Things to do in Kraków & Southern Poland

Kraków's Main Market Square, laid out in 1257, centres on the Renaissance Cloth Hall, whose first floor houses the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice with Siemiradzki's huge Nero's Torches, while the Rynek Underground Museum reveals the medieval layers beneath the square and St. Mary's Basilica opens the panels of its carved Veit Stoss Altarpiece every day. Nearby, the Czartoryski Museum displays Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine, and on Wawel Hill the Wawel Royal Castle offers separate routes through the State Rooms, Royal Private Apartments, Crown Treasury, Armoury and underground Lost Wawel, with the Wawel Dragon's Den cave leading down to the dragon sculpture on the Vistula. In Kazimierz, the Old Synagogue on Szeroka Street presents the history and culture of Jews in Kraków, and in Zabłocie Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory tells the story of the city's residents under Nazi occupation; the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology across the Vistula shows Japanese art, the Kościuszko Mound looks toward the Tatra Mountains on clear days, and the Polish Aviation Museum displays over 280 aircraft on a former airfield. Beyond the city, the Wieliczka Salt Mine Tourist Route descends past carved salt chambers such as St Kinga's Chapel to 135 m underground, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in Oświęcim preserves the site of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp as a place of remembrance.

Good to knowEntry to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial is free, but entry cards must be reserved online in advance, groups must hire a Memorial guide, bags may not exceed 35×25×15 cm, and you should allow at least 90 minutes each for Auschwitz I and Birkenau. Wawel Royal Castle and Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory both use timed tickets, so book online (the factory requires entry within 15 minutes of your slot and original ID for personal online tickets), while the Bugle Tower of St. Mary's Basilica is a separate ticket sold only on the day. The Sukiennice gallery and the Rynek Underground are free on Tuesdays and the Old Synagogue on Mondays, the Wieliczka mine stays at 17–18°C with about 800 steps, so bring a light jacket, and the Wawel Dragon's Den is open only from late April to the end of October.