Barcelona Estació de França - Carrer del Comerç, Barcelona

The morning walk from the Museu Picasso (which we were unable to visit as tickets on available for the time we showed up without pre-booking them) towards the Parc de la Ciutadella.

Was hardly anyone around at this time of the morning!

A quiet Carrer del Comerç.

Barcelona Estació de França - thought this was a theatre, but it is a railway station!

Estació de França (Catalan pronunciation: [əstəsiˈo ðə ˈfɾansə]; Spanish: Estación de Francia; "France Station") is a major railway station in the city of Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain.

Estació de França is the second busiest railway station of the city after Barcelona-Sants in terms of regional and long-distance ridership. It may lose this status, however, with the arrival of the AVE high-speed train in Sants and the construction of Estació de la Sagrera, planned for completion at the end of 2017, that will concentrate most of the traffic.

A railway station was first built here in the 19th century 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.

Rebuilt and reopened for the 1929 International Exhibition, the two monumental buildings that make up the station were designed by the architect Pedro Muguruza and inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII. They surround the railway tracks in the shape of a 'U'. In total, the station's structure is 29 m tall and 195 m long. The station was closed for renovation between from 1988 and 1992, reopening for the Olympic Games of 1992.

It is generally seen as the city's most beautiful station. It is worth seeing in its own right for the restrained mix of classical and more modern style that is complete with decoration in marble, bronze and crystal and its modernista and art déco motifs. Over the last three decades it has been eclipsed as Barcelona's main station by the underground sprawl of Sants. Indeed, most other stations of Barcelona are at least partly underground.

The station's status as the terminus for international trains from and through France ended with the discontinuance of the trenhotels in 2013, which coincided with the introduction of the new high-speed daytime services to Paris, Toulouse, Lyons and Marseilles, all of which call at or terminate at Sants.

Part of the original building now belongs to Pompeu Fabra University, serving as its "França building".

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Taken in: Spain / Catalonia / Barcelona (show map)

Taken on: May 18, 2019

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Barcelona

Catalonia

Spain

España

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trees

Carrer del Comerç

Barcelona Estació de França

Avenida Marqués de l´Argentera

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shutters

Barcelona França railway station

Estació de França

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Sets appears in: • Barcelona

Groups appears in: • Historical Buildings and Landmarks (No Limits) • " AMAZING TREES " more » • Buildings / Architecture - www.cevatzade.com « less

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ72, f/5.3, 1/400 sec, 25.8mm, ISO 160 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ72
Aperture:	f/5.3
Exposure Time:	0.003 sec (1/400)
Focal Length:	25.8mm
ISO:	160
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	Low gain up
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Ver.1.0
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