Atocha Station

Walk into Madrid's main train station and you'll find yourself in a tropical rainforest. The old departure hall of Atocha — a soaring iron-and-glass train shed from the 19th century — now contains a 4,000-square-meter indoor botanical garden with over 7,000 plants representing more than 260 tropical species. Palm trees reach toward the glass ceiling, turtles paddle in a pond, and the humidity hits you like stepping off a plane in the Caribbean. It is, without question, the strangest train station in Europe.

This transformation happened because Madrid needed a bigger station. Between 1985 and 1992, architect Rafael Moneo designed a completely new high-speed rail terminal behind the old building, and rather than demolish the beautiful 19th-century iron hall, he converted it into a public garden and commercial space. The original train shed, with its elegant wrought-iron arches, now shelters a miniature jungle instead of locomotives. The turtles in the pond were rescued from Madrid's rivers and streams, where irresponsible pet owners had dumped them.

On March 11, 2004, the station was the site of Spain's worst terrorist attack. Coordinated bombings on four commuter trains killed 193 people and wounded nearly 2,000 more. A memorial forest of olive and cypress trees was planted outside the station, and inside, a cylindrical glass memorial tower rises from the lower concourse, inscribed with messages of condolence from around the world. It's a devastating and powerful space.

The station now serves as the southern terminus for Spain's AVE high-speed rail network, connecting Madrid to Barcelona, Seville, and dozens of other cities. Trains arrive and depart from the sleek modern platforms behind Moneo's addition, while the old hall hums with the quiet sounds of water, birdsong, and travelers pausing to wonder at a garden growing inside a train station.