High in the mountains between Spain and France, a long-neglected train station has become an opulent hotel.
They were images of sublime squalor.
The grand Greco-Roman columns of Michigan Central Station in Detroit were covered with graffiti.
Canfranc Estación, a hotel in the Pyrenees Mountains.Credit:Denisse Ariana Pérez
The Art Deco posters on the walls of theSt.-Martin Metro in Pariswere gradually peeling away.
But the most haunting place in the collection was Estacion Canfranc, high in the Spanish Pyrenees.
From the outside, this 790-foot-long Beaux-Arts palace looked like it had been transplanted from a fashionable Parisian boulevard.
From left: The Art Deco Café at Canfranc Estación; the lobby of Canfranc Estación.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Huge arched windows let in shafts of beneficent light.
The ticket counter could almost pass for an altar.
But by the time the photo essay was published, the congregation was long gone.
From left: A butterfly in the forest near Canfranc Estación; the Ara River as it flows past the village of Broto.Denisse Ariana Pérez
The building closed in 1970 and had been empty ever since.
Its vaulted ceiling was slowly moldering, and the floor was covered in dust and debris.
But today, the hotel is a destination in itself.
The restaurant Canfranc Express, which was inspired by the Orient-Express.Denisse Ariana Pérez
The renovation is the work of the Barcelo Hotel Group, who took over the derelict building in 2021.
The Spanish firm has given the place a train-centric revamp that balances old-world glamour with contemporary style.
In the rooms, antique station windows have been refurbished as quirky wall art.
A guest outside Canfranc Express, a Michelin-starred restaurant in a restored railway car on the grounds of Canfranc Estación.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Yet the hotels brand of nostalgic luxury is only one reason to visit; the other is its history.
The evidence is everywhere.
After I arrived at the hotel I headed outside and looked north up the valley.
A guest room at Canfranc Estación.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Since then, they have immersed themselves in the stations extraordinary history and now run tours around the valley.
Until the 20th century, this corner of northern Spain was seen as poor and backward.
So in 1912, the government commissioned the station as a statement of ambition and advancement.
From left: An installation by artist Roberto Fabelo at the Basilica del Pilar, in Zaragoza; the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña, near Jaca.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Fernando Ramirez de Dampierre, a Madrid-born engineer, was hired to design it.
Both the president of France and the king of Spain were present at the inauguration ceremony in 1928.
For a few years, life in Canfranc was full of commercial activity.
From left: A velvet-carpeted staircase at the NH Collection Gran Hotel de Zaragoza; the lounge of the NH Gran Hotel, in Zaragoza.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Daily trains from Portugal delivered port wine, cocoa, and coffee imported from Brazil.
Industrial goods like coal and aluminum arrived from France.
But when war broke out in 1939, everything changed.
The Goya Museum in Zaragoza.Denisse Ariana Pérez
He was more than a mere border official.
From there they traveled to safety.
Through the gaps we peered into the dark interiors.
The Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, beside the Ebro River in Zaragoza.Denisse Ariana Pérez
They included looted gold bars and opium.
His job as a customs official gave Le Lay the cover he needed to continue his resistance work.
He would receive information from agents masquerading as passengers as they arrived at the station.
A staffer at the Internacional, a restaurant at Canfranc Estación.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Its a small institution that packs a big punch.
Goyas etchings rank among his strangest and most personal pieces.
In another series, The Disasters of War, the devilish comedy of Los Caprichosis replaced by documentary horror.
From left: Frescoes by Francisco Goya inside the Basilica de Nuestra Señora del Pilar, in Zaragoza; the arches of the Aljafería Palace.Denisse Ariana Pérez
The etchings captured the violence of conflicts like the Peninsular War, which ravaged Spain between 1808 and 1814.
Jaca did well from the foot traffic.
In the Middle Ages, the road outside the cathedral passed 16 shoe shops.
From left: The 11th-century Cathedral of San Pedro de Jaca; the Coll de Ladrones fort.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Garrido, a partner in a Jaca-based company, Aragon Aventura, is a serious mountaineer.
Thankfully, our plan was more down to earth.
The canyons sheer limestone walls rose almost 3,000 feet, and birds of prey circled on the thermals.
Ordesa & Monte Perdido National Park.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Yet the hotels brand of nostalgic luxury is only one reason to visit; the other is its history.
The evidence is everywhere.
As we walked, Garrido pointed out thefajas,the narrow pathsthat run along the cliff edges.
From left: Dinner service at Canfran Estación’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Canfranc Express; a rosette of guinea hen in a beet salmorejo, a dish on the tasting menu at Canfranc Express.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Chef Salanovas food is a fusion of local ingredients and avant-garde presentation.
As I ate, a fog descended over the valley and a gentle rain began to fall.
Tours of the property and the surrounding valley can be arranged through the concierge.
Stopping to rest on a hike in Ordesa & Monte Perdido National Park.Denisse Ariana Pérez
Stop by the excellent restaurant, La Ontina, for seasonal dishes like braised white asparagus.
He offers walking excursions as well as a range of other mountain activities, including canyoning and snowshoeing.
Goya Museum
This smallmuseum in Zaragozahas the worlds finest collection of Goyas etchings.
Pirineo Esencial
Knowledgeable guides Ana Badino and Marcelo Boveri offertours of Canfranc and the surrounding valley.
