Créé par Emilie, le 7 mai 2026
Votre guide Ryo
© Shutterstock
If you love unique and surprising places, you absolutely must visit Atocha Station. Under its immense dome, you'll have the opportunity not only to discover a place that has modernized while retaining its old-world charm, but also to encounter some turtles swimming among a tropical garden located between the various platforms...
These ladies move among the palm trees in a pond populated with goldfish that will delight young and old alike. Window shopping enthusiasts won't be left out, with dozens of fashion boutiques available to you as well as numerous dining venues.
A great way to combine business with pleasure if you need to go to the station for travel from Madrid or if you're looking for a place to visit when passing through the city.
What to see at Atocha Station?
1 – The Tropical Garden of Atocha Station
This 4,000 m2 botanical garden, displaying thousands of varied plants from America, Asia, and Australia, was created in 1992. About 7,000 exotic plants grow in this formerly abandoned part of the station.
Among the trees, you can spot: breadfruit trees, Polynesian coconut palms, royal palms, Cuban mahogany trees, Brazilian rubber trees, carnivorous plants, coffee trees, cacao trees, bird of paradise flowers... As for the ponds, they are covered with water lilies.
2 – The Turtles of Atocha Station
These turtles from North America and South America have a very particular history.
They weren't bought from professionals or zoos, but are the result of a rescue organized by biologists who found them in Madrid's streams and rivers where they had been abandoned by unscrupulous owners who had simply decided to get rid of them. A second life is given to them in this landscaped garden as well as in a nearby animal park, as their population has grown very quickly!
And with a bit of luck, you might spot another small inhabitant of the tropical greenhouse with fluffy ears and reddish fur: the red squirrel with its tufted ears.
3 – The Historic Building
This magnificent red brick building with its glass roof makes it an ideal tropical greenhouse and a particularly photogenic site.
The Brief History of Atocha Station
The current Atocha Station has nothing in common with the original one built in 1851, which was then just a simple wooden platform. The original building suffered the ravages of a fire in 1864, and it was decided to rebuild it, which was done from 1888 to 1892 according to architect Alberto Palacio's plans with support from Gustave Eiffel for the construction of the canopy.
It is a true masterpiece of 19th-century railway architecture. The latest modifications were made from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s to accommodate underground suburban train lines and mainlines on the surface.