Getting Around Katowice
Katowice is the central city of a sprawling metropolitan area in southern Poland, and much of it is easy to explore on foot. For anything further afield, the city sits within a unified regional transport network that ties Katowice to dozens of neighbouring cities across the Upper Silesian Metropolis, which straddles the Czech border. This guide covers the practical options: walking, trams and buses, taxis and ride-hailing, bike rental, and how to reach the city from its airport.
On Foot
Katowice rewards walkers. Many of the city's sights lie within a kilometre or two of the Rynek (market square) or the main railway station, and the pavements are broad and level, making the centre comfortable to navigate on foot. If you're basing yourself centrally, you can cover a good deal of the city without ever boarding a vehicle.
Trams and Buses
Almost all buses and trams across the Upper Silesian Metropolis are run by ZTM Metropolia, which operates a unified ticket system spanning the region's many cities. This means a single ticket type works across the network, which is convenient if your plans take you beyond Katowice itself.
One exception to be aware of: PKM Jaworzno runs blue and yellow buses on a number of routes, including lines A, E and J from Aleja Korfantego, under a completely different fare system. Most visitors are unlikely to use these services, but if you see a blue and yellow bus, don't assume your ZTM ticket covers it.
- Time-based tickets: Tickets are sold by duration, with options covering short hops, longer journeys, and full routes. All of these allow unlimited transfers within the allotted time.
- Group tickets: A group ticket valid for a set period is available for up to five people travelling together.
- Day passes: A one-day pass valid until midnight is a good option if you plan several trips in a day.
- Concessions: Concessionary fares are available at half the relevant normal fare.
- E-packages and e-passes: You can buy electronic bundles of tickets, which roughly halve the unit journey price but don't allow transfers, as well as longer-term electronic passes.
Buying Tickets
Tickets are widely available before you board. Look for them at kiosks, newsagents and shops, from machines at the main stops, or at POP passenger service points — these are located within Katowice railway station, at Pocztowa 10 near the Rynek, and at the ZTM offices on Barbary 21a.
The only ticket you can buy on boarding is the 90-minute ticket from bus drivers. Drivers don't give change and don't yet accept contactless payment, and they are sometimes out of tickets altogether. Trams offer no on-board purchase option at all, so buy before you travel.
Validating Your Ticket
You must validate your ticket immediately on boarding. Inspectors patrol the network, and an unvalidated ticket is treated as no ticket at all. If you're heading to an outlying sight, buy your return ticket at the same time as your outbound one — you may find no convenient ticket point at your destination, or the machine may be broken.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Taxi ranks can be found at the airport, at the north entrance of the railway station on 3 Maja, at the bus station, and at main hotels and city transport nodes. If you take a rank taxi, agree the price beforehand — otherwise the fare is at the driver's discretion. Using a ride-hailing app such as Uber avoids this problem entirely by ensuring an agreed price up front.
By Bicycle
Rental bicycles are available in the city. The most common system is Metrorower, whose yellow bikes can be rented through the Metrorower app. The system covers not just Katowice but many nearby cities as well, so it's a viable option for short trips across the metropolitan area.
Getting In from the Airport
Katowice Airport (KTW) sits north of the city and is the main airport for the wider metropolitan region. It has a single terminal with the usual facilities, including car hire. As a budget-oriented airport, food and souvenirs are considerably more expensive than in the city centre, and the on-site currency exchange booth should be avoided — its margins can be far higher than those of money changers in central Katowice.
Onward transport options into the city:
- AP airport bus: Runs directly to the main railway and bus stations, roughly every 30 minutes during the day and hourly through the night. Don't confuse it with bus M11, which shares the same terminus but takes considerably longer because of its many stops.
- Matuszek Bus: Runs direct to Kraków.
- Other direct buses: Services also run to Bytom, Mierzęcice and Sosnowiec.
If you're arriving at Kraków's John Paul II Airport instead, note that it has excellent connections across Europe. Flixbuses from Warsaw and Gdańsk call there on their way to Katowice, but it's usually more convenient to take the frequent bus or train into Kraków city centre and change there.
Arriving by Train or Coach
Katowice Railway Station is centrally located and has left luggage lockers; downstairs you'll find a shopping mall, cafes and local buses. Outlying stations include Zaleze to the west, Brynów and Ligota to the southwest, and Zawodzie to the east.
The inter-city bus station, Sądowa, is a short walk west of the railway station. Completed in 2020, it is clean, has good facilities including free toilets, and feels safe even at night.
Both stations are well connected to the rest of Poland and beyond. Trains run regularly from Warsaw and Kraków, with services continuing from Wrocław toward Kraków, Tarnów, Rzeszów, Łańcut and Przemyśl on the Ukraine border. International services connect from Berlin, and from the Czech Republic via Ostrava, with some trains starting in Prague, Vienna or Budapest. On cross-border routes, look for split-ticket deals, and note that reservations are compulsory on all trains from Germany in July and August. Long-distance coaches from Warsaw, Gdańsk, Berlin, Prague, Vienna and Kraków also serve the city, with Kraków in particular enjoying a frequent service using large coaches with luggage trunks — worth booking ahead, as these sell out at busy times.