Recently the beneficiary of a massive 293 million złoty investment, Wrocław’s main train station has never looked better. Completed in 1857, this grandiose Neo-Gothic building, with its decadent exterior of turrets and crenulations, has been given a fresh blaze of bright orange-yellow paint – and while not necessarily the colour we would have chosen, it certainly makes an impression. Looking like a grandiose palace from its early days, the station finally has the surrounding grounds to match, with a green public square replete with dozens of benches and two playful fountains to replace the car park and gas station that formerly stood in front of the entrance. There’s even a plethora of covered bicycle parking and a new underground parking complex nearby (follow the signs).

Inside, all the elegant architectural details of the original design have been brought back to life, while new digital display screens give you all the arrival and departure info you need. Modernised to be completely handicap accessible, during our most recent visit some of the escalators and lifts had yet to come to life, but there are every handy conveyors to put your luggage on if you chose the stairs. Other amenities include 24-hour ticket windows, information desks, lockers and a left luggage service, ATMs (bankomat), currency exchange offices (kantor), comfortable waiting rooms, and even a VIP waiting room for those with first-class tickets. Several shops, restaurants, cafes are already in place and with space to spare, more will no doubt soon be moving in. Overall it adds up to the most convenient, comfortable, and easy to navigate train station in Poland.

Be aware, however, that despite there being over a dozen ticket windows, you may still be greeted by long queues, so give yourself plenty of time. If in a rush, remember that you can buy tickets on board the train from the conductor, though you’ll pay a hefty surcharge. Station departures (odjazdy) are listed on the yellow timetables and arrivals (przyjazdy) on the white ones. Check the large digital display board for the number of the platform (peron). Visit the Polish railways website at rozklad.pkp.pl – which has limited but effective English language functionality – to check the times ahead of travelling.

As for getting into town, you are basically in it. Most of the city’s hotels and hostels are within 15 minutes walking distance, and given that penetrating the inner Old Town on public transport requires you take at least two trams, it probably isn’t worth the hassle. If you really don’t fancy the walk, there are taxis waiting of front of both station entrances.