Washington's Union Station is a Beaux-Arts terminal completed in 1907 and still the primary intercity rail hub for the mid-Atlantic region. Amtrak trains to New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and destinations across the country depart from here, and the station is the terminus of the Metro's Red Line.
The grand hall, restored in the 1980s after decades of neglect (including a disastrous conversion to a National Visitor Center in the 1970s), is worth visiting on its own merits: a 96-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling, marble floors, and statues of Roman soldiers in niches along the upper level. The station has a large food court and retail mall in its lower levels, useful for a meal or last-minute shopping before a departure. The plaza outside faces the Capitol dome — one of the better urban compositions in Washington.