Madrid Atocha Railway Station

I remember the first time I went to Atocha during a school trip to Madrid, we went to the station only to see the lovely garden in the center of the building. It is very relaxing, with the water almost like foam and falling from the roof every now and then to keep a given level of humidity for the plants. It was incredible how quiet the station was compared to the other big railway stations in European capitals.

Atocha Railway station is Madrid's main station. It is now divided in three parts: one for the suburban trains (cercanías in Spanish), the Puerta de Atocha station (from where the fast trains go) and the Atocha Renfe one for the other trains. The original building is the one in the front, recently restored. A fire destroyed it partially.

One of the things that struck me the most the first time I visited Madrid was the Atocha Railway Station. It seems incredible but it is true, since I did not expect to find some sort of nice Botanical Garden there.

The station in itself is like any other, that is to say, it has hallways, boards indicating departures and arrivals of the trains and counters where one can buy tickets, but as soon as you go towards the exit, you suddenly find a huge space with a glass roof, full of plants. And these plants are not small, on the contrary, they are trees and huge plants as if they never ended.

High speed trains are amazing.

Amazing service and the punctuality is amazing.