Charming train journeys are on almost every traveller's wish list. And whether it's through lush countryside or rugged mountains, in the lap of luxury or standard class, every railway trip has to start – and stop – somewhere.

Click through this gallery to join our tour of the most beautiful train stations around the globe – from classical masterpieces to modern marvels...

Formerly known as Victoria Station, this Victorian Gothic Revival masterpiece is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most famous buildings in Mumbai. Built over 10 years from 1878, it's an outstanding example of how two cultures – British and Indian – influenced each other. British architects worked alongside Indian craftsmen to include details specific to Indian architectural tradition, like the remarkable stone dome and pointed arches typical of Indian palaces.

Opened in 1913, Grand Central was always intended to welcome the city's visitors with grandeur. Its lofty arches and marble façade hide practical design and innovative engineering that combine elegance with efficiency. The station invigorated Manhattan's Midtown and was seen as a splendid monument to the nation's financial, commercial and cultural capital. Today it's become one of New York City's best-known landmarks.

An important hub for high-speed trains travelling between Paris, Frankfurt and Dortmund, the breathtaking Liège-Guillemins station in Belgium is a modern masterpiece designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Completed in 2009, it has a vaulted glass, steel and white concrete canopy that covers five platforms and extends more than 476 feet (145m).

Often called the Gingerbread House, Dunedin station's white Oamaru limestone on black basalt rock gives it its characteristic appearance. Although no longer a working station, it remains one of Dunedin's most prominent landmarks and is open to the public to marvel at the ornate interiors and exterior. A restaurant takes up much of the ground floor and the adjacent car park is transformed into the Otago Farmers Market every Saturday.

Antwerpen-Centraal is an eclectic, ornate building from the outside and an engineering masterpiece from the inside. The stone-clad terminus building, finished in 1905, impresses with a vast dome above the waiting hall and modern tracks, built above each other on four levels. Considered one of the most beautiful stations in the world, it's a great example of how historic architecture and modern engineering can coexist in harmony.

Opened more than 90 years ago, the station's imposing façade is just one of its impressive details. Modelled after Union Station in Washington, D.C., Milano Centrale flung open its doors in 1931. Adorned with a number of sculptures, it's a mix of many architectural styles, most prominently Art Deco and Art Nouveau.

Located on the European side of Istanbul, this station was built in 1890 by the Oriental Railway as the eastern terminus of the Orient Express. Today the station only offers domestic services and houses a small museum with artefacts related to the Ottoman railways and the history of the station.

It's easy to see why this station is always ranked among the world's most beautiful. Its pastel green Beaux-Arts exterior, combined with marble pillars and wrought iron lattice work contribute to its ornate appearance. In addition to the train station, the building also has a museum and hosts regular music events.

Not all stations boast a tropical botanical garden and a turtle sanctuary. In fact, there's only one that does – Atocha station in Madrid.

The original building dates back to 1851 and the garden occupies what was the old train landing area prior to the station's expansion. There are more than 7,000 plants from around 260 different species living under the arched skylight. You'll also find a large selection of shops, cafés and a nightclub around the perimeter.

A stunning example of Helsinki's Art Nouveau buildings, this station was opened in 1919. Defined by its imposing central arch, high clock tower and two pairs of statues holding lamps on either side of the entrance, the station is Finland's most visited building thanks to its large commuter and tourist numbers. It's also estimated that more than 400,000 people a day check the time on the clock tower when passing the station.

Designed by Pierre Cuypers, also the architect of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, this station is a combination of Gothic and Renaissance-Revival styles. Designed to celebrate and glorify the country's economic and colonial power at the time, the building first opened in 1889 and has been an unmissable attraction ever since.

Another stunning example of mixing varied styles, this Neo-Moorish building with an Islamic exterior and a typical Victorian-era English interior is among Kuala Lumpur's most photographed landmarks. While the building was under construction there was a considerable delay because the rooftop design didn't meet British standards. It had to be able to support three feet (1m) of snow – pretty unlikely considering the city's year-round hot and humid weather.

