Grand railway stations ARE destinations

Train travel’s rapid development from the early C19th-early C20th changed the world, including through the construction of many railway stations with their stunning architecture, interior design and art. Read Maunder for St Pancras London gothic revival masterpiece; busy Grand Central New York; Helsinki Central Station Norway and the imposing Antwerpen-Centraal Station Belgium. I focused on the Paris treasure. 

Gare de Lyon front entrance

and clock tower

Inside the station's Hall 1

Wiki

Hall 2 

ShowMeTheJourney

Gare de Lyon is one of Paris’ biggest railway stations, with Gare du Nord & Gare Saint Lazare. The station was named after the French city of Lyon, an important stop for many trains departing from Gare de Lyon. And this railway station was also a departure station for many high speed trains going to Southern France, Italy, Switzerland and Spain. Built in 1849, the first station was a relatively simple building designed by François-Alexis Cendrier, important mainline railway termini in Paris. The Second Station handled increased traffic and managed by Compagnie des chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée.

Sadly Gare de Lyon was completely burnt in the Paris Commune 1871. The first station was completely rebuilt in 1899 in time for the World Exposition of 1900, with 13 platforms. The station was built in the highly decorative Belle Epoque style, with sculptural reliefs & iron lacework. Toulon architect Marius Toudoire redesigned this landmark building, designed to showcase the power of rail travel. He used a French Belle Epoque style with allegorical carvings decorating the façade and a 67 ms tower-clock. The clock was a classic example of the architecture then, by architect Charles Garnier that offered a panoramic view of the capital. The new 13-track Gare de Lyon was ready on time, launched in 1901 by Pres Émile Loubet of the Third Republic.

Le Train Bleu restaurant

including Big Ben Bar

First called Buffet de la Gare de Lyon, Le Train Bleu was reinaugurated in 1901 and decorated with Belle Époque frescoes and gilded details, honouring the famous Venice Simplon Orient Express train. It was a place with the most representative restaurant in the City of Lights, a palatial restaurant had several dining rooms, each decorated by the art representing different cities & regions in France, made by famous artists. Drink coffee & see opulent chandeliers, gilded plaster mouldings, polished brass & 40+ travel themed art on walls & ceilings. The buffet restaurant also had gilded ceilings, chandeliers & wall murals of railways

The station is divided into three main halls. Hall 1 is the station's historic hall, dominated by the iconic restaurant Le Train Bleu, a true Parisian institution that is worth a visit in itself. Its large forecourt is pleasant in the summer with outdoor terraces & shops. Hall 2, modern and bright, welcomes passengers for the TGV highspeed trains and offers a wide range of dining options. Hall 3 underground provides access to OuiGo trains and fast food options. These 3 halls are connected by two shopping arcades.

The station underwent huge renovation in the 1980s to contain high speed TGV trains, while preserving its historical façade. This restaurant was renamed Le Train Bleu in honour of a luxury French night express train which operated from 1886-2003 connecting Calais and the French Riviera. In 1980 the creation of 11 new images and the renovation of the old ones were done by Jean-Paul Letellier. The Train Blue was listed as a French Historical Monument in 1972. In Dec 1984 the facade, roof of the main building and large frescoed hall were listed as French Historical Monuments.

shopping arcade

Wiki Commons

So Gare de Lyon was an architectural gem that stood as a witness to Parisian elegance, not just a transportation hub but a cultural landmark. A 100m long mural in Marseille artist Jean-Baptiste Olive’s ticket-office shows the main destinations from this Paris terminus.

Linking domestic & international destinations, it hosts TGV & Intercity Express trains. Its historical significance, coupled with the bustling atmosphere of the neighbouring suburb, makes it a quintessential Parisian experience for both travellers and locals. Whether boarding a train or simply admiring the station, Gare de Lyon offers a captivating blend of history, architecture and urban life. The station's interior exudes an old-world charm with its ornate details, glimpsing into the city's rich history. Gare de Lyon boasts fine dining options, making it perfect to dine before alighting.

