Discover Krakow: The Underrated European City You Need to Visit Before Tourism Ruins It
Plan your weekend in Krakow itinerary using my tried-and-tested guide. Find things to do, where to stay, where to eat, and more important information for your travels to Krakow, Poland.
To be honest, I had never really thought of Poland as I place I would visit for a weekend trip. For some reason, I had it in my head that spending holidays in Krakow would be filled with tours of outdated, large unkempt European palaces that were ghosts of their former selves. But, oh, how wrong I was…
On my recent weekend in Krakow, for a friend’s 30th birthday celebrations, I got to see that Krakow was not just a place for stag weekends (even though such a group was on our flight). But that it’s also a city which boasts unrivalled European architecture.
In this travel guide, I will break down the top things to do and see, and how to make the most of spending a weekend in Krakow, Poland. I recommend visiting the Auschwitz camps as it is important that we never forget what happened so that it never happens again.
1. Sightsee Across the City
There are so many gorgeous spots to be found in Krakow city. It would be a shame to miss any of them. Luckily, most of them are near enough to each other to be enjoyed on a single day’s walking tour.
Here’s the best way to spend your first day in the city. Start your weekend off with a walk around Main Square, or Rynek Główny, and take in the splendor of this 13th-century plaza. It’s the largest medieval town square in Europe.
Krakow Main Square is the sight of St. Mary’s Basilica, Town Hall Tower and the Cloth Hall. During the evenings the square is transformed into a melee of activity with street performers, horse-drawn carriages, and locals galore.
2. St Mary’s Basilica
The Main Market Square’s centrepiece is the 14th-century, Gothic-style St. Mary’s Basilica, featuring stained glass windows and gilded interiors. The church serves as one of the best examples of Polish Gothic architecture.
St. Mary’s Church, is also known for the Hejnał Mariacki (the bugle call), which is played every hour. Standing at 80 m tall, the church is famous for its wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz). In 1978 the Church became a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Historic Centre of Kraków.
3. Cloth Hall
Across the square, in the 14th-century Cloth Hall, is an old gallery, that now hosts a fantastic craft market with a variety of 19th-century Polish jewels, souvenirs and art creations.
The building was originally a major centre for the city’s international trade. It was also once a prime spot for fancy balls and grand events. It has seen many monarchs, dignitaries, and other people of note come through its doors.
The Cloth Hall is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday, and regular entrance costs 25 PLN (£6 / 7 USD). Entrance to permanent exhibitions is free on Sundays.
4. Rynek Underground Museum
Under the Cloth Hall gallery, you’ll find the Rynek Underground Museum. Where you can explore the history of the Cloth Hall and admire a fantastic collection of Polish art at the Art Gallery.
5. Wawel Castle and Wale Hill
Head south of Old Town to Wawel Hill, where the Royal Castle and Wawel Cathedral overlook the city.
This has been the seat of Polish kings for over 500 years. Since then, the Royal Castle has been built and rebuilt in Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance styles, featuring grand murals, gilded walls, and expansive courtyards.
You can spend a few hours exploring the castle’s intricate tapestries, art collections and ornate staterooms. Poland’s most treasured work of art, Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine is also on display here.
You will need one ticket for the Royal Castle. Tickets are sold for the individual exhibition. You need to purchase another ticket for the Cathedral, which costs 12 PILN (£2 / 3 USD). Admission to Wawel Hill and the Arcaded Courtyard is free.
If you’re short on time, or simply wanting some help, you can opt for a guided tour of the castle.
6. Krakow Sightseeing – Golf Cart Tours of Krakow
If you explore the Jewish quarters of Krakow I recommend doing an eco-vehicles (like a golf cart) tour of Krakow. You get to whizz around the various districts of Krakow as trams, bikes and cars tailgate you.
Meanwhile, the driver points out the various historical buildings around the city, just like the hop-on-hop-off bus tours only better, with the driver stopping to let you ‘make photos’.
Our driver was very knowledgeable, stopping to tell us about some of the more important parts of the city, and driving down smaller roads that cars are unable to use.
During the one-and-a-half-hour tour, we visited the old town, Kazimierz (Jewish district), and we also passed by the Krakow castle. You can choose the districts you would like to visit, and if you choose two or more you can get a discount.
The tour took in the following sights:
-
Cloth Hall (Sukiennice)
-
Oskar Schindler’s Factory
-
Galicia Jewish Museum
-
Jewish District (Kazimierz)
In the Jewish District (Kazimierz) we explored Wolnica Square, Church on the Rock, Temple Synagogue, Old Synagogue, Szeroka Street, Nowy Square and Synagogue Remuh.
