Today, Milano Centrale is one of the busiest train stations in Italy and the country’s second-largest – only Rome’s Roma Termini is larger. Over 320,000 people pass through the station every day heading to cities throughout Italy and throughout Europe.

Beautiful as ever, the station is a tourist destination in its own right and contains a wide array of shops, cafés and restaurants to keep visitors entertained in between marvelling at the stunning architecture.

Read on to discover some of the earliest photos of Europe

Then and now: the world’s most beautiful train stations