Gare the l’Est is one of the 6 large railway stations of Paris. It was the starting point of The Orient-Express, a mythical rail line travelling across Europe all the way to Istanbul. Today it remains the terminal point for all trains to eastern provinces and Germany. With TGV (high speed trains) Frankfurt is now only 4 hours away. The building, inaugurated in 1850, is a beautiful sample of XIXth century architecture. At the time, it redefined terminal railway station designs, and served as a model to many European stations.