Town Hall Station has been named one of the World’s Most Beautiful Stations by the Prix Versailles, an international architecture award recognising outstanding design worldwide.
The station, located beneath Swanston Street and one of 5 underground stations built for the Metro Tunnel, joins a prestigious shortlist of railway station buildings from around the globe, including in Los Angeles, Riyadh, Rome and Lyon.
Town Hall Station's architectural design was led by Hassell, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, and Weston Williamson + Partners, creating a striking underground space that conveys a sense of openness and scale.
Built under City Square, the station concourse is punctuated by 8 giant columns, evoking tree branches holding up the canopy above and the hallway's cathedral-like ceiling.
Town Hall Station’s platforms are located more than 25m below street level and are 18m wide, among the widest underground metro platforms in the world. The spectacular 10m high copper-coloured ceiling arches feature chandelier lights designed and made in Melbourne.
Announced each year at UNESCO since 2015, the Prix Versailles is a series of architectural competitions that celebrate some of the finest contemporary projects worldwide.
Other Melbourne stations previously recognised by the Prix Versailles include Reservoir and Bell stations.
Prix Versailles Secretary General Jerome Gouadain said the annual list illustrated how excellence in design could progress new urban spaces.
"In the realm of transport stations, the stakes are high when it comes to creating cultural expressions that are simultaneously beautiful, fashionable and sustainable, that reinforce passenger mobility whilst revitalising local neighbourhoods, and that support modernisation whilst showing respect for existing architecture," he said.
Three passenger stations from the 2026 list will also receive the further distinction of a world title, Prix Versailles, Interior or Exterior, to be awarded at the UNESCO headquarters on Thursday 10 December.
Metro Tunnel opened to passengers in November 2025, with 5 new underground train stations; Anzac, Town Hall, State Library, Parkville and Arden.