Summary In the 12th arrondissement, Gare de Lyon welcomes millions of visitors each year with trains serving E and S.E France. But stations are not merely points of departure and arrival; they are doors to history, culture and special architecture over time. Instead of just waiting for a train, appreciate the architectural and historic gems that remain, proof of enduring train travel romance. Then climb aboard, and admire the luxury inside the train.

The train journey from Paris features fine dining from a Michelin-starred chef.

Read Grand Railway Stations That Are Themselves Destinations, by Patricia Maunder. 

Heritage architecture: Robin Boyd Aus

Kitchen with built-in cupboards and timber benchtops 

architectureau

Joseph Eichler’s (1900-74) name became synonymous with the single-family, modern homes that helped define suburban Los Angeles and San Fran­cisco from 1949 on. Hiring progressive archit­ects, his designs fo­cused both on modern Californian taste and on pleasant Calif­ornian climates. So his designs grab­bed attent­ion: 

streamlined kitchen built-ins, 

multi-purpose room adjoining the kitchen, 

radiant-heated floors, 

wood panelling, 

gabled ceilings, 

floor-to-ceiling glass walls and 

classic atrium that melded indoor-outdoor living.  The post-&-beam construction, and open floor plans were de­signed around the cen­tral atrium. The California Modern style was indebted to Frank Lloyd Wright & Mies van der Rohe.

After Eichler in the USA, Robin Boyd (1919-71) started to de­sign his version of Californian Modern in Australia, mainly from the early 1950s on. One home over 2 lots in Tannock St in Bal­wyn, in Mel­b­ourne’s leafy east, was an early example of Boyd's influent­ial work: 1949. The house was originally de­signed for pharmacist Don Wood and was called Wood House. The home is one of the few sur­viving examples of Boyd’s early work as a sole practit­ioner, prior to his famous partner­ship with Roy Grounds and Frederick Romberg .

 As published in Australian Home Beautiful in Oct 1950, Boyd’s Wood House became famous for its split level planning and its small foot­print that maximised the space and out­look. The Wood family com­missioned Boyd to sympathetically ex­tend the house in 1959 with two more bed­rooms, a re­creation room and a flat-roofed garage. The second sympathetic extension occurred in 1971 when Boyd added across the street frontage.

Some years ago, this innovative Melbourne house by Boyd was at risk of demol­it­ion, after the property was listed for sale and described as an opp­ortunity to buy vacant land by the estate agent. Note that no images, no architectural details and no historic information about the house were included in the listing.

A detailed report was written by Research by Built Heritage in 2015 for Boroondara City councillors. This heritage study noted the house was an early, innovative & in­t­act example of Boyd’s work from the austere early post-war period. They urged that Wood House was an architecturally significant heritage site that needed protection. Yet an ap­plic­ation to subdivide the land was soon made, on hold because there was no demolition app­lic­ation.

So why did the councillors reject the advice to protect the home? They rejected the Heritage Study’s recommendations re protecting prop­erties, citing "the financial impact of the proposed herit­age cont­rols". So although the house was one of the first projects Boyd undertook after opening his own solo practice, and was among relatively few surv­iving examples from his special work, the Council would not give Wood House heritage protection.

TV room with a glass wall and glass doors to the patio

The Age

In Aug 2020 an online pet­it­ion called for the home to be pro­tect­ed, started by senior lecturer at Monash Architecture Dr Jacqui Alexander. It said: it was one of three outstanding early and sub­st­antially intact houses by Robin Boyd in the study area which coll­ectively provided rare and valuable evid­ence of the in­novation and bold design approach­es of a young architect starting an illus­trious career. Archit­ect­ur­ally the house was a signif­icant achieve­ment in modern home-building at a time when materials and labour were still due to war-time restrict­ions. The house showed many ideas eg open-planning, split-levels and window walls that were very inn­ov­ative in 1949. Later adopted by others, these elements recurred throughout Boyd's own career.

Dr Al­exander called on Boor­an­dara Council to heritage protect the home and prevent it from demolition. “It is a tragedy that this important exam­ple of post-war Australian modernism looks likely to succumb to the same fate as many other significant homes in Bor­oon­dara. From the social and cultural perspective, it documents the kind of upward mobility of families in the post-war period".

