No station to admire, but try not being impressed by the view from the platforms at Durham station. It's perhaps THE single place from which to get a view of the city.

The thread's about BEAUTIFUL railway stations.

Personally, I'm underwhelmed by the pix I've seen of Berlin, but let's put that down to orneriness.

But no-one could put Milton Keynes Central on ANY list of stations meriting anything other than instant demolition.

And I've yet to see ANY purpose-bult TGV station that can hold a candle to almost anything built between 1830 and 1860.

Limoges. I can't remember too many others, though I frequently travel by train in Europe. That must mean I didn't think they were particularly beautiful. Or I have a bad memory.

>> Okay, let me repeat, using Brussels Central-am I missing something here? <<

Well, not all train stations in the world have been built by Horta, have they ?

It has very beautiful Art Déco styling. It's certainly somewhat dirty and run-down, although it has undergone massive refurbishment.

But it's my personal taste after all - I'm extremely fond of Art Déco and of train stations.

Interesting site with a lot of stations from the US, and some European stations as well:

http://tinyurl.com/385yya

toss up between Amsterdam & Antwerp

Yes, I'm aware that Brussels Centrale was designed by Horta, except that there is nothing about this station that commends itself to me on an aesthetic or artistic level, period. In fact it looks like crap.

<And I've yet to see ANY purpose-bult TGV station that can hold a candle to almost anything built between 1830 and 1860.>

that's not the opinion of many architects who rave about Lyon Satolas station for one. Old is neat but it's not a prerequisite for being beautiful or striking.

I've seen most of those listed. And some are beauties. But if you want to see how well we can build a station in America, you have only to see the main station in Omaha, Nebraska. This temple has been turned into one of the most beautiful, exciting, and fun museums to railroading anywhere. It far surpasses the railway museum in York, England, a great tribute to the country where railroading began.

some of to me the most beautiful train stations in Europe are in fact in the U.K. - largely the brick-built ones on the Overground in London area - in part because of neglect they've never been really modernized but i just love these small commuter stations in spite of the plethora of publicity obscuring their bricks.

For the beautiful interior, I'd vote for Antwerp. For the view when you come out of the station, Edinburgh.

As for the most horrible, I think it's a toss-up between St Lazare and Brussels Central.

Liverpool in London has beautiful pillars and ceiling.
Munich hbf is butt-ugly.

Antwerp, of course.

The whole of the Moscow underground system.

Palaces for the People!

Logandog - the Victorian glass roof at Liverpool Street Station was restored a few years back - I think one of the big city firms paid for the work.

My mum told me that that when she commuted into London back in the 60's the roof was permanantly filthy from the steam trains and no-one had any idea what lay underneath!

Probably equal parts steam trains and coal smoke from the million or two fireplaces in London homes.

Before Smokeless Zones were introduced in the '60s, London's famous "fog" (what yanks call "smog") killed hundreds of people every year.

I like the one about the d'Orsay.
There was one man where I formerly worked who was a travel snob. He liked to impress people with where all he had been.

He asked me once what was the best train station in Paris, and did I want a post card from the Louvre. Another fellow who knew what I meant reinforced me when I told him that the art work in the old train station known as Gare d'Orsay was beautiful.

Someone told the story on him that he got to involved in the paintings he missed his train, which was leaving from Gare Montparnasse. Oops, wrong station.

He is the same guy set out to drive from Rome to Florence. He got lost trying to find it. He was on the Autostrada and the signs pointed to Firenze. He wanted Florence. He got suspicious when he saw a sign for Pisa. That, he had heard of.

Hey, not sure about the train stations, but what about car parking buildings? There is a terrific one in Ulm in Germany - a painted red carpet in the middle, beautiful murals on the walls representing the old and new Ulm, spotlessly clean, and even a mini museum of artifacts found in the ruins from the bombing in WW2. We found it quite amazing.

Ah...car parks. I enjoy parking at the top level of the Mythen Center in Schwyz. Depending where you park, you look at the beautiful Mythen or the Vierwaldstätterlake with its beautiful framing mountains.

it is interesting that someone mentioned Monaco;just across the border in San Remo, they did the same thing ( built a new station in the cliff) but it is one of the worst : moving sidewalks don't work - it is a long walk to the platforms from the station entrance, only TWO washrooms ( automatic - you have to have .50 euros to get in, no paper), less than twenty spots to sit down ( the train was late an hour)and so on.
The difference between the French and Italian side of the border in traffic, services, cleanliness, etc, was unexpected and , sorry to say, not in favor of Italy.