The World’s Largest Catfish Hood River Pumping Station and Pipeline Trail The Ivanhoe Clock Is Alton, Illinois America’s Most Haunted Small Town? 3 days ago 14 Real Places That Haunt the Pages of Literature 5 days ago Likely the most colorful in the metro network, this mosaic was installed back in 1995. Madrid’s Metro is more than a way to get around the city. Over the years, the network has continually sought to improve and embellish its stations, turning otherwise functional spaces into unexpected galleries.
Among the tiled walls, historic details, and contemporary artworks, passengers can stumble upon small pieces of Madrid’s visual and cultural heritage while waiting for the next train. The Metro also boasts a particularly appealing collection of mosaics. Scattered across different stations, these colourful works transform corridors, platforms, and entrances into miniature art galleries.
Some celebrate local landmarks, others evoke the city’s history, and many simply add a welcome splash of colour to the daily commute. Together, they form an often-overlooked underground art collection. At Argüelles station, a cheerful mosaic by J.
Ruiz, created in 1995, celebrates the neighborhood above ground. Located at the Calle Princesa entrance, it depicts the leafy Parque del Oeste and the surrounding buildings, with the distinctive Teleférico de Madrid seemingly flying across the scene. An airplane even cruises through the sky.
Framed by Metro’s familiar diamond logo and the station’s name, it offers a colorful snapshot of Argüelles before passengers descend into the depths. Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter. Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Blending modern art with Baroque architecture, this wondrous mosaic grotto serves as the late artist's final creation. This vivid painted ceramic sculpture evokes the expansiveness of the prairie sky. Created by Catalan artist Joan Miró in 1978 and made up of 350,000 tiles, this mural is the only large-scale glass mosaic the artist ever created.
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