Washington Union Station

Everyone who visits D.C. should arrive, at least for the first time, by train to greeted by Union Station's expansive main hall and the view of the Capitol as you exit the front of the station. Union Station serves as a kind of portal to federal Washington. When you arrive in D.C. by train, you don't ease into the city, you arrive greeted all at once by its grandeur.

The main hall with it's arched ceiling, is impressive both for its expansiveness, but also for the details: surrounding the hall at the second-floor level are Augustus Saint-Gaudens'
statues of soldiers holding their swords and shields. You can get an up close view of the soldiers by eating dinner in one of Union Station's restaurants. Indeed, you should eat a couple meals at Union Station; after you've viewed the statuary up close from America the Restaurant or Thunder Grill, eat at the upper-level of the station cafe in the center of the main hall to enjoy the experience of being surrounded by the main hall's arched ceiling, and enjoy watching people pass by below.

Union Station has many shops and restaurants. There is a food court at the basement level. Stores and restaurants are located along the perimeter of the main hall and the two wings. A second level has been built into the original concourse making space for shops on two levels. Amtrak's ticket counters are located on the ground floor of the original concourse. Departure gates are located in a new, architecturally unremarkable concourse behind the original. Amtrak's Club Acela is located in a pleasant, but windowless and also unremarkable, room in the new concourse.

Washington Union Station is served by Amtrak, MARC (Maryland commuter trains), VRE (Virginia commuter trains), and Metro by way of the Metro station of the same name located underneath Union Station. Metro buses, the Circulator, and various tour buses depart from the front of Union Station. Washington's intercity bus station is located just a couple blocks behind, and some buses depart from Union Station's parking garage.

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