It may lose this status, however, with the arrival of the AVE high-speed train in Sants and the construction of Estació de la Sagrera, planned for completion at the end of 2023, that will concentrate most of the traffic.

A railway station was first built here in the 19th century as the main terminus for trains arriving from France (as its name still suggests) but also for services to North East Catalonia and the Costa Brava.

Rebuilt and reopened for the 1929 International Exhibition, the two monumental buildings that make up the station were designed by the architect Pedro Muguruza and inaugurated by King Alfonso XIII.

It is worth seeing in its own right for the restrained mix of classical and more modern style that is complete with decoration in marble, bronze and crystal and its modernista and art déco motifs.

The station's status as the terminus for international trains from and through France ended with the discontinuation of the overnight 'trenhotels' in 2013, which coincided with the introduction of the new high-speed daytime TGV services to Paris, Toulouse, Lyon and Marseille, all of which call at or terminate at Sants.