Europe’s greatest train stations

In Europe’s great cities, a station can be a destination in itself. Take a later train and discover these ‘railway cathedrals’.

Hlavní, Prague

Among the many things that took travellers’ breath away when Prague emerged from behind the Iron Curtain in the 1990s was the dramatic entrance to the city. Hlavní nádraží is one of many art nouveau gems in the city, even if its glory is obscured from the rest of town by a main road. The station’s lavishly decorated lobby and ornate ceilings create a superb first or last impression, and the terminus is slowly emerging from a major renovation.

Porte Dauphine, Paris

You may think that once you’ve seen the War of the Worlds-style art nouveau subway entrances at Paris’ Gare du Nord you can tick that theme off your Impressive Stations list. Think again: go to Porte Dauphine in the distant 16th arrondisement and be astonished not only that Hector Guimard turned his dream-like designs into reality but also that there are only two original examples left on the Metro network. The other, equally worth a look, is at Abbesses in Montmartre.

Santa Lucia, Venice

Such is the impact of the first view of Venice on exiting this station that some visitors (me included) have been known to walk back into this 1950s station building and stroll out into the sunshine again and again. The magic is instant. Venice suddenly becomes a reality, complete with its car-free soundtrack of vaporetto engines and the shouts of tour groups wandering across the canal quayside. Hot and sticky in summer and usually busy, the station is the gateway to one of the world’s wonders, and even though its 1950s halls and platforms are in need of a brush-up it remains one of the continent’s best places to pass through by train.

St Pancras International, London

Shiny, renovated St Pancras is one of London’s must-see sights, whether you’re hopping on a Eurostar to the continent or just treating yourself to a glass of fizz at the champagne bar stretching beside the platforms. Come anytime to stroll open-mouthed around the Barlow train shed, once the world’s largest enclosed space and now part of the world’s most jaw-dropping railway station.

Gare de Lyon, Paris

Gare de Lyon station remains a wonderful example of belle époque architecture, complete with the astonishingly ornate Le Train Bleu brasserie, surely the finest restaurant in any station anywhere in the world. Check out the nude statues symbolising Navigation, Steam, Electricity and Mechanics perched out front.