Best subways - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**joe7f** · 07-10-2007, 09:03 PM

What are the best subways you have hopped aboard?

My top five are:

1. London/Tokyo tied (easy to use/expansive coverage)
3. Madrid (mostly on time; can get anywhere)
4. Barcelona (ditto)
5. Paris/Washington DC tied (get anywhere/easy to use and exceptionally clean)

Maybe it is living a mere 2 feet above sealevel, but I really like riding the metro to get around

--Joey

rousseau5550 · 07-11-2007, 10:28 AM

My top three are:

1. Montreal; because the metro cars have rubber tires that provide a comfortable ride =]

2. London; the size..

3. Moscow; it's pretty

**lilwings** · 07-11-2007, 10:52 AM

Paris: music everywhere, history
Washington DC: punctual system

Buffalo, NY: simple and easy to use... because there is only one line. Great if you're drunk.

**MeTurk** · 07-12-2007, 08:54 AM

I only really have experience with the Paris one, I was on the London one years and years ago but was with me ol lad and only used the Barcelona one twice.

The Paris one was great when I was staying at the 3 ducks there was a stop at either end of the street.

Soon (well 5 or 6 years but the way things work in Ireland 10 or 15 years) Dublin will have a brand spanking new metro plus an extened Luas (tram system.

**Elizabeth** · 07-12-2007, 10:31 AM

Best:

Kyiv ... interesting communist architecture/station design (loses points for lack of signage though, gains points for demonstrating how different cultures view how many people can actually fit into that train), lots of escalators because the stations are so deep underground!
Athens ... brand new (2001) compared to all the other ones and goes all the way out to Pireaus and the Airport, lots of escalators
Berlin U-Bahn ... clean enough for me, especially after coming from Paris

Worst:

Paris ... reeks of piss and too many stairs/no escalators
NYC ... crappy looking trains and some stations are still under contruction and its been open for a really long time

Dis-honorable mention: Budapest ... the ticket pricing-distance travelled scheme sucks

**Majestic58** · 07-14-2007, 11:35 PM

I love subways.. Always have... But I'm kind of partial to public transit anyway... I love being able to just relax and look at everything around (not that that relates much to subways, since tunnels aren't particularly aesthetically pleasing...) but I *LOVE* the skytrain in Vancouver....

**lauren313** · 07-15-2007, 04:17 AM

I can't really remember where I have used subways (or "The Underground", as I like to call it!).

I do like the London Underground, cos I find it so easy to use (but that may be because I use it regularly?)... the only thing I don't like is that tickets are pretty expensive.

The Paris Metro was excellent too, easy to use, reasonably priced tickets, and really frequent trains. My only bad thing to say is that I once saw a woman breastfeeding a 5 year old in one of the trains, haha.

I also found the subway in Berlin very good, I was never far from a stop.

**expatben** · 07-15-2007, 09:28 AM

I would say Berlin has an excellent underground system. I like Toronto's as well it may not cover the whole city but its easy to use and cheap.

I hate the London underground most the time-its really confusing and expensive.
The Paris underground is OK its a mixed bag really depending on time/stop/destination and whether you can get an express train.

**Esterina** · 07-16-2007, 07:50 AM

I heard the most beautiful was Moscow's, but I haven't seen it yet

**omisan** · 07-17-2007, 01:25 AM

Favorites:
London (for sentimentality, and usability)
Paris (the smoooooth ride of rubber wheels)
Barcelona (smooth, clean, fast)
New York (runs 24 hours thanks to 4-tube system, convenient, despite asshole MTA workers)

Least favorite:
San Francisco (Muni's underground stretch is only about 2 miles!)
Prague (some pretty stations - a carbon copy of Moscow's, but too many people pissing in the station, even in daytime hours, and confusing ticketing)
Sydney (can we get some AC in here please?)

**TheJake** · 07-17-2007, 01:50 AM

Best I have been on are Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. More so Buenos Aires though.

