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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/45798
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm working on a post-apocalypse novel set all over the world. I'm fairly flexible on where some of the events take place, but there are often specific requirements on the look, layout, general region etc, and I like to use real places for authenticity.

For example, right now I'm looking for a major Eastern European railway station that can act as a crime lord's HQ. It needs to have a wide, multi-platform concourse overlooked by a second level balcony with shops and cafés, all under a high ceiling with lots of glass, and with at least one underground track for hidden entry. It feels like a plausible place to me, but so far I haven't found a real-world example that fits all the criteria, and I'm not even sure how to phrase the search.

Short of googling every station in Eastern Europe, is it really my best option to just pick one and claim artistic license on what's there? Or even invent a whole city? It seems lazy but I'll do it if there's no alternative.

Are there any resources I could try before I give in? Where do I ask whether anyone knows of such a place?

Original score: 2