CITIES & SIGHTS

STATION ANTWERP ENCENTRAAL, BELGIUM No, it’s not the opulent winter palace of Belgium’s King Leopold II, but the central train station built by the turnof-the-century monarch. Antwerp’s Station Antwerpen-centraal has many of the classic marks of the world’s great stations — the prominent ornate clock, the vaulted iron and glass roof, the stone arches and passageways — but consider that this eclectic, monumental masterpiece was constructed of more than 20 varieties of marble and stone, and you get a sense of the planning and expense that went into building it. The station stands near the east end of the Meir — the country’s most luxurious shopping street — which leads you toward the fortress of Het Steen and the heart of medieval Antwerp.

CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS, MUMBAI Embrace Mumbai’s notorious traffic, crowds and heat and explore the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus ( LEFT), a 19th-century station considered by many to be the greatest of the Maharashtra state capital’s architectural wonders. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site that recognizes the rail terminus’s fusion of decidedly British Victorian Gothic Revival style and traditional Indian palace architecture, more than three million commuters still use the station every day. BAR, MONTENEGRO The 11-hour mountain and canyon traversing train from Belgrade, Serbia, to Bar, Montenegro, is among the most beautiful (and least celebrated) rail journeys in Europe. The trains may be well-used, but the trip costs only 24 Euros, which should leave room to play in the Adriatic port town of Bar, as well as nearby Petrovac, Ulcinj and any number of the other white-washed, red-roofed seaside towns strung along the sunny Montenegrin coast. From Bar, the trip into the mountains to visit the ruins of ancient Stari (Old) Bar ( ABOVE), devastated in the 1870s during the MontenegrinOttoman War, is a must. srbvoz.rs