The main station is one of Germany's busiest interchanges, sitting square at the north end of the central shopping district. The 1879 sandstone front, with its broad horseshoe arch and equestrian statue of King Ernst August out front (a permanent meeting point — "unterm Schwanz" is the local rendez-vous), survived the war and was carefully restored in 2000 for Expo.
The shopping concourse beneath is a small city in its own right — bakeries, supermarkets, even a public library open until 11 p.m. Useful if you arrive late and need anything between train rides.