Estacion Internacional de Canfranc, Aragon, Spain

4.5 (927 reviews) Spent 1-2 hours Ranking #1 in Aragon Historic Sites • Points of Interest & Landmarks • Architectural Buildings

Great building! Very interesting history!

Estación Internacional de Canfranc is the tren station located in the little town called Canfranc near the border between Spain and France, in the Pyrenees. It was built in the beginning of the 20th Century, but it was inaugurated in 1928 and due to the Spanish War and 2nd World War it could not be used until some years after. Really it has a brief, but very interesting history. Also, years after, this place was not used as a very important border point, so the train station was abandoned and bad preserved. Nowadays, it is an impressive building, where you can learn about the history of the region in a guided visit, but only you can see one of the rooms with original furniture, because it was being restored and in a near future converted in a 5* hotel. In fact, nowadays, you can go to Zaragoza from here in a long travel in one of the five or six trains, which arrive there everyday. A hidden gem (an for me an unknown place) in the region. A top building and history!
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Address

Avenida de Fernando el Catolico 2, 22880 Canfranc Spain

Mobile

+34 974 37 31 41

Website

http://www.canfranc.es/turismo

Email

[email protected]

Current local date and time now

Wednesday, May 15, 2024, 4:53

User Ratings

4.5 based on (927 reviews)

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Reviews

5Sally Kate 5:00 PM Jan 17, 2020
Monumental!
Canfranc was a smallish village near the Aragonese border in the central Pyrenees. Towards the end of the 19th century it was decided that a railway line should be built across the mountain pass, the last stage being an eight-kilometre tunnel opening out into the steep, narrow valley of Arañones. On the 18th July 1928, King Alfonso XIII inaugurated the massive station building, designed to impress travellers with its grandeur and modernity. The railway line in France was closed when a bridge fell down in 1970, but in Spain trains have continued to run, slowly and not very frequently, but they run. The station, on the other hand, was allowed to go to rack and ruin until recently, when the Aragonese government bought it. A fair amount of work has been done and more will be needed, but what we saw was truly impressive. A guide took us in and explained the history of the building and the adventures of the railway in both Civil and World War. Depth interesting and worthwhile.
5titfa 5:00 PM Sep 21, 2021
Stunning architecture
When we visited in September 2021 it still is not possible to enter the building as it is under renovation but from outside it is amazing. Pass through the building towards the new station and walk to the old tunnel entrance which is now used as escape tunnel for the new road tunnel. Cafe opposite has good old photos of the station as was