The petition encouraged the Council to officially recog­nise this home and prot­ect it from potential demolition, hoping to raise awareness of this house’s existence, att­racting a buyer who saw its architectural value. She described the house as ‘an important ex­am­ple of mid-century modernism in Melbourne, and in spite of material shortages at the time it was built, the de­s­ign was innovative and ambitious.’ The house incorporated fine ideas that revolutionised Aust­ral­ian domestic design, promoting a new, optim­is­tic image of the suburbs of Melb­ourne. It offered the prom­ise of affordable and dignified design for working Australian families.

Looking into the open-planned family room from the tv room

Wood House by Robin Boyd, 1949

architectureau

Protected homes in Boroondara had been demolished under a controv­ersial 2018 state planning amendment that allowed property owners with an existing council building permit to demolish buildings, de­spite interim heritage orders. Happily the govern­ment has since reversed the amendment; hopefully the new heritage will stop hist­orically significant properties being demolished. Bor­oondara coun­cillors un­anim­ously agreed to write to Planning Min­ist­er Richard Wynne to ask that inter­im and permanent protect­ions be extended to the home. I think Joseph Eichler would have been proud.

Pope Benedict IX: young, often enthroned.

Theophyl­ac­t­us of Tusculum (c1020–c1056) became the youngest pope ever as Pope Benedict IX. The date of his birth was uncer­t­ain but his first papacy DID start in 1032. Benedict was great-grandson of Marozia, a powerful Roman polit­ician who ?was mist­ress of Pope Sergius III. Via Mar­ozia, Sergius possibly sired Pope John IX. Several of Mar­ozia's descendants became popes, and Ben­edict's immediate predecessors were his loved unc­les Popes Bened­ict VIII and John XIX.  His father was Holy Roman Emperor Alberic. This was arguably the most power­ful Italian family, enabling the family to control the papacy for a century! 

                                          

Pope Benedict IX, c1030 

Hulton Archive

The Catholic Encyclopaedia said Benedict was c20 years old when he became pontiff. But the closest source to the pope himself was the monk-historian Rod­ulfus Glaber (985-1047). He was a critic of Benedict, but still he was one of the few contemp­or­ary sources available. He said the pope was 12 in 1032, the time of his accession! As did med­ieval scholar F Donald Logan, who wrote about Benedict IX in A History of the Church in the Middle Ages.

In terms of theology and activities of the Church, he was entirely orthodox. But Benedict was accused of sodomy, best­ial­ity and homo­sexuality; he was said to have held orgies inside Lat­eran Palace. Clois­tered monk St Peter Dam­ian was horrified and wrote a treat­ise ag­ain­st all sex, especially homosex­ual­ity. Damian’s Book of Gom­orrah said it had been ramp­ant within the Catholic Church for centuries.

Benedict was also accused by Bishop Benno of Piacenza of many ad­ul­t­eries and murders. As did Pope Victor III in his Book of Dial­og­ues. But Benedict came up with one sin that no one before or since has repl­icated: selling the papacy!

The first trouble came in 1036 when political oppon­ents tried to murder Bene­dict in St Peter's Basilica Rome during mass. But Ger­man Emp­eror Conrad II restored him to power before long, and Benedict stay­ed in Rome until 1045. In those years, he continued to steal and murd­er; fed up with him, the people of Rome again drove him out.

When Ben­edict IX was ousted, his enemies replaced him with the Bishop of Sabina, Pope Sylvester III. But it took only 2 months for Bened­ict IX to re-invade Rome with force, depose Sylvester and re­turn to pow­er again. Amaz­ing­ly Bened­ict allowed Sylvester to return safely to his old bishopric in Sabina, but Sylvester was later declared an anti-pope.

Benedict IX enjoyed his second papacy for c2 months, and then abdic­ated because godfather arch­priest John Gratian gave him money. Bened­ict IX had really wanted to marry his cousin and decided he would finan­ce his new life by selling his pontificate to Gratian. But she rejected Benedict.

Benedict's tomb in the monastery, died at 35.
All That's Interesting

Grat­ian made a better pope than his god­son. After sealing the deal, Gratian became Pope Greg­ory VI in 1045. This deal annoyed Syl­vester III who promptly sought to reinstate his own papacy. Gregory had bank­rupt­ed the church in buying out Benedict, so he couldn’t fight off a new claimant. His papacy lasted as long as Sylv­ester's, but this time it took longer for Benedict to return to power, as planned.