Then we passed the former Jewish ghetto area, with the airy monument in Ghetto Heroes Square, the Eagle Pharmacy Museum and Oskar Schindler’s Factory, made famous in Spielberg’s masterpiece ‘Schindler’s List’, and the remains of the Ghetto wall.
Check here for the latest prices for the Krakow sightseeing tour.
7. Day Trips to Auschwitz
This tour covers both UNESCO sites and includes tickets, guide, transport for the day and lunch. During the bus ride to Auschwitz I, we watched a documentary about the history of the Nazi concentration camps.
We arrived at Auschwitz I and were guided around the camp. Touring Auschwitz was extremely disturbing, as you come face-to-face with the horrors that human beings can inflict upon each other, driven by a set of beliefs.
I have seen more than my fair share of movies and documentaries about the Holocaust, but we were presented with areas in which there was hair by the tonne.
The shoes from every man, woman and child, as well as pots and pans, where mothers thought they would be cooking for their family piled in a heap. These were the only sign of these individual’s existence, and that made all the horror you read and watch even more real.
After touring Auschwitz I, we were then transferred to Auschwitz II- Birkenau, a five-minute car ride away. This was the larger more horrible death camp built so that trains filled with people could arrive and be sorted into groups.
Where the elderly and young (the ones deemed unable to work) would be sent to their death.
At Auschwitz II- Birkenau, we toured the camps and the remains of the gas chambers and crematoriums before the camps were liberated.
8. Wieliczka Salt Mines in Krakow Poland
After the saddening tour of Auschwitz, we were taken to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Which is a thing of wonder, with its underground labyrinths, lakes and chambers; there’s even a ballroom.
The salt mine has been in operation since the 19th century and is one of the world’s oldest working salt mines. Nine centuries of mining in Wieliczka has produced a total of some 200 kilometres of passages, as well as 2,040 caverns of various sizes.
The tour route starts 64 metres deep, with an initial descent down 378 wooden stairs. It includes twenty chambers and ends 135 metres below the surface, where the world’s largest museum of mining is located, with centuries-old equipment among its exhibition route.
Hands down the best sight on this tour was the ballroom, with its impressive salt chandelier dangling like an actual diamond in the sky. We were guided through numerous drifts, galleries and chambers with sculptures in the crystalline salt, and lavish ornamentation carved in the rock salt.
Occasionally concerts and other events take place in the Wieliczka mine’s biggest chambers. Our guide told us that the microclimate of the tunnel could help asthma and allergy sufferers. We arrived back at the Krakow Market Square with enough time to have a few drinks and enjoy some local Polish cuisine.
Krakow tours to Auschwitz – this is a full-day tour to Auschwitz and Wieliczka salt mine and includes private air-conditioned transport, skip the line tickets, and pick up in Krakow or your hotel.
Check the latest prices for this full-day tour here.
Both Auschwitz and the Wieliczka salt mine are Krakow points of interest and are a must-see if you are visiting Krakow.
9. Krakow Tour to Czestochowa Black Madonna
Again, we booked our tours through getyourguide.com and were picked up by our driver (Konrad) being finer than a crisp £50 note, with ice blue eyes like the ocean.
I tried not to stare too long at them as it would have me making plans to move to Poland. This was my favourite tour by far, and it offered so much. No one tells you monks are funny as hell. The tour was given by an 80 something-year-old Monk dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi and was sharper than a butcher’s knife.
Father (Simson) was a stickler for people trying to queue jump during mass (I guess no one can wait to see God).
And as the line slowly snaked its way up to pass by the Black Madonna. There were more than a few little old ladies that he told off, telling them to join the back of the line for mass. This is something you don’t see every day.
10. Black Madonna Painting and Jasna Góra Monastery
We made the pilgrimage from Krakow to Czestochowa, home to one of Poland’s most acclaimed sights, the Black Madonna painting.
We then had a private tour of the Jasna Góra monastery by Monk/Father Simson. We learned about the history of the sacred site, the legends and miracles associated with the Black Madonna, and we saw the historic defensive walls that famously survived a Swedish invasion.
The monastery was founded by Pauline monks, who emigrated from Hungary in the 14th century. It has been recognised by three different popes thanks to its resilient story and sacred Black Madonna painting.
Touring the ground with Father Simon Obi-Wan Kenobi was like being escorted around by one of the 12 apostles.