Frankfurt’s main train station, Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, is undergoing a huge facelift, but that aside, arriving in one of Europe's busiest stations is a breeze.

ATMs, fast-food restaurants, newspaper stands, chemists, bakeries and grocery stores can all be found around the tracks, and there's more downstairs. Find a Reisebank exchange office (open 07.30-21.00) at the southern exit.
You can get to the city centre on foot in about 15 minutes; head straight out of the main exit, cross the road or use the passageway and walk straight down Kaiserstraße through the wonderfully dodgy but completely harmless Bahnhofsviertel district. Alternatively, head for the U-Bahn station under the main hall; many lines head to the Hauptwache stop in the city centre (U4 and 5 pass under the historic centre). You can also go to the Tiefbahnhof (deep station; entrance between tracks 16-20) to catch an S-Bahn to the centre or to the airport (S8 or 9). See Public transport for information on tickets.

DB (Deutsche Bahn, German railways) uses a number of train types on long-distance routes. The supersexy, delux highspeed ICE trains (InterCity Express; 'eeh-tsay-ay') zip through the countryside on purpose-built tracks at up to 300km/hr. Every seat has a headphone plug for the eight music stations, and you may get a TV screen too. Table seats have 220V plugs for laptops, and some carriages have amplifiers to enable clear mobile phone conversations. EC (EuroCity) and IC (InterCity) trains are less swank, but still very good, connecting international and German cities respectively. Seat reservations are not always obligatory (check before boarding), but the €3 investment may save you from having to stand in the corridor for five hours.

Tickets can be purchased at the the DB Centre and travel agency (open 06:00 - 22:00) in the main hall. DB has a complicated pricing structure; the sooner you buy the ticket, the more likely you’ll get a reduced price. The DB's German and European online train timetable at www.bahn.de is so good that it's often easier to use for planning trips within neighbouring countries than the relevant national websites. It can handle complicated international connections and lists prices for trips within Germany; click on the link to Int. Guests for the English version. You can book online in advance, pay by credit card and print out your ticket and seat reservations at home.