Opened in 1916, the real beauty of this train station lies inside. The main hall's walls are covered in more than 20,000 blue and white tiles depicting Portugal's history. The azulejo ceramic tiles were painted by a famous artist, Jorge Colaco, and took 11 years to finish. Built on the site of a former Benedictine monastery, it's the gateway to the picturesque Douro Valley.

The third busiest station in France, Paris's Gare de Lyon was built for the 1900 Paris Exposition and is a perfect example of the period's architecture. The building's 220-foot-tall (67m) clock tower rises high above the Place Louis-Armand and resembles the style of the Elizabeth Tower, usually known as Big Ben, in London. The station is also home to the legendary restaurant Le Train Bleu that's been serving food and drink to travellers since 1901.

Kanazawa Station in Japan is a perfect blend of modern architecture and tradition, and symbolism and connections to the city's history can be spotted in both the exterior and interior details. The most striking part of the station is its wooden gate, resembling the traditional torii gate, which is usually found at the entrance to a Japanese shrine.

From afar, the building takes on the shape of a traditional samurai helmet. Kanazawa is a city of culture, and its heritage crafts of woodwork and ceramics are reflected throughout the station.

No longer an operating station, Haydarpasa is one of Istanbul's most important landmarks and a symbolic gateway between the East and the West. Built in 1908, it allowed travellers from the Orient Express to take a boat across the Bosphorus from Sirkeci Terminal and continue their journey through the rest of Turkey and on towards Baghdad.

Currently, the station houses a museum dedicated to its history, although there are plans to renovate the building and integrate the station into the Marmaray railway network.

Best known for its grand main hall, Chicago's Union Station features a 219-foot (67m) long barrel-vaulted skylight that soars 115 feet (35m) above the floor. In 2015, Amtrak, which owns the station, renovated it completely, including replacing the worn staircases with marble from the original quarry near Rome. The restoration was completed in 2018 and the station has been a popular stop on many guided tours around the city.

The first railway station in Australia, Flinders Street has been at the heart of Melbourne since 1854. A cultural icon of the city, the building is defined by its Art Nouveau dome, clock tower and arched entrance, which, over time, has turned into a popular meeting spot in the city.

The station also has a resident ghost called George. He appears on platform 10 holding fishing gear and seeming somewhat lost, and then vanishes as he gazes out at the Yarra River.

This station was first built in Glasgow, Scotland, by Walter Macfarlane & Co Saracen Foundry, then disassembled and transported to Brazil where it was reassembled and opened in 1901. For decades the station tower dominated the city's skyline and its clock was the reference frame for all the other clocks in São Paulo.

Now, even though the cityscape has changed dramatically, the station is a reminder of the city's history when coffee import and export was its major source of income.

A registered historic monument, this railway station serving the city of Metz, the capital of Lorraine in France, is often referred to as the Station Palace. When Metz was annexed into the German Empire, Kaiser Wilhelm II decided the city needed to be "Germanified" so the station's design was adjusted to meet his Rhenish Romanesque Revival style requirements.

When he came to visit Metz with his wife, they had private apartments within the station that today serve as the offices for the SNCF Railway Company.

Built during the reign of King Rama VI in 1910, Hua Hin became a royal seaside getaway thanks to its easy access from Bangkok. The town was gradually built around the station and European expatriates would travel from Penang and Singapore for a beach holiday. By 1926, Hua Hin had a luxury hotel, two royal palaces and a nine-hole golf course. Today, it's a popular tourist attraction and day trip destination.

One of Lisbon's main transport hubs, Estação do Oriente is an unusual-looking structure with Gothic-inspired steel and glass lattice covering the platforms. It was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava in 1995, and the station opened in 1998 as part of the celebrations marking the Expo '98 World's Fair.

The new, larger and improved Gare de Marrakech opened its doors to passengers in 2008 (the station was originally housed in an adjacent building from 1923). Located just opposite the Royal Theatre in the city's French Quarter, the station is easy on the eye with a sophisticated mix of traditional Islamic architecture and modern materials. Offering connections to Casablanca and Fes, the station is just as beautiful on the inside with imposing columns lining the main hall.

