The “Estación de Francia” is one of the icons of civil architecture in Barcelona.

Located at the Avenue of Marqués de Argentera, in the district of Ciutat Vella and close to the Parc de la Ciudadela, Estación de Francia  is cataloged as Cultural Property of Local Interest, thanks to its metallic structure in modernist style that gives that characteristic image of the stations of that era. Constructed with materials such as marble and bronze, with three large domes decorating the hallway and its decorative stained glass windows, Estacion de Francia is one of the standards of civil architecture in the Ciudad Condal. An excellent setting for a photo shooting or an audiovisual production due to its monumental beauty and its elegance that is often compared with the Parisian station of Orsay.

The “Estacion de Francia”  is rebuilt on the old Barcelona-Término station ( Final Station) , originally as the main terminus for trains arriving from France (as its name still suggests), but also for services to North East Catalonia and the Costa Brava. Nowadays it is a starting point from many regional lines of Catalonia and long distance trains with destination as Valencia and Alicante and is now the second station of importance of traffic after Sants.

Re-built and re-opened for the 1929 International Exhibition, the two monumental buildings that make up the station were designed by the architect Pedro Muguruza and Raimon Duran i Reynals and inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII. They surround the 12 railway tracks in the shape of a ‘U’. In total, the station’s structure is 29m tall and 195m long. During the Civil war the station also suffered great damages that forced to its later reconstruction. The station was closed for renovation between from 1988 and 1992, reopening for the Olympic Games of 1992.

Its large, nineteenth-century lobby with its huge clock is a perfect space for all kinds of activities, such as different types of fairs and markets as Zoo Urban Market that are given during the year and it even hosted a Music festival a few years ago.

A funny fact to know is the existence of the statues of owls in some cornices of the station with its sole aim of scaring the pigeons, but additionally it gives this extra personality and beauty.