Things To Do in Krakow

Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow

Almost every visitor to Krakow makes the trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau, 70 kilometers west. The live-guided tour with hotel pickup is the simplest version: a minibus from your hotel, a licensed memorial educator for both Auschwitz I and Birkenau, and about seven hours in total. The combined Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine tour does both sites in one eleven-hour day and is the most reviewed day trip in the city. Book early; guided entry slots fill weeks ahead between May and September.

Wieliczka Salt Mine

The Salt Mine is fifteen minutes from the center. The guided tour with fast-track ticket descends 380 wooden steps to chambers, salt lakes and the Chapel of St. Kinga, where even the chandeliers are carved from salt. It is a constant 14°C underground, so bring a layer in summer. Most tours run about two and a half hours plus transfer.

The Old Town and Kazimierz

The Main Market Square, the Cloth Hall and St. Mary's trumpet call are walkable in an hour, and the electric golf cart tour strings them together with Wawel, Kazimierz and the Podgórze ghetto in ninety minutes. Schindler's Factory, now a museum of Krakow under occupation, is the most visited indoor attraction; the skip-the-line ticket avoids the queue that forms by mid-morning. After dark, the Legends and Tales walking tour covers the dragon, the trumpeter and the stories behind the Old Town's doorways.

Food and Vodka

The tipsy Polish food tour works through pierogi, żurek, zapiekanka and a few shots of flavored vodka over two and a half hours in the Old Town and Kazimierz, and it is one of the highest-rated food tours in Poland.

Zakopane and the Tatras

Zakopane is two hours south. The day trip includes the Gubałówka cable car, a tasting of smoked oscypek cheese and local spirits, free time on Krupówki street and an evening in the thermal springs. In winter the same operators add snowmobiles and bonfires.

Timing

Spring and early autumn are the pleasant seasons; July and August are crowded and the Auschwitz slots go first. Most tours here offer free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.