Widely regarded as the last of the great American train stations, LA's Union Station was built in 1939. The station's signature Mission Revival style makes it one of the city's most distinct buildings.

Inside, the spacious ticket hall was equipped with a wooden ticket counter crafted from American black walnut and massive Art Deco chandeliers still hang from the ceiling in the vast waiting room. Although most of the station has remained largely unchanged, the original ticket lobby is now closed to the public and rented out for private events or used as a filming location.

One of the Netherlands' most important transport hubs, this station serves just as many travellers as Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. An excellent example of how ultra-modern architecture can fit seamlessly into a cityscape, Rotterdam Centraal's stainless steel-clad roof points to the heart of the city, and the main hall opens up to a large public space often used for various events.

One of the busiest stations in Asia and a major hub in Taiwan's rail network, Taipei Main Station impresses with its sheer size. More than 600,000 people pass through the terminal each day, with the building hiding a vast underground network with shopping streets, food courts and tunnels, connecting five different public transport options that converge at the station.

An unusual building to see in northern Germany, Uelzen railway station dazzles with asymmetric colourful pillars covered in mosaics and ceramic tiles, golden balls adorning the roof and a disco ball-like dome at the back. One of the last works by Austrian modernist artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser, it was thanks to him that the station received a complete makeover in 2000 for the Expo 2000 world fair. 

Described as "one of the great pieces of Beaux-Arts architecture in America" by The New Yorker art critic Brendan Gill, this is Pittsburgh's only 20th-century station still in use. Officially called Union Station but referred to as Penn Station by locals, its most stunning feature is the street-level rotunda made from brown terracotta that resembles brownstone. The station's grand appearance is a monument to the most glamorous days of American rail travel.

Drawing inspiration from the imposing main halls of stations like Grand Central and the structural elegance of airship hangars, Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, better known as ARTIC, is a stunning example of modern engineering. The station's entrance is an impressive 120-foot (37m) glass wall that leads into a spacious lobby with ticketing counters and waiting areas. At night, both the interior and exterior are lit up with colourful lights.

Severely damaged during both World Wars, Budapest's Keleti station has regained its former glory thanks to extensive repair and restoration work finished in 2014. Originally opened 130 years earlier (in 1884), the station impressed the public with its imposing dimensions – the central hall was 590 feet (180m) long and 103 feet (31.4m) tall.

Statues of James Watt, who perfected the steam engine, and George Stephenson, who created the first steam locomotive, stand on either side of the façade.

Perched on a cliff in Italy's Cinque Terre, Manarola Station is just a regular train station. But it's the view from the platforms that makes it extra special. With beautiful cliffside vistas on either side and the blue expanse of the Ligurian Sea ahead, it's definitely one of the most picturesque settings for a train station.

The second-busiest Amtrak station in the country, Union Station in Washington, D.C., was originally a rundown building described as an "embarrassment to the federal government" in the 1980s. Now it's been transformed into one of the most beautiful stations in the world. After undergoing an extensive restoration project, the station reopened in its present form in 1988.

After celebrating its 150th birthday in 2018, St Pancras International remains one of London's most important train stations, providing domestic services and international links to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and more. A wonder of Victorian engineering, the station suffered serious damage in 1942 when a bomb damaged the roof and platforms 3 and 4.

However, it was back in operation after only a week of intensive repairs. The station's façade is perhaps most recognisable for playing itself in the Harry Potter films.

Designed by the late, great Zaha Hadid, whose other works include the One Thousand Museum in Miami and the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, Naples Afragola is everything modern architecture should be. A rippling river of whitewashed curves, the building was envisaged as an 'urbanised public bridge' connecting the two sides of the track. Shops and facilities line the upper level, while sunshine streams in via a long, continuous skylight.

Now check out the most jaw-dropping rail journeys from around the world