Krakow

Population: 770,000

Distance from Katowice: 80 km

• The best way from Katowice-Krakow is by bus/car.  If you chose the bus, arriving in the bus station Katowice/Krakow there are buses leaving every 15min, costing around ~15pln.

How to get there: 

• By air: Krakow has a big airport with flights from major European cities.
• By train: Big train station so trains from different locations are also arriving.
• By Bus/ car: Highways in Poland are good, so either driving or by bus there are fair lot of connections.

What’s so special about the city: Very nice main square and castle with lot of historical contexts. The restaurants and nightlife are also a big plus.

How long should you spend in Krakow: A weekend is fine, 2 full days.

Don’t miss out on the majestic  Wawel castle and cathedral. Located on a picturesque hill, this complex is the best place to learn about Polish history.

The Wawel Royal Castle is one of Krakow top attractions, which is impressive both from the outside and from the inside. Inside you will find 71 exhibition halls holding thousands of valuable exhibits. Among others, these include numerous paintings, famous tapestries, furniture, military collections as well as archaeological findings which were found on Wawel Hill.

All visitors to Krakow sooner or later end up on the Main Market Square too. Peak into St. Mary’s Basilica – it houses one of the most famous Medieval masterpieces, the wooden altar by Veit Stoss. The Main Market Square is one of the must-see places to visit in Krakow, especially since St. Mary’s Church is just one of the many attractions you will find there. It is also worth visiting the underground multimedia exhibition. It teaches the history of Krakow and is located next to the Krakow Cloth Hall. The Krakow Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) is without a doubt worth a visit, especially if you want to buy original Polish handicrafts as a souvenir. What’s more, one of the things to do in Krakow at night is to stroll around the Main Market Square!

I highly recommend watching the movie (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/ ) before going there. The movie is usually available on Netflix or another streaming websites.

The history buff will be delighted to visit the museum inside Oskar Schindler’s factory. You can visit Schindler’s preserved office and learn more about his heroism than you ever would from the Spielberg movie. The Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory Museum presents an exhibition regarding the time of the Nazi occupation of Krakow during the years 1939-1945. The exhibition not only shows the history of the city, but also tells the story of its inhabitants – both Poles and Jews. Facts about the course of World War II are intertwined here showing both everyday and private life – which definitely impresses visitors.

Known as Kazimierz in Polish, this is perhaps the most significant Jewish Quarter in the world. From the 14th Century until the Holocaust, The Kazimierz neighborhood was home to a thriving Jewish community. It was ultimately wiped out and left deserted After WWII. But the oldest synagogue still remains, dating back to 1638, it houses a media presentation of the life and history of Polish Jews. Nowadays the Jewish quarter has largely become a student hangout. There are a few museums, a traditional milk bar, a range of boutiques, and numerous outdoor restaurants. Locals recommend it for the food that can be eaten there. According to locals, the Jewish Quarter has some of the best, and least expensive, food in Krakow. Don’t forget to go to  Plac Nowy, the living, beating heart of Kazimierz with flea markets and antique bazaars. Krakow’s hip and the trendy crowd also tend to hang out at the venues located on this square – where you can spend an entire evening hopping between cafés and bars. We totally recommend you do the Jewish Krakow Free Walking Tour though.

Auschwitz Birkenau is perhaps the world’s most famous concentration camp and the site of the gravest mass murder in the history of humanity. It remains a memorial that can serve everyone as a mirror of the human soul and a prism for looking deep within ourselves. Go and see the barracks where prisoners were kept and the gas chambers where they were sent to die, learn the terrible history of the death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, and go the Birkenau camp to see where more than 125,000 prisoners of war were incarcerated.

Official website: http://auschwitz.org/en/visiting/

Free to access. You may need to book online for a seat. In case you want a guide, I think you get paid. Both options are good

Deep underground, just 20 min drive from Krakow, lies something remarkable. For centuries, miners have extracted salt there but left behind things quite startling and unique. It is the most unusual salt mine in the world and the only salt mine in the world preserved in such pristine condition.

Official website: https://www.wieliczka-saltmine.com/

This is paid to get into, cost around 100pln.