Rome’s clergy broke into 3 factions, each supporting 1 claimant (Pope Gregory, Benedict, Pope Sy­l­vester). So Henry III King of Germany & Burgundy invaded Rome to intervene. He met the candid­ates near Rome in Dec 1046. King Henry wanted to resolve the crisis, so that the legit­im­ate new pope could quickly crown him as Holy Roman Emperor.

So the Emperor opened Sutri Council in Dec 1046 to dismiss all 3 of them. Syl­vester tried to fight for his claim so he received life imprisonment. Pope Gregory admitted he was in above his skill-level and resign­ed. Even though Benedict was assured of the support of the libert­ine fact­ion, the young man didn’t show up for the pro­c­eedings and was deposed. So King Henry's selected Bishop Sugier of Bam­berg to become Pope Clement II at Christmas 1046. In return Clement quickly crowned King Henry III as Holy Roman Emperor.

Pope Clement II died mysteriously in Oct 1047, af­ter serving only 11 months as Pope. So Benedict seized the Lateran Palace in Nov 1047, and again installed him­self on the papal throne. But Benedict was driven away by Henry III's German troops in July 1048 who installed Pope Damasus II (July-Aug 1048) instead. Damasus died a month later from ?malaria.

Even after one of the shortest pap­ac­ies in history, Benedict IX did NOT go for a fourth papal term. Rather Benedict retired to a monastery near Rome where he repented and soon died, at only c36 years old. Emperor Henry III quickly returned to Rome and made Leo IX pope (1049-54), the man who ruled for 6 years and brought stability to the pap­acy. 

Emperor Henry III at the Synod of Sutri, 
rejecting all three contenders for pope. 
Hulton Archive 

Conclusion 
What a story! Benedict’s father got the Papal chair for him in Oct 1032. Benedict had three terms as pope: 1] from his election to his expul­sion for Sylvester III (Oct 1032–Sept 1044); 2] from his return to his sel­ling the papacy to Gregory VI (Apr–May 1045); and 3] from his return post-Clement II to Damasus II (Nov 1047–July 1048)'s start. He ruled during a tumultuous church era with 7 diff­erent, rapid papacies, the only man to have been Pope more than once.

NB the close subordination of pope to German emperor in mid C11th. In fact the ful­filment of the emperor’s supreme duty was to watch over the welfare of the ch­urch; the emperor was the agent of St Peter on earth. Thus 962-1046 saw the empire at its zenith and the papacy much weaker.

Thank you to Luciano Anastasi for The Tale of Benedict IX: A Papacy for Sale.

Who'll win 2026 Booker Prize, by John Self

2026’s International Booker Prize shortlist writers are a diverse group, both geographically and in style, from main-stream blockbuster to experimental wittiness. Independent presses are rewarded for their efforts in promoting translated fiction, and recognising the translators.

1.German-Iranian novelist Shida Bazyar in her novel The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran (Scribe), translated by Ruth Martin, reminds that Iranians are the victims of history many times over. The story comes from 4 members of an Iranian family over 30 years. In 1979, young Behzad greets the Islamic revolution that deposes the Shah, but his hopes for a communist utopia are thwarted. Instead he’s surrounded by people who have been waiting for the chance to become bullies for life. He and his wife Nahid flee to Germany: she takes the story in 1989 & their daughter takes it in 1999.

Laleh visits Iran, amazed by the cultural differences from Germany. In 2009, Laleh’s brother Mo hears about protests across the Middle East, and his excitement: As soon as Ahmadinejad is gone, it’ll kick off in Egypt too and eventually all the dictators will be out; this is even more heart breaking given Iran today. A timely novel doesn’t always deliver but this one’s empathy could make it worthy.

2.The Witch (Vintage) translated by Jordan Stump is a deep cut from French novelist Marie NDiaye’s back catalogue in 1996. When my daughters turned 12 I initiated them into the mysterious powers, it opens irresistibly. Narrator Lucie has divination powers and can see people’s futures, and when she does, she cries tears of blood. She dislikes being a witch but still teaches her daughters, as her mum taught her.

