Madrid Puerta de Atocha: if there is a sweeter spot to wait for your train than this station in central Madrid, I’ve yet to find it. The biggest railway station in Spain was the first to be built in the capital in 1851 – although it’s now actually three stations in one.
As the city’s need for a larger station grew, the rail hub was remodelled in the 1980s and mirrored the urban renewal in the surrounding space. Architect Rafael Moneo (who also revamped the nearby Prado museum) took the greenhouse-style roof as inspiration to create an abundant, 4,000-square-metre tropical garden with more than 7,200 plants growing under the natural light.
