Estación de Atocha

Built as Madrid's main central rail station, Atocha was inaugurated on February 9, 1851, under the name Estaci�n de Mediod�a. After a fire in 1864, the station was revamped by Alberto de Palacio, a colleague of Gustave Eiffel, in a classic design of wrought iron and glass. It remained thus until Rafael Moneo's renovation for Spain's big year of 1992 (the Barcelona Olympics and the Seville Expo). The old structure could not cope with modern transport requirements, so it was filled with a tropical garden and caf�s to resemble a large and very elegant conservatory. An entirely new section was added for the high speed AVE and the cercan�as (the local rail network). METRO: Atocha