Grand Central Terminal

Lonely Planet review

One of the world's largest and busiest train stations (76 acres; 500,000 commuters and subway riders daily) Grand Central is also a gorgeous feat of engineering and architecture. Take in the theatrical beaux art facade from E 42nd St, particularly luminous at night, and then head inside to marvel at gold-veined marble arches and the bright blue domed ceiling, decorated with twinkling, fiber-optic constellations. Don't miss the tiny unrenovated corner of the original ceiling, left alone to acknowledge the size of the job. For a glimpse of how the unfinished ceiling looks underneath all the celestial glitter, find the northwest corner amid the 88,000 square foot ceiling, at the very end of the meridian line, and you'll see a small black patch that designers deliberately left there for contrast.

Don't miss the tiny unrenovated corner of the original ceiling, left alone to acknowledge the size of the job. For a glimpse of how the unfinished ceiling looks underneath all the celestial glitter, find the northwest corner amid the 88,000 square foot ceiling, at the very end of the meridian line, and you'll see a small black patch that designers deliberately left there for contrast.