North Station (Estación del Norte)

Welcome to Valencia through the front door. The North Station, opened on 8 August 1917, is one of the jewels of Valencian Modernisme, and its façade tells you straight away where you are: oranges, orange leaves and orange blossom everywhere.

1An architect with a Viennese eye

The 1906 design is by the Valencian Demetrio Ribes, architect to the Compañía de los Caminos de Hierro del Norte de España, the Northern Railway Company. Ribes knew the Vienna Secession well, and it shows in the geometric shapes and in the way he uses ceramics as decoration. The great metal canopy over the tracks, some 24 metres high, is the work of Enrique Grasset.

2A station that speaks Valencian

The decoration is almost a catalogue of all things Valencian: oranges, the city's coat of arms, mosaics by José Mongrell and ceramics from La Ceramo factory in the Benicalap district. In the vestibule, mosaics wish departing travellers “bon voyage” in several languages. It is well worth stepping inside to see the wood, the tiles and the light.

3A monument still at work

Far from being a museum, it is still the city's main station for commuter and regional trains, used by millions of passengers every year. It is protected as a Bien de Interés Cultural, a listed heritage monument.

Few stations in the world are so proud of the fruit of their land.

4What to look for

• The ceramic oranges along the top of the façade.
• The eagle crowning the central section.
• The bullring, right next door, dating from the mid-nineteenth century.