Vladivostok's railway terminal sits right at the waterfront, and arriving here by train is one of the classic experiences in Russian travel. The building is an elegant late 19th-century structure in cream and terracotta with Renaissance-revival details — ornate enough to announce a city of importance, and just old enough to feel like the genuine article.
The platform at the rear faces the bay. A monument marks kilometre 9,288 of the Trans-Siberian Railway, with kilometre zero at Moscow's Yaroslavsky station. Many travellers make the journey specifically to stand at this marker. There is something genuinely moving about it — the sense of distance, and of arrival. The interior of the station was restored and contains murals depicting Siberian landscapes and historical scenes.