Hotels near Krakow Glowny Train Station

Quaint and historic accommodation choices can be found in the Old Town, close to Krakow Glowny Station, while the streets immediately around the station are home to cheap hotels and hostels, offering reasonable accommodation at budget prices to suit all pockets, including several aimed specifically at backpackers.

The main railway station (Dworze Glowny) is located just outside the Old Town District of Krakow and is well-served by public transport.

The main entrance to the Glowny concourse is off Pawia Street, taking passengers through the giant Galeria Krakowska shopping mall. Although the platforms at Krakow Glowny are at street level, the actual concourse, ticket offices and public services are all underground.

This new concourse was opened in 2014, and is described as Poland’s only subterranean train station. The concourse is full of shops, restaurants, cafes and the full range of public and transport services you’d expect to find at a modern railway station, including a VIP lounge. The station can also be accessed from the city’s central bus and coach station on Bosacka Street.

Trains at the busy Glowny station cover the local suburbs, the Polish capital Warsaw, other regional cities in Poland, and European destinations, such as Prague (see hotels), Lviv, central Budapest and Vienna Hbf in Austria. All international routes are overnight services, which arrive in the city in the early morning.

If you would like to travel by train to other places in Poland or Europe, there are six kinds of trains to be chosen: InterCity (IC), EuroCity (EC), express trains (Ex), TKL, normal and local trains. InterCity (IC), EuroCity (EC) and express trains are quicker and more expensive than normal trains, and you must pay extra for a seat reservation.

The central train station in Krakow, Kraków Główny Railway Station, handles all international and most domestic trains. The only other station of any significance is Kraków Płaszów, 4km (2.5mi) southeast of the city centre of Krakow Poland, which operates some trains that don’t call at Kraków Główny. Local trains between the two stations run every 15 to 30 minutes.

There are good daily train services to major destinations throughout the country such as Warsaw (see places to stay). Internationally, there are one or two direct trains daily to Berlin Hbf in Germany, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest in Hungary, Hamburg City Centre District, Kyiv, Odesa, central Prague train station and Vienna Main Station in Austria.

Cheap hotels and hostels nearby usually offer breakfasts, clean sheets, Wi-Fi access, and may have laundry services and luggage lockers. It’s easy to book the Best Hotels near Krakow Train Station. Book early and save up to 10%, 20%, 30% or more on room rates.

Air Connections — John Paul II International Airport is located in the suburb of Balice, about 10km (6 miles) from town. The airport is easily reachable by bus or taxi.

Krakow is Poland’s second city, and offers visitors a beautiful vista along the River Wisla, or Vistula, backed by views of the Carpathian Mountains. The city centre offers its visitors plenty of history and culture, hearty food and a vibrant social scene, with many bars and nightclubs.

Krakow now has 18 boroughs, but historically was divided into the four quarters of Nowa Huta, Krowodrza, Podgorze and the historic and ancient city centre of Krakow itself, where many medieval features can still be discovered.

Krakow has a history going back over 20,000 years, with legend saying that the city grew out of a cave, where the mythical King Krak, slayed a dragon. The name itself first appears in the mid-tenth century, described as a trade centre by a Spanish merchant.

Wherever you choose your accommodation in Krakow, you will be within easy reach of everything on the city’s cheap and reliable public transport system.

Parking is always difficult to find in central Krakow, so don’t assume that any hotel, even luxury ones, will have parking for hire cars. If you do want parking, then head slightly further out from the station, towards the suburbs.

www.rozklad.pkp.pl — Polish railway