Canfranc International railway station

Canfranc International Station, opened in 1928 in the Spanish Aragonese Pyrenees, stretches 241 metres in a grand neoclassical facade — built as a monumental gateway between Spain and France at a time when cross-border rail travel was a geopolitical ambition. The line's decline was sealed by a bridge collapse on the French side in 1970, leaving the main building stranded and slowly decaying for decades, a fate that gave it an almost cinematic aura of abandonment. A luxury hotel opened in the restored main building in January 2023, breathing new life into the grand halls, while a smaller regional station continues to operate in an adjacent outbuilding pending the planned full reopening of the cross-border route around 2035. The surrounding Pyrenean terrain draws trail runners and hikers — the station served as the hub for the 2025 Trail and Mountain Running World Championships.