Nicest European Train Stations you have visited

[Rab Smith]

So, just posted the least favourite Train Stations in Europe, what's your most pleasant?
I have a few. Basle, Zurich, Bordeaux and Vienna but my favourite i visited recently is Rotterdam Centraal. Lovely Station with lots of shops and eating places. The exterior has none of your typical dodgy characters hanging around outside. Dutch Stations just seem to be a lot more pleasant.

 

[SonOfDad]

I might join you with a Dutch one; Groningen always puts a spring in my step as it is quite charming and links up so well with the feeling of arriving in a lively university city. I don't hear much about Leipzig but I thought it was very handsome, and then Berlin Hauptbahnhof with the way it just whisks you up to the S-Bahn and suddenly all of the city is at your pleasure.

 

[dutchflyer]

Thanks for this compliment-but mine, in a tunnel a few stops north of Rotterdam is not among them.
In that case I would say the central of the country, Utrecht, would rank even slightly better: more shops, more busy, and above the tracks, whereas Rtm is underneath. AND Utrecht-but that will appeal more to dutch, also has a very, very lively free book-exchange smack in its middle-must be one of he busiest in the whole country of such free give away boards. Den Haag C and Nijmegen and Heerlen also have one. Some are even in a railway-designed model. NS once, years ago, had a campaign to stimulate reading real books on board-and once bought the remains of a failed bookshop for its passengers to make a free grab in.
for me as being dutch more exotic and out of the country: Praha HN and Wroclaw Glowny.

 

[ABB125]

Whilst not a "this is really nice" station, I was pleasantly surprised by the area outside Brasov station - suitably grand communist-era urban design, with no noticeable problems. At platform level, though, not quite so nice, appears to be half way through some sort of building work that's seemingly stopped...

Martigny, Salzburg Hbf and Åre are definitely up there as good stations (though I appreciate that Åre is somewhat small!)

 

[peteb]

Arth-Goldau in Switzerland is one of my favourite railway junctions. It has plenty of facilities and a distinct resemblance to Carnforth as seen in Brief Encounter, particularly on a foggy evening.

 

[High Dyke]

I had chance to visit a few stations in the Netherlands last week. I can agree about Rotterdam Centraal, with its futuristic design. The concourse area at Delft is nice, though the platform level is a bit bland. Others, for me include Den Haag HS and the old Delft station building (now a restaurant).




Images:
Den Haag HS station frontage
Den Haag HS interior  
Delft Concourse
Former Delft station

 

[sir_gummerz]

I really love Berlin Hbf. I know its got its issues, but having 2 levels of paltforms visible at one time from inbetween the floors is amazing, can look up or down and see trains. Lots of shops and food.

The lower level platforms are what I think birmingham new street could somewhat try to imitate in a hypothetical rebuild, really would open the place up.

 

[43096]

I’ll vote for:
Leipzig Hbf
Berlin Hbf
Praha hl.n.

And at the other end of the size scale, Alp Grüm.

 

[Austriantrain]

In Austria, my favourite is Salzburg. They really did an excellent job integrating the old and the new.

 

[Amalie]

In terms of stations I’ve had the pleasure of visiting, these are a handful of notable ones not mentioned yet:

Liége-Guillements:
The scale of that arch above makes the station feel significantly more grand than the just 9 platforms it serves. That being said, it’s notably not that comfortable, there’s not much in the way of shops, it can get cold, and rain can get through with some wind.

Arnhem centraal:
The platforms themselves are quite futuristic, but the station concourse and exterior with its flowing lines are what’s really impressive. There’s not much in the way of station amenities though.

Antwerpen-Centraal:
There’s something really special about taking the escalator up and seeing an intermediate level of trains. The beautiful old concourse up front is of course also a highlight.

Rotterdam Blaak:
Someone else mentioned Centraal already, which is also nice, but I found this 70s styled mostly underground station oddly charming with its colourful platforms, murals, and lighting. It also has a small archeological display of some historical items they found during construction. It might not be the most interesting train station, but in terms of underground train stations (excluding metro stations that is), it’s probably one of the more nicer ones.

Amsterdam Centraal:
A beautiful but not be a particularly unique looking station. But I’ll let you in on a lesser known secret that is bound to improve your experience. For the price of a (mediocre) coffee, can you get access to one of the most best looking and charming (defacto) station waiting rooms in the Netherlands. Go to platform 2 on the East side, that is on the actual platform, not the concourse, and keep walking east until you see a sign for aforementioned mediocre coffee. You might hesitate at the sign, but enter it anyway. Trust me, you’re not here for the quality of the coffee. You will need to exit the OV-chipkaart gate however.

 

[yorksrob]

I liked Utrecht. Big concourse over the platforms with plenty of eateries.

I always think we should do something similar with Peterborough.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I was impressed by Toledo station, lots of characterful Andalusian/Mudejar features in the 1919 design.
It's also a quiet station with just the hourly Avant high speed service to Madrid Atocha.
To add to the mood, the hop-on/off bus starts there and circles the city above the river gorge before climbing up to the Alcazar.
It's even half-price for seniors!
Avila is another handsome country station in Spain, on the old Norte route to Valladolid/Salamanca.

