In whatever city we find ourselves, we include stations as one of the must-see points. Bus or train stations, all the same, it only matters to us that they are old buildings and that someone recommended them to us for a tour.
When we chose Madrid as the destination for the tour, in addition to visiting the royal palace, museums, parks (a friend also suggested a tour of Toledo), someone also recommended a tour of the Atocha station.
"It is very interesting, you will like it."
When we left the Estación del Arte Metro station and saw a sign with the name of the street on the building, we knew we were approaching the station building.
Probably now this restaurant that was located in that area has been moved, because my friend who went to Madrid and to whom I gave the name of the restaurant as a reference, said that last year she did not find that restaurant in that area...
Across the street from where we got off the metro, the dome-shaped building that was the Atoche station appeared.
We crossed the wide boulevard and approached a building of interesting architecture.
The friends who recommended her to us were right. She is very interesting.
But...
Architecture was not what they had in mind when they recommended us to visit that station.
We realized that when we passed the front door and stepped inside the botanical garden.
Yes, you read that right. We did not step into a building where you would expect to see trains and platforms, but we entered the proctor, which is a real botanical garden.
It is actually a botanical garden that is used as the lobby of a large railway station. People who travel take the opportunity to wait for their trains in this garden, as well as in some kind of park, and we, the tourists, who did not use the transport services, walked around this garden part of the station, took a few pictures, and without going out on the platforms, checked this location, which I now present and check as a pin in my worldmappin.
That this is a real botanical garden can be concluded from the various types of plants (mostly tropical), whose climate is adjusted by this steam, which we originally thought was smoke.
After walking around the ground floor, we took the escalator to the second floor, where there is an exit for the platforms, as well as a sculpture
Homage to the commercial agent, made by Francisco López Hemandez, which was placed in a place with the most beautiful view of the entire garden.
We took pictures next to the sculpture, and when we went outside the station building (ie, the botanical garden), we came across another sculpture that fits very well with the place where it is located. The sculpture is with suitcases, as an association with travel, and it encouraged us to promise that we will visit the Atecha station again on another occasion and then leave the platform for another city in Spain.
Thank you for stopping by my post and I hope you enjoyed the photos and the story I shared with you
All photos are my property, taken with a mobile phone