7 of the Best Things to do in Kraków

Admittingly, Kraków was not originally very high on my list of places to visit. But, the more time I spent in Europe, the more I leaned towards a visit to the former capital city and one of the oldest cities in Poland.

Kraków was the last stop on our two-week journey around Europe and like most of our other stops, two days did not feel like enough time. There is so much to do and see, we could of used a few extra days to really explore the city and surrounding areas.

Read on to learn how we jam-packed our 48-hour trip in Kraków.

1. Learn Important History at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum

One of the main reasons we wanted to make our way into Kraków was so we could visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum & Memorial. Auschwitz-Birkenau is the largest of the Nazi concentration and death camps and is now home to an emotional but very educational museum and memorial. Once we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp in Germany last year, I knew it would be incredibly important to make it to Auschwitz one day to learn more and pay our respects.

We booked a tour on viator.com that included free hotel pick-up, a full-day trip to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and the Wielickza Salt Mine, and a boxed lunch between the museum and the salt mine for €73 per person.

The museum itself was very informational but could be extremely hard for some people to handle. All of the materials, artifacts, photos and stories on display are real (not replicas) and true making it VERY real as a visitor. For instance, the image of the suitcases (above) are the real suitcases which were taken from the prisoners when they arrived.

We also had a local tour guide who brought us through each of the exhibits and provided additional information and insight. To be 100% honest, our tour guide was more interested in talking with her co-workers than actually talking to us, so this aspect of the tour was slightly disappointing as a visitor. It was also middle of the summer when we visited, so it was VERY crowded and because of that our tour guide skipped exhibits and rushed us through other areas of the museum.

I also witnessed one of the most horrific things I’ve ever seen while traveling here. I just want to point out that this museum is REAL. The torture, deaths and execution of millions of people really happened, and you’ll be brought into the areas of the camp that these terrible things happened in such as the gas chambers. My advice to you is to use your common sense. Don’t be the man who has his wife smiling for a photo in a gas chamber… it’s completely disrespectful and also just weird.  

2. Get Lost in the Wieliczka Salt Mine

To finish our day off on a happier note, we visited the Wielicza Salt Mine. This was hands down one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. We were provided with a tour guide who brought us 135 metres underground through the 20 underground chambers chiselled out of the rock salt. Throughout the 2+ hour tour, you’ll learn a lot about the salt mining industry but the most impressive parts of the tour are the incredible structures built within the chambers.

We were able to see the Michałowice chamber which was a tall wooden structure sitting within a room lit by massive salt crystal chandeliers. There are also saline lakes and many chapels scattered throughout the mine. However, the most impressive room to me was St. Kingas Chapel, a massive chapel sitting 135 meters deep into the salt mine and decorated with replicas of famous works of art carved into the salt rock walls themselves.

Of course, while you’re down here you get to taste some of the freshest salt you’ll ever taste, right from the wall!

Remember, these mines are pretty far underground so it’s chilly! Make sure to pack at least a sweatshirt even in the summertime, and probably something heavier in the colder months.

3. Na Zdrowie! Have a Vodka Tasting!

It would be a shame to travel all the way to Poland and not try some of their famous Polish vodka. Even though I thought college might have ruined the sight of vodka for me forever (Burnetts and UV Blue..am I right?) I couldn’t miss this opportunity. So, we found ourselves in a tiny bar called the Wodka Bar ordering ourselves a tasting plate of 6 different vodkas. Sounds a nightmare, right? Surprisingly, it was amazing! The bar offered every single flavour of vodka you could possibly think of but we went with raspberry, lemon, chilli chocolate, caramel, blackberry and honey.

4. Explore Wawel Royal Castle

The Wawel Royal Castle grounds are some of the most impressive castle grounds we’ve seen during our time in Europe. That being said, I didn’t do enough research about it ahead of time so we were a bit lost once we actually arrived. So, we decided to walk around and explore the grounds and take in the architecture (which is completely free) rather than try to book a tour or wait in line for one of the museums on the grounds.

The castle itself is beautiful but the most impressive building to me was the cathedral. It’s in the cathedral that almost all of the Polish kings and queens have been crowned. The cathedral has also been rebuilt 3 times throughout history due to fires making the actual cathedral itself very unique looking with influences of many different styles and time periods.

We weren’t able to actually enter the chapel since the line was crazy but supposedly the bones of the Wawel Dragon rest inside and are said to have magical powers. If the Wawel Dragon interests you, there is a Dragons Den on the premises, a cave that is said to have been where the dragon used to live. We unfortunately didn’t make it here either since we didn’t book anything ahead!

5. Go Shopping in the Cloth Hall and Relax in the Main Square

Like most European cities, the Main Square of Kraków is one not to be missed. Sitting in the center of the main square is the famous, Cloth Hall. The Cloth Hall is one of the oldest shopping centres in Europe dating back to the 14th century. Today, the hall is filled with vendors selling crafts, amber, souvenir items and more! It’s the perfect place to pick up your Kraków memorabilia.

Once you’ve finished your shopping, head over to the Town Hall Tower. Here, you can check-out a museum and go to the top for some views of the city for €2 per person.  

6. Take a Free Walking Tour of the Jewish Quarter

One of the best parts about traveling in Europe is that most of their cities offer free walking tours. We decided to take a walking tour of Kazimierz, the Jewish Quarter of Kraków. The tour which was offered through the company Free Walkative Tours was completely free (tips welcome) and can either be booked online beforehand, or you can show up at the start location a few minutes before the tour begins. They have a few different options for tours, but we decided on the 2-hour Jewish Krakow tour because it focused on the non-holocaust history of the Jewish presence in Kraków.

The tour took us all over the Jewish quarter to different synagogues and significant points of interest. I would highly suggest taking advantage of this if you’re interested in learning more about the history and culture of Kraków!

Although we didn’t take advantage of it, this quarter of Kraków also has some great places to eat and some fun pubs to check-out.

7. Eat Alllllllllll the Pierogis

Pierogi’s are considered to be the national dish of Poland; therefore, you can’t visit Poland and not try one. Pierogis are dumplings usually filled with potato, sauerkraut, meats, cheeses, or even sometimes something sweet. Pretty much every restaurant or any place to purchase food will have pierogis on the menu, so make sure you stop somewhere to grab a few!