Villejuif-Gustave Roussy Station Redefines Travel Excellence as World’s Most Beautiful Transit Hub with Groundbreaking Design and Stunning Architectural Innovation

Published on December 9, 2025

Villejuif-Gustave Roussy station has been crowned the world’s most beautiful travel hub, thanks to its groundbreaking design and architectural brilliance. Situated 50 meters underground in Paris’s eco-friendly Campus Grand Parc district, this stunning station seamlessly blends modernity and innovation, making it a flagship of the Grand Paris Express project. Its striking features, including a vast central glass canopy, stainless-steel walls that amplify natural light, and an artful solar-clock installation, elevate the passenger experience while redefining the future of underground transit. With its combination of form and function, Villejuif-Gustave Roussy not only enhances the city’s metro system but also sets a new global standard for architectural excellence in transportation.

A new station on Paris’s Line 14, Villejuif-Gustave Roussy, has earned the prestigious title of the most beautiful station in the world, awarded by the Prix Versailles, an international architecture award supported by UNESCO. Opened in January 2025, Villejuif-Gustave Roussy claimed the top spot in the “Gares et Stations” category, setting a new benchmark for architectural excellence and showcasing the vision of the Grand Paris Express design program.

Nestled 50 meters underground in the eco-conscious Campus Grand Parc district, Villejuif-Gustave Roussy is a masterpiece crafted by renowned architect Dominique Perrault. As the deepest station in France, it offers an awe-inspiring architectural design, characterized by a vast central glass canopy that allows natural daylight to stream down to the underground platforms. This unique feature is not just a design choice, but a deliberate effort to enhance the passenger experience by infusing the subterranean space with a sense of openness and light.

The station’s walls, crafted from stainless steel with both polished and satin finishes, play a pivotal role in amplifying the daylight. The interplay of reflections, which shifts throughout the day as the light changes, adds a dynamic visual quality to the space. The station’s vastness is complemented by its functional design, which includes 32 escalators, some of which stretch as far as 40 meters, alongside 16 lifts, ensuring smooth passenger flow. A wide 70-meter central void runs through the station, which is partially open to the sky, bringing in more natural light and combating the typically enclosed feeling of underground transport hubs.

The Prix Versailles jury commended the Villejuif-Gustave Roussy station for its harmonious blend of scale, technical innovation, and aesthetic appeal. It is designed to handle up to 100,000 passengers daily, making it a critical transportation hub in the region. The station’s combination of functionality and beauty reflects the grand ambitions of the Grand Paris Express, a project set to radically transform the city’s metro system by introducing 68 new stations across the Île-de-France region.

Art plays a significant role in enhancing the station’s charm. A solar-clock installation, designed by Dominique Perrault in collaboration with Chilean artist Iván Navarro, is located on level -1. This striking piece consists of 58 illuminated boxes that incorporate mirrors, neon lighting, and astronomical symbols, offering passengers a cosmic visual experience as they pass through the station. The installation adds a layer of artistic sophistication, aligning with the station’s role not just as a transport hub, but as a cultural space.

Villejuif-Gustave Roussy is one of the standout projects in the Grand Paris Express initiative, which aims to improve connectivity across the capital and its surrounding areas. The station’s design highlights the importance of integrating art, sustainability, and innovation into infrastructure projects, setting a new standard for the future of transportation architecture. Another key station in the expansion, Saint-Denis-Pleyel, located at the northern terminus of Line 14, was also shortlisted for the Prix Versailles, underlining the global recognition of France’s metro development.

Beyond the Villejuif-Gustave Roussy station, several other French projects garnered accolades in the 2025 Prix Versailles awards. In the Restaurants category, Ducasse Baccarat in Paris claimed first place, while Nice’s Hôtel du Couvent received a special interior design award in the Hotels category. Marseille-Provence Airport’s Terminal 1 and the Colisée in Chartres also received special recognition for their innovative designs, with the Colisée’s green roof being particularly lauded for its sustainable approach.

Villejuif-Gustave Roussy station has earned the title of the world’s most beautiful travel hub, showcasing innovative design and architectural brilliance. Its unique features, including a striking glass canopy and dynamic stainless-steel walls, set a new standard for underground transit.

The Villejuif-Gustave Roussy station’s recognition by the Prix Versailles is a testament to the ongoing transformation of Paris’s public transport infrastructure, demonstrating how art and architecture can enhance the daily lives of millions. It serves as a model for future developments in the Grand Paris Express project and beyond, setting a high bar for both aesthetic and functional design in transportation. With its fusion of cutting-edge technology, artistic expression, and sustainable principles, the Villejuif-Gustave Roussy station represents the future of urban transit.