Krakow how long to spend

On the wall you will pass the Pinball Museum. End the day with dinner and drinks in Kazimierz or the Old Town. There are several bars in Krakow where you can sample vodka. Our favorite was Wodka Bar in the Old Town. Auschwitz-Birkenau, also simply called Auschwitz concentration camp, is the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps.

A day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau will take about six to eight hours of your day, depending on the mode of transportation you choose bus, train, private driver, or tour. You also have the option to add on the Wielickza Salt Mines. This underground salt mine is filled with sculptures carved from salt. If you have less than 3 days in Krakow, you can do this same itinerary, with some modifications.

On day 2, take the day trip to Auschwitz. In the afternoon, visit the Wielickza salt mine or spend the late afternoon and evening in Krakow, either at dinner or spending more time in the Old Town.

Unlike Gdansk and Warsaw, where most of the main sites are clustered in one area, the main sites in Krakow are more spread out.

You can stay right in the Old Town, but there are several other great neighborhoods to consider. We stayed at the Mint Luxury Apartments in the Old Town, but for more recommendations, read our article:. Do you have any questions about spending 3 days in Krakow or how to plan your Krakow itinerary? Ask us in the comment section below or feel free to add your experience. Planning a trip to Poland? Read all of our articles in our Poland Travel Guide. Note: This post contains affiliate links.

When you make a purchase using one of these affiliate links, we get paid a small commission at no extra cost to you. Awesome post with incredible details about the historic city of Krakow. The images are very beautiful it helps to know more about Krakow. Thanks for including all the elements. I live in Central America. Thanks again. Nina Nye. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Sign me up for the newsletter! Facebook Pinterest Twitter. Wawel Castle Museums For those who want to learn more, there are several museums sprinkled throughout Wawel Castle. Grodzka Street Once on Grodzka Street, it is worth detouring a short distance to see two historic churches in Krakow. Lunch By now, it is probably getting close to lunchtime. Enter from the Cloth Hall near St.

Dinner and Drinks End the day with dinner and drinks in the Old Town. Walking distance: 1. Many tourists choose the most classic option, that is, the Tourist Route. It leads through all the most important chambers of the mine, and during the journey the guide tells the story of the place and explains how salt was once extracted. Of course, tours are conducted in various languages — not only English, but also German or French and so on.

Another interesting option — especially for those who need more excitement, is the Mining Route. Following this trail takes the form of an active hike. First, participants receive mining gear — a protective suit, helmet and a lamp. Secondly, they follow a completely different paths than in the Tourist Route, so for example they do not visit Saint Kinga's Chapel, but instead they are able to perform real mining tasks assigned to them by an experienced guide.

By choosing the Mining Route, you will be able to examine the level of methane concentration, try your hand at salt transport or rope braiding and see for yourself how salt mining was once performed. You can not spend it in another way than trying traditional Polish food! The beauty of this tour is its uniqueness - every guide performs it their own way, choosing places the group will visit.

You will experience one of its kind tour. And you will love it! Just the same! The museum is located in the administrative building of the former enamelware factory better known as Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik DEF headed by Oskar Schindler. Nowadays, the forty-five museum halls show Krakow from the time of the Second World War. Thanks to the exhibition you will find out about Krakow as a centre of the General Government, everyday life of the inhabitants of the occupied city, the fate of Krakow Jews and the history of Oskar Schindler.

This is a thematic trail regarding industrial heritage of Krakow. It consists of various types of facilities, including:. Wawel Royal Castle is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the city. The Castle is charmingly situated in the bend of the Vistula River. It is the most valuable monument of national history and culture in Poland. It is also a treasury of knowledge about Polish history and a symbol of national consciousness at the same time.

If you are still wondering how long to spend in Krakow, then we suggest — give yourself enough time to enjoy all the treasures and gems of this city! The castle is impressive both from the outside and inside. It is worth emphasizing that inside there are as many as 71 exhibition halls — most of them are decorated in the Baroque or Classicist style, but they are also found in the interwar period style.

Also, the Wawel collection of eastern art includes the largest collection of tents in Europe. Due to the fact that every exhibition can be visited separately, and the collections are displayed in several permanent exhibitions, everyone can choose something that interests them the most.