I was stunned by Sao Bento terminus in Porto, with amazing azulejo decorations and murals in the outer concourse, with wide views of the city outside.
The station just sees local traffic though, with the main railway interest at the unremarkable Campanha station out of the city centre.

 

[ThisIsSurbiton]

Antwerpen-Centraal:
There’s something really special about taking the escalator up and seeing an intermediate level of trains. The beautiful old concourse up front is of course also a highlight.

Easily one of the best!

As mentioned, Toledo is lovely. A nice bar as well . Madrid Atocha was nice and could be again, a mess at the moment. Barcelona's Estació de França is a proper station, even if you can't go to France any more.

 

[Iskra]

Milano Centrale
Agrigento
Taormina
Porto Sao Bento

I have feint memories of Stockholm Central being nice, at least the facade was very grand.

 

[MikeFromLFE]

Amalie has mentioned Antwerp - great experience and a really good & affordable cafe

 

[tony6499]

Luzern is nice but incredibly expensive for a drink, always enjoyed changing at Zurich but stupidly expensive too

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Nürnberg Hbf was a pleasant place to change trains. Some decent (and not overpriced) shops, a model railway display, and (at the time I visited) even some cats!
Bordeaux Saint Jean looked to have impressive architecture, unfortunately I was on the Sleeper so only got to see it from inside my compartment.

Köln Hbf was mentioned in the other thread, but the station itself is rather nice. It's also very well placed for the commercial heart of the city. Maybe not the most friendly late at night though admittedly.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Rare for Belgian railways to feature in this sort of thread given that most of SNCB/NMBS is either boring 1970s-1990s identikit stuff or run down, vandalised dumps, but in my view Antwerpen Centraal takes some beating, a practical and modern conversion of a beautiful classic building.

 

[soccermad]

Amalie has mentioned Antwerp - great experience and a really good & affordable cafe

I agree 100%

 

[Sir Felix Pole]

Valencia Nord is another glorious Spanish station - and is currently undergoing extensive restoration. It would be nice if an 'Antwerp' could be done done here with low-level platforms for through services, rather than having to trudge down the road for the 'temporary' and miserable AVE station.

For smaller stations, some on the Algeciras line are very pretty as is the larger Ronda - with a familiar style as befits a formerly British owned line. Most of the British style semaphore signalling has gone now, however.

Madrid's Príncipe Pío (former terminus of the Norte) is quite grand - although spoilt a bit by the metro - and is currently reverting to its former role - taking some regional trains whilst Chamartin is rebuilt. Also on the Norte, Vitoria/Gastiez station looks as if it should be in Northern England somewhere with its sturdy canopies, rather than in the Basque country.

 

[cactustwirly]

Rare for Belgian railways to feature in this sort of thread given that most of SNCB/NMBS is either boring 1970s-1990s identikit stuff or run down, vandalised dumps, but in my view Antwerpen Centraal takes some beating, a practical and modern conversion of a beautiful classic building.

I don't think that is fair, from my observations it looks better than most DB stations

I guess there is a big difference between Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders with the latter culturally closer to the Netherlands

 

[StephenHunter]

Basel SBB is very pleasant - good variety of stock to see as well.

 

[Joshua_Harman]

Not big trains as such, but I love some of the stations on the 2nd line of the Warsaw metro, how everyone is a different distinct colour, my personal favourite being ‘świętokrzyska’

 

[Pegpilot]

Another vote for Amalie. Arnhem takes your breath away. And Antwerp had a similar impact on me.

 

[Andy1978]

Oslo and Copenhagen both nice.

 

[D6130]

My top twenty....in no particular order:

Milano Centrale

Prato Centrale

Livorno Centrale

Genova Piazza Principe

Firenze Santa Maria Novella

Antwerpen Central

Paris Gare de Lyon

Bordeaux St Jean

Rodez

Figeac

Capdenac

Agrigento Centrale

Taormina-Giardini

Köln Hbf

Luzern Hb

Basel SBB

Praha Hl. N.

Praha Marysykova

Budapest Keleti

Budapest Nyugati

 

[Rab Smith]

I spent half an hour walking round Antwerp Station, it was incredible. Milan Centrale is spectacular as well in terms of architecture. Not so much so the dodgy characters who hang around the Piazza outside!

 

[Golghar]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_Saarow_station

As for architecture, this art nouveau gem not far from Berlin is my favourite. The platform under the colonnade is a nice touch for a spa town.

 

[bkhtele]

In no particular order:

No1 "Antwerpen Centraal takes some beating, a practical and modern conversion of a beautiful classic building."
No.2 " Liége-Guillements:
The scale of that arch above makes the station feel significantly more grand than the just 9 platforms it serves. That being said, it’s notably not that comfortable, there’s not much in the way of shops, it can get cold, and rain can get through with some wind" & it is a good walk to town!
No 3. Strasbourg- with it's glass covering extending the concourse
No 4 Berlin Hbr "I really love Berlin Hbf. I know its got its issues, but having 2 levels of paltforms visible at one time from inbetween the floors is amazing, can look up or down and see trains. Lots of shops and food."

 

[SephenWorceste]

Nimes is a favourite of mine. The Pont Du Gard is quite nice too for a parkway type station.