Choose wisely. Connect locally.Add your business Kraków was Poland's royal capital for centuries, and unlike many central European cities it came through the Second World War with its historic centre largely intact.
St. Mary's Basilica
The Cloth Hall
Wawel Royal Castle
Wawel Cathedral
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Kraków is also a place of memory. Its Jewish quarter, its wartime ghetto and the nearby former Nazi German camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau tell some of the most important and painful history of the twentieth century.
The historic centre of Kraków was among the first places added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, in 1978, and walking it feels like moving through a millennium of Polish history.
The city is also lively and young, with a large student population, cellar bars, cafes in old townhouses and a creative scene in Kazimierz and Podgórze.
The Old Town is ringed by the Planty, a park laid out where the medieval walls once stood.
Rynek Główny is one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe. Around it stand grand townhouses, the lone Town Hall Tower and the small Church of St. Adalbert, one of the oldest buildings in the city.
The Gothic Basilica of St. Mary, with its two towers of different heights, dominates the square. Inside, the carved wooden altarpiece by Veit Stoss, completed in the late fifteenth century, is a masterpiece of late Gothic art, and the star-painted vault glows deep blue.
A trumpet signal called the hejnał is played every hour from the taller tower of St. Mary's Basilica. Photo: Ввласенко, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
Sukiennice, the long Renaissance trading hall in the centre of the square, still sells amber, wooden toys, lace and other crafts on its ground floor.
The Cloth Hall was once a centre of international trade and now holds souvenir stalls and an art gallery. Photo: Jakub Hałun, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Just inside the line of the old walls, the Princes Czartoryski Museum holds one of the most famous paintings in Poland, Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine, along with antiquities, armor and decorative arts.
The limestone hill of Wawel above the Vistula was the seat of Polish kings for over five centuries.
Built around an arcaded Renaissance courtyard, the castle holds the State Rooms and Royal Private Apartments, where the highlight is the collection of sixteenth-century Flemish tapestries commissioned by King Sigismund Augustus.
Wawel Royal Castle served as the residence of Polish kings for centuries. Photo: Lloyd Tudor, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
For centuries Polish kings were crowned and buried in this cathedral, and its crypts hold royal tombs as well as national heroes and poets.
Wawel Cathedral was the coronation church of Polish monarchs and holds many royal tombs. Photo: Ingo Mehling, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Legend says a dragon lived in a cave beneath Wawel Hill. In the warmer months you can descend into the cave from the hill and emerge on the riverbank beside a metal dragon statue that breathes fire at intervals.
Founded as a separate town in the fourteenth century, Kazimierz became the centre of Jewish life in Kraków for hundreds of years. Before the war, tens of thousands of Jews lived in the city; very few survived the Holocaust.
Szeroka Street lies at the heart of Kazimierz, Kraków's historic Jewish district. Photo: Igor123121, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Across the river in Podgórze, the administrative building of Oskar Schindler's former enamel factory holds the Museum of Kraków's exhibition on the city under Nazi German occupation from 1939 to 1945. Through reconstructed streets, documents and personal stories, it covers daily life, resistance and the destruction of the Jewish community, including the workers Schindler protected.
The former Schindler factory now holds a Museum of Kraków exhibition on the city under Nazi German occupation. Photo: Adrian Grycuk, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl
Between the river and the factory, Ghetto Heroes Square was the main square of the wartime Kraków Ghetto. A memorial of large empty chairs stands across it, recalling the furniture left behind when the ghetto was liquidated.
The empty chairs on Ghetto Heroes Square commemorate the Jews of the Kraków Ghetto. Photo: Stella T98, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
About a half-hour ride southeast of the city, the Wieliczka Salt Mine was worked for centuries and became one of the first sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The tourist route leads down wooden staircases through chambers, underground lakes and chapels carved by miners, culminating in the vast Chapel of St. Kinga, where chandeliers and reliefs are made of salt.
The Chapel of St. Kinga in the Wieliczka Salt Mine was carved from rock salt by miners. Photo: bcs78, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
About an hour or more west of Kraków, near the town of Oświęcim, lie the preserved remains of Auschwitz, the largest Nazi German concentration and extermination camp. More than a million people were murdered here, the great majority of them Jews, along with Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war and others.
Auschwitz I, the original camp, contains exhibitions in former prison blocks. Auschwitz II-Birkenau, a short shuttle ride away, shows the vast scale of the camp, with its railway ramp, barracks and the ruins of gas chambers and crematoria.
Auschwitz-Birkenau, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979, is preserved as a memorial and museum. Photo: This picture has been taken by Oleg Yunakov. Contact e-mail: yunakovgmail.com. Image ca…, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Start with the obwarzanek, a braided bread ring dusted with poppy or sesame seeds and sold from blue street carts all over the Old Town.
For a taste of everyday Poland, eat at a bar mleczny, a simple milk bar serving home-style dishes at canteen counters. Look for smoked oscypek cheese from the Tatra highlands, often grilled and served with cranberry jam at markets.
Popular dishes to try in Kraków
The Old Town puts you within steps of the Main Market Square and Wawel, ideal for first-time visitors and short stays, though streets near the square can be noisy late at night.
Podgórze, across the river, is quieter and more residential, convenient for Schindler's Factory and riverside walks.
Where to stay in Kraków
Late spring and early autumn are the most pleasant seasons, with mild temperatures and long days for walking.
Winters are cold, and snow is common.
Kraków John Paul II International Airport is in Balice, west of the centre, with flights across Europe. A frequent train links the airport to Kraków Główny, the main station beside the Old Town, and buses and taxis are also available.
The Old Town is mostly pedestrianized and best seen on foot.
Walk the Royal Way from St. Florian's Gate to the Main Market Square, visit St. Mary's Basilica to hear the hejnał, browse the Cloth Hall and explore the Rynek Underground.
Spend the morning in Kazimierz at the Old Synagogue, Remuh Synagogue and cemetery.
Dedicate the day to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum with a booked visit. Keep the evening quiet and reflective.
Visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine in the morning.
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