Did you know that the Wawel hill was inhabited for about , years, and became a centre of secular and church power? I hope you liked the plan and it will inspire you to arrange your own trip. You will get the most out of this amazing city. And you won't regret it for sure! I'm Kamila. I wish I had had one more night, at least. I would suggest a minimum of two nights for Krakow itself plus one night for each daytrip.

Thanks to all for your suggestions! They were very helpful and this portion of our trip is now set. TravelBug79, So what did you ultimately decide? Hope you have a great trip! Krakow is wonderful.

I wouldn't skip the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Looking forward to exploring the city! If you want to include "down time" without being pressured, then I suggest 5 nights in Krakow. I wish I had done that instead of planning only for 4 nights. We spent a full day in the countryside exploring an ancestral village with the help of Andrew Durman highly recommended by Rick Steves and his fans. We did the salt mines another day with another drver and he also took us to the local skasen which is an outdoor folk museum.

The castles and museums give you a sense of the royalty and wealthy but a skansen will let you see how the vast majority lived. We recommend you start your day here and then slowly walk back to the town center.

TIP: If you are traveling in high season, make sure to book the tickets in advance on the website of the museum. Alternatively, join a guided tour. In the past, this was the largest open space inside the ghetto. The square has been recently renovated and now contains large bronze and iron chairs. Originally the center of Jewish life in Krakow, much of Kazimierz was virtually destroyed during World War II and the area fell into disrepair. Its cobbled streets are filled with art galleries, atmospheric cafes and quaint, unique buildings that look exactly as they would have done decades ago.

There is a fee if you want to look inside and visitors must be modestly dressed. For lunch, we recommend a traditional restaurant Kuchnia u Doroty. With thousands of great reviews on Google, Trip Advisor, and multiple other sites, this is one of the best choices in this part of Krakow! After lunch, I recommend spending the second half of the day at the Wieliczka Salt Mine.

As already mentioned, you could also visit it on day 2 of this itinerary by booking a tour that includes Auschwitz as well as Wieliczka. However, if you have the time, I recommend that you visit these places separately. It features statues and chapels carved out of the rock salt. Many of these have been carved by the original miners at the end of their shifts.

New carvings have been added by artists in recent years. The scale of this mine is vast and a guided tour is recommended to see the best of the sights. Good to know: The mine is approximately a minute drive from the center of Krakow, so you will need to arrange transportation to visit.

You can book a taxi or go by train, but the easiest way to visit is by booking a guided tour that includes transport from Krakow. It runs daily with several departures a day and takes about hours. The above itinerary covers the best of Krakow in 2, days. Should you find yourself with a little extra time in Krakow — or if you plan a return visit to this fascinating city — there are many more attractions that may interest you. Here are some other nice things to do in and near Krakow:.

Just like most other places mentioned above, this is a very popular attraction, so I recommend that you book your tickets online. A visit takes around 35 minutes — if you dare! If you are visiting from mid-April until mid-October, this is a lovely spot in which to enjoy a romantic stroll in Krakow. The Jagiellonian University buildings are also interesting to see. This is a popular short boat trip on the Vistula River in Krakow.

Starting at the bottom of Wawel Hill, it gives you a different viewpoint on Krakow. Boat tours run from April through October and can be booked here. One of the nicest day trips from Krakow is a visit to Zakopane , a popular mountain resort. Some tours like this one also include a visit to the Thermal Baths.

Here are some of your options:. Airport Taxi: The taxi rank is immediately outside the airport. Private airport transfer: Often cheaper than a taxi, private airport transfers are the most convenient way to get into the city.

This private transfer is particularly well-rated. You can also reserve an electric car transfer at a similar rate. Airport Train: Far cheaper than a taxi or private transfer is the train, which also takes around 25 minutes to get you into the center of Krakow.

You can buy tickets in the Arrivals Hall or on the station platform. They are also available from the guard on the train. You can get tickets — which cost around 4 PLN — at the bus stop or from a machine in the Arrivals Hall. If you plan on visiting many attractions outside the city, however, then you may want to rent a car in that case, make sure to book a hotel that also has parking.

You can find the best deals for car rental here. One of the best things about Krakow as a weekend destination is that so many of its attractions are close together, making it easy to travel on foot!

You can visit pretty much all the Krakow attractions mentioned in this article just by walking. There are a few other options though:. There is a wide choice of hotels and apartments in Krakow. Due to booming tourism, the number of units for rent in the city has risen from to just in the last few years.