Krakow's main station: See location map
Krakow Glowny is Krakow's modern main station, Glowny being Polish for main. The station was completely rebuilt in 2014 and integrated with the adjacent Galeria Krakowska shopping centre. The old station building dating from 1847 was closed, and now houses a museum.
The station in pictures
Which platform for your train?
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Krakow Glowny is a through station with 5 island platforms (peron 1 to peron 5) serving 10 tracks (tor 1 to tor 10). Peron 1 is on the west side of the station, closest to the Galeria Krakowska, peron 5 is on the eastern side, closest to the bus station.
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Confusingly, Polish stations use both a platform number (peron) and a track number (tor), a peron being an island platform with a tor on each side. The platform number shown on departure indicators, printed departure posters and station signage refers to the peron.
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Departure screens in various locations around the station tell you which peron to go to for your train. When you reach that platform, look at the departure indicators each side of the peron to see which tor (track) your train leaves from.
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Tip: See live departures on your laptop or phone: Go to portalpasazera.pl/en/KatalogStacji?stacja=Krakow%20Glowny. You can check which platform & track your train leaves from before you leave your hotel, and (if you click the arrow against your train) whether it's on time.
Ticket offices
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The ticket hall underneath the platforms has 20 ticket windows, an information office and a PKP Intercity (Polish Railways) customer service centre. Credit cards are accepted.
Left luggage, toilets, ATMs, WiFi
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Luggage lockers: There are left luggage lockers in the ticket hall, accessible 24/7, see the left luggage page for prices. The lockers take zloty coins.
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Left luggage offices: There are two staffed left luggage offices, one run by PKP in the ticket hall at its eastern end near Burger King, another privately run on the Peron 1 side of the station near the doors into the Galeria Krakowska. In 2024 it's reported that both offices will now take card payment as well as cash in zlotys.
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Toilets & shower: There are two sets of toilets accessed down stairs from each end of the ticket hall. There's a turnstile at the entrance which accepts zlotys coins or contactless bank cards. One of the toilets has a shower available for a small fee.
Tip: If you haven't any zloty coins, there are free toilets just inside the Galeria Krakowska shopping centre. Let me know if you find them!
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ATMs: There are several ATMs in & around the main passageway & ticket hall. Avoid ATMs marked Euronet worldwide, as explained in this video.
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WiFi: There is free WiFi in various locations within the station, the network name is _PKP_WIFI. If you plan to use public WiFi on your travels, consider getting a VPN.
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Cafe Cavarious, between the main passageway & ticket hall. Note the departures screen! Photo courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com |
Food & drink
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Cafes, restaurants: There are many cafes and restaurants in the station & adjacent Galeria Krakowa. There's a Burger King at one end of the station ticket hall. There are a couple of cafes in the main passageway and a Glycan Polish ice cream parlour. For a sit-down meal with traditional Polish food, the self-service Polskie-Smaki restaurant is just off the main passageway to the north, near Peron 1 - Please let me know if that link stops working.
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For dinner before boarding a sleeper train, there's the Polskie-Smaki restaurant in the station, open every day until 22:00. But for a more traditional restaurant outside the station, try the restaurant inside the Puro Hotel across the road and to the right from the Galeria Krakowska, purohotel.pl. Also consider the Jarema restaurant (closed Mondays) or Szalone Widelce restaurant for Polish food, a few minutes walk from the station towards the old town. If you eat at any of these restaurants or have another recommendation, let me know!
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Supermarket: There's a Biedronka supermarket in the main passageway underneath peron 2. This is the best place to stock up for a journey. They don't sell beer or wine, but (unlike most European countries) you can't drink your own alcohol on Polish trains, only beer or wine bought & consumed in the restaurant or bar car.
Taxis, buses, trams
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Taxis: The taxi rank is on the open deck above the platforms, so take an escalator or lift up from the platforms, not down!
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Buses & trams: The bus station is next to the station, on the east side. There's a tram tunnel with tram platforms beneath the station, it's all well signed, although the trams don't go directly to the old town or the Wawel (castle), you need to change. You may well find the Dworzec Główny Zachód (railway station, west) tram stop in ul. Pawia outside the Galeria Krakowska more useful for going towards the old town & Wawel. The public transport website with prices and a journey planner is www.mpk.krakow.pl.
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The covered pedestrian walkway from the ul. Lubicz exit of the new Krakow Glowny station to the old station square. Photo courtesy of @superalbs |
Walking to & from the old town
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It's a 15-minute 1.2 km walk from the station to the main square (rynek glowny) in Krakow's old town (stare miasto). The Wawel (royal castle) is 9 minutes further. See walking map.
Here's the quickest route out of the station, it's not obvious nor well-signed, but so much easier than having to fight your way through the Galeria Krakowska:
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From the main passageway to the ul. Lubicz exit...
1. Walk along the passageway past steps to perons 5, 4, 3, 2 until you reach the Biedronka supermarket and the steps up to peron 1. At this point, ignore signs to Stare Miasto / Old Town.
2. Turn left immediately after the supermarket, immediately before the steps up to peron 1.
3. Walk forwards, up a short flight of stairs, then out of the exit doors marked Stare Miasto, ul. Lubicz on your right. This is the station's southwest exit, the only exit on this side of the station that doesn't lead into the Galeria Krakowska.
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From the ticket hall to the ul. Lubicz exit...
1. At the western end of the ticket hall (to your right as you face the ticket windows), go up the short flight of stairs marked 1 Peron, Stare Miasto, ul. Lubicz (old town, Lubicz street).
2. Forward along the passage, left up another short flight of steps, right at the top and walk out of the exit doors marked Stare Miasto, ul. Lubicz. This is the station's southwest exit, the only exit on this side of the station that doesn't lead into the Galeria Krakowska.
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From the ul. Lubicz exit to the old town...
After walking out of the ul. Lubicz exit, you'll end up in a covered pedestrian walkway with pitched roof supported on old-fashioned iron columns. Follow this to the old station building. Walk through the gap between the old station and the Galeria Krakowska, into the pedestrianised square in front of the old station. Head across the square and on to the old town, see walking route map (the old station building is marked as History Land on Google Maps).
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Returning to the station from the old town...
Go to the pedestrianised square in front of the old station. Head for the left-hand end of the old station building and walk through the gap between the old station and the Galeria Krakowa shopping centre. You'll see signs to the station platforms and the start of the covered walkway to the new station, without having to walk through the shopping centre. See walking route map.
City sights
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Rynek Glowny, Krakow old town's main square.
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St Mary's Basilica on the old town square, mariacki.com.
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The Wawel, Krakow's royal castle, wawel.krakow.pl.
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Wawel cathedral, www.katedra-wawelska.pl
Suggested hotels in Krakow
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At the top end, the 5-star Hotel Bonerowski Palace is housed in a historic building right on the old town square itself. The 5-star Hotel Stary is also on the old town square, and features a spa and a roof-top terrace. Both get great reviews, and would be top choice.
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The 4-star Hotel Francuski is in the old town on the side closest to the station, 9 minutes walk from Krakow Glowny and 8 minutes walk from the old town square. It boasts free WiFi, art nouveau grandeur and gets great reviews. The Hotel Unicus & Hotel Imperial are not far from the Hotel Francuski and similarly priced.
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For something cheaper, try the 3-star Hotel Europejski, 6 minutes walk from the station and 8 minutes from Krakow's old town square, or the 3-star Hotel Polonia, 5 minutes walk from the new station, directly across the road from the old station.
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For budget rooms, try B&B La Fontaine which is also well-located for both station and old town, or the Bubble Hotel which offers budget rooms and cheap beds in shared rooms.