Krakow itinerary

1. 1

   Main Market Square - The 13th-Century Heart of Krakow's Old Town

   Krakow's Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) is the largest medieval town square in Europe at almost exactly 200 by 200 metres, and it has anchored daily life in the city since 1257. The Magdeburg-law layout has barely…

   Address

   Rynek Główny, 31-042 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Teatr Bagatela tram stop (lines 2, 4, 14, 18, 20, 24), 5-min walk

2. 2

   Wawel Royal Castle and Cathedral - Poland's Most Important Royal Complex

   Wawel Hill has been the symbolic centre of Poland since the 11th century, when Polish kings moved their seat here from Gniezno. The complex layered onto the limestone outcrop combines the Renaissance Royal Castle, the…

   Address

   Wawel 5, 31-001 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Stradom or Wawel tram stops (lines 6, 8, 10, 13), 5-min walk

3. 3

   St Mary's Basilica - Krakow's Most Iconic Gothic Church

   Krakow's St Mary's Basilica (Bazylika Mariacka) is the brick Gothic landmark on the northeast corner of the Main Market Square, and its mismatched twin towers are the visual signature of the city. Construction began in…

   Address

   plac Mariacki 5, 31-042 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Teatr Bagatela tram stop (lines 2, 4, 14, 18, 20, 24), 5-min walk

4. 4

   Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) - The Renaissance Market in the Middle of Rynek

   The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) is the long arcaded building that runs down the middle of Main Market Square, splitting it visually into two halves. The site has been a covered trading hall since the 13th century -…

   Address

   Rynek Główny 1-3, 31-042 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Teatr Bagatela tram stop (lines 2, 4, 14, 18, 20, 24), 5-min walk

5. 5

   Kazimierz - Krakow's Historic Jewish Quarter

   Kazimierz was a separate town from 1335 until 1800 and became Krakow's main Jewish quarter from the 16th century onward. After WWII the district stood largely empty for fifty years; since the late 1990s it has come back…

   Address

   ulica Szeroka 24, 31-053 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Miodowa tram stop (lines 3, 9, 19, 24, 50), 3-min walk

6. 6

   Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory - WWII History Museum in Podgórze

   The former enamel factory at ulica Lipowa 4 is where Oskar Schindler ran his Deutsche Emaillewaren-Fabrik from 1939 to 1945 and saved approximately 1,200 Jewish workers from deportation - the story documented in Thomas…

   Address

   ulica Lipowa 4, 30-702 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Plac Bohaterów Getta tram stop (lines 3, 19, 24, 50), 5-min walk

7. 7

   Wieliczka Salt Mine - UNESCO Underground Cathedral of Salt

   The Wieliczka Salt Mine produced rock salt continuously from the 13th century until 1996, and the upper levels are now one of the oldest tourist attractions in Europe - Copernicus, Goethe, and Pope John Paul II all…

   Address

   ulica Daniłowicza 10, 32-020 Wieliczka

   Nearest transit

   SKA1 train from Krakow Główny to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia (24 min), then 5-min walk

8. 8

   Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial - The Most Important Holocaust Memorial in Europe

   The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum preserves the two surviving camps of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination complex, where at least 1.1 million people - the overwhelming majority of them Jews - were…

   Address

   ulica Więźniów Oświęcimia 20, 32-603 Oświęcim

   Nearest transit

   1-hour 30-min direct bus from Krakow MDA bus station, or train from Krakow Główny to Oświęcim then local bus 1 or 8

9. 9

   Rynek Underground Museum - Medieval Krakow Four Metres Beneath the Main Square

   During the major Rynek Główny excavations of 2005-2010, archaeologists uncovered four metres of stratified medieval Krakow lying directly under the modern paving stones - cobbled streets, merchants' stalls, a cemetery…

   Address

   Rynek Główny 1, 31-042 Kraków

   Nearest transit

   Teatr Bagatela tram stop (lines 2, 4, 14, 18, 20, 24), 5-min walk

10. 10

    Krakow Barbican and St Florian's Gate - The Last Surviving Medieval Defences

    At the northern edge of the Old Town, the Krakow Barbican (Barbakan) and St Florian's Gate (Brama Floriańska) are the only substantial survivors of the medieval city walls that once ringed the Rynek with eight…

    Address

    Plac Jana Matejki, 31-156 Kraków (Barbican and St Florian's Gate complex)

    Nearest transit

    Stary Kleparz tram stop (lines 2, 4, 14, 18, 20, 24), 2-min walk

From the trip1 travel guide “10 Top Places to Visit in Krakow” · trip1.com