Central Kaifeng, bounded by walls roughly 3km long at each side, is fairly small, and most places of interest are within walking distance of one another. Zhongshan Lu is the main north-south thoroughfare, while Sihou Jie , which changes its name to Gulou Jie at the centre and Mujiaqiao Jie in the east, is the main east-west road. The town's heart is the crossroads of Sihou Jie and Shudian Jie, where the night market sets up. The town is crisscrossed by canals, once part of a network that connected it to Hangzhou and Yangzhou in ancient times; these are useful for orientation. The train station , on the line between Xi'an and Shanghai, is in a grotty area outside the walls, about 2km south of the centre. The main long-distance bus station is next to the train station, and there's a smaller bus station, for buses to or from western destinations, notably Zhengzhou, on Yingbin Lu, just inside the walls.

Most of the city's bus routes begin outside the train station. Bus #1 goes from here north up Yingbin Lu, then along Zhongshan Lu, skirts Panjia Hu and continues to the north section of the wall, terminating on Beimen Lu at a second, small bus terminus. To get to the centre from the station, take bus #4, which runs up Yingbin Lu, then traverses the length of the town along Sihou Jie. Bus #3 is also useful, travelling north up the street that begins as Wolong Jie then changes its name to Beixing then Beimen Jie. For a relatively small place, there are a lot of taxis cruising the streets, evidence of recent prosperity. Cycling is an ideal way to get around as the streets are wide and flat, but the only rental shop is outside the CITS office in the far south of town, so unless you're staying nearby it's a long walk back to your hotel once you've returned the bike.

Maps of the city are available from bookshops or from CITS. Take the sights of interest listed on maps with a pinch of salt as no distinction is made between ancient buildings and tacky modern "tourist resources", such as dreadful waxwork shows.