Set against this weirdness is a complex comedy of domestic discontent: Lucie’s timeshare-salesman husband runs off with the family money; then she tries to reunite her separated parents. She begins to lose everyone, and her powers fail to help her; thus the book raises knotty questions about making use of our capabilities. This accessible but surprising novel is perfect for newcomers to NDiaye, but the acceleration of events as the story proceeds and the arbitrary ending is frustrating. It probably won’t win.

Shortlisted books in 2026

The Booker Prizes

3.In Brazilian Ana Paula Maia’s previous novel Of Cattle and Men, cows were slaughtered. Now in On Earth As It Is Beneath, translated by Padma Viswanathan, it’s the men’s turn. A penal colony for the worst criminals started out with 42 inmates: now there are only 3 prisoners as the warden, eaten away by the system he defends, keeps releasing, hunting and shooting them. Authorities are coming to close the colony down!

Strangely this book has classic sitcom elements: people who can’t get along, stuck together & facing one mess after another. The tension between absurdity and grotesque violence gives the book an effervescent energy, and turns it into an existential thriller, all in 100 pages. Confusion reigns, power balances shift, and nobody on the outside cares what happens to the men anyway. This brilliant novel is loosely connected to Of Cattle and Men; an eccentric but very deserving contender.

4.The most formally inventive book on this year’s shortlist is Bulgarian Rene Karabash’s She Who Remains (Peirene), translated by Izidora Angel. It’s narrated by a 33-year-old woman in rural Albania living under archaic traditions. The narrative jumps about, mostly told in a prose poetry without full-stops. Details bubble up through repetition: her violent father’s disappointment (your father wanted a son, but out came you); how years ago Bekija jilted her fiance and revenge was exacted by his family. Bekija decided to become a sworn virgin, i.e a woman who lives as a man.

There is powerful eye-catching and stomach-turning activity, plus a love story hidden deeply in the backstory, but the book’s eccentric form keeps the reader at a distance, and many elements will only make sense retrospectively. This may have benefited the novel in the Booker stakes, where the judges gain the benefit of things a first-time reader might miss. Still, this spiky story looks unlikely for the prize.

5.Equally experimental but more approachable is Taiwan Travelogue by Taiwanese writer Yáng Shuāng-zi, translated by Lin King. What’s going on here? What’s going on is a novel disguised as a rediscovered travel memoir, complete with multiple afterwords and fictional footnotes alongside the translator’s real ones. It’s set in 1938, where a Japanese-Taiwanese novelist Aoyama goes on a food tour of Taiwan.

Aoyama has monster appetites, which may be concealing something else: she grows fond of her female guide Chi-chan, but struggles to articulate it. Whenever I start craving something, anything, my stomach burns with this insatiable greed. You’ve been the only one to appease this monster. But social strictures of gender & class (Chi-chan is a concubine’s daughter) make things harder. This is a simple love story that educates as it entertains, though it takes a long time to get to where it’s going. The complex structure seems more like window dressing than essential to its ideas. It will charm many, but may not be weighty enough to win.

6.Daniel Kehlmann’s The Director (Riverrun), translated by Ross Benjamin, is the most mainstream novel here: delightful and illuminating literary fiction that animates the wartime experiences of German film-maker GW Pabst, one of the great directors. A master, a legend. Trapped in Germany when the borders close, Pabst must decide whether he will work for the Nazis if that’s the only way he can get to keep making films. The book is full of big characters, real and invented, an obsequious anti-Semitic caretaker; a threatening government minister; Leni Riefenstahl with her skull-like smile. Pabst believes I’m not a political person, but he must learn that everything is political now. No one can ignore what is happening: not film-makers; not prisoner of war PG Wodehouse, who narrates one chapter; not even humble critics. Critics? We have no critics! Criticism is a Jewish genre that no one needs. It is not only its traditional form and direct plot that make The Director stand out on the shortlist, but its range, wit and chilling relevance. This would be a very popular winner and a fully deserving one. The winner will be announced on 19th May.

What should win this year’s International Booker? by John Self Mon 18 May 2026. Winner to be announced at Tate Modern London, Tuesday 19th May 2026.