Budapest Western Railway Starion

Our hotel is located only a few blocks from the Western Railway station.  The building was constructed by the Eiffel Company and opened in 1877 (the same Eiffel that build the Eiffel Tower in Paris) and replaced an older railway building that had stood in that location.  The building is beautiful both inside and out, and stands majestically along a major boulevard of the city.  We walked down to see it the first evening in Budapest and it was beautifully lighted.  This is a view of the side of the building adjacent to the main boulevard.  

This building also houses the first McDonalds in Budapest, and the fanciest one as well.  Our local tour guide explained that after WWII the city was in shambles and many buildings were in need of major repair and refurbishment.  Years later when McDonalds was expanding overseas, the company offered to pay for the renovation of this building in exchange for having a permanent location inside.  Officials agreed, McDonalds renovated the building, and today it contains a McDonalds restaurant.

For more photos of the building, see the album in the Photos section at the right of this blog.