The chi-town metro does it's job. It's not clean and it's not a subway but it gets ya around.

**c0urt** · 07-23-2007, 06:06 PM

is this not the best subway entrance EVER!!!

**Brookers13** · 07-24-2007, 08:20 PM

i love the london underground...so big and yet so easy! plus i absolutely love hearing "mind the gap"

barcelonas is really easy to use also and quick

**IDDQD** · 07-24-2007, 08:59 PM

I really dig Taipei's MRT. Its relatively new so its not out-of-date and or dirty. They keep it very clean and its extremely easy to use. And now the mainstation is the hub for the subway, busses, regular train and the speed train. Its incredibly convenient.

Also worth mentioning are the Taiwanese coach busses. Every seat is the size of a first class flight seat and extremely comfortable. They all have personal televisions with movies on demand as well as a controller for the 100 or so 16-bit video games the tvs have. And each seat has its own big headphones. Its my favorite way to travel here, even more than the speed train.

**pinknic38** · 07-25-2007, 01:23 PM

I know it isn't exactly a subway (though the red line is under ground for a little while), I am quite partial to Chicago's el system. A lot of people find it scary especially in the winter, but when I lived in Chicago, the el took good care of me. Prices went up early 2006 but if you had the Chicago card and reloaded it you payed the old price.

And I am with you all on DC's subway system and London. Haven't been to Spain to try theirs out but I am hoping to at some point.

good topic, ps

**simply_angelic** · 07-26-2007, 10:06 AM

Am I the only retarded person on this board who had difficulty with the Paris Metro?! There was one stop where I couldnt for the life of me find the right hallway to get where I wanted to go....

My fav has to be london simply because 1. it's so gosh darn british in every sign and 2. the escalator goes on forrreeeeeeeeveeeeeeer

**lauren313** · 07-26-2007, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simply_angelic

My fav has to be london simply because 1. it's so gosh darn british in every sign and 2. the escalator goes on forrreeeeeeeeveeeeeeer

Haha, I was in London this weekend, and my friends and I stepped onto different escalators. The journey to the top took so long we played charades across to each other.

Did you ever go to Covent Garden and walk up all the stairs? It's either queue forever to get into the lift, then get some dodgy bloke pushing up against you, or walk up 193 steps. Nice choice.

**maracle** · 07-26-2007, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lauren313

Haha, I was in London this weekend, and my friends and I stepped onto different escalators. The journey to the top took so long we played charades across to each other.

Did you ever go to Covent Garden and walk up all the stairs? It's either queue forever to get into the lift, then get some dodgy bloke pushing up against you, or walk up 193 steps. Nice choice.

Has anyone seen this video? Its a bit of a faster way to get down the stairs:

xanthuos · 07-26-2007, 11:31 AM

In the US, I've ridden the systems in NY/NJ, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, LA, Portland OR, Minneapolis, Atlanta. The only systems I've ridden internationally recently were Stockholm, Helsinki, London, and Montreal...so it's hard to really compare when I haven't ridden on some of the systems mentioned here (Paris Metro, Barcelona, Athens) either in MANY years or ever.

As for in the United States, I love the New York subway system. Sure, some of the stations might have a little piss smell. Sure, they aren't the cleanest. However, it runs 24-7 (as Omi said), it's comparatively cheap, and it goes damn near anywhere you'd want to go. I'm often in NY and it's just about the only way I travel around the city. One ride on the NY Subway system is $2 US. Now cash fares on the tube are 4 quid - that's $8! FOUR times the cost of NY!

Chicago's El system is great especially since it connects to both airports (O'Hare & Midway) so you're not stuck taking an expensive AirTrain or cab. The other domestic systems are OK, but offer limited service.

**omisan** · 07-26-2007, 03:55 PM

[[Has anyone seen this video? Its a bit of a faster way to get down the stairs:]]

hahah.. every time I see the smooth part between the escalators, I want to do that!