Krakow, Poland: What to See
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Krakow is worth it, and the case makes itself the moment you stand in Rynek Glowny before the tour groups arrive. Two days cover the Old Town, Wawel Hill, and Kazimierz at a comfortable pace; add a third day for Wieliczka Salt Mine or Auschwitz-Birkenau, and a fourth or fifth if the Tatra Mountains are on the list. Everything here runs on the Polish zloty (PLN), not the euro, and Krakow remains one of Europe’s best-value city breaks: a genuinely medieval Old Town, not a postwar rebuild like Warsaw’s.
Key facts
| Key facts | Details |
|---|---|
| Currency | Polish zloty (PLN); cards widely accepted, carry some cash for milk bars and markets |
| Time needed | 2 days for the Old Town/Wawel/Kazimierz core, 3-5 with day trips |
| Daily budget | PLN 350-500 mid-range, PLN 120-180 shoestring |
| Getting around | Old Town is walkable and pedestrianized; trams reach Kazimierz and Podgorze; no car needed |
Rynek Glowny and Wawel Hill: where to start
Start at Rynek Glowny, laid out in 1257 and still one of the largest medieval squares in Europe: the Cloth Hall runs down the middle, St Mary’s Basilica anchors the northeast corner (the hejnal trumpet call sounds every hour, 24 hours a day, and cuts off mid-note), and the Town Hall Tower gives you a rooftop view over the rooflines. From there it’s a 15-20 minute walk to Wawel Hill, where the Royal Castle and Wawel Cathedral sell separate tickets from two separate ticket offices, official prices and hours at wawel.krakow.pl , so budget them as two stops rather than one. If you’d rather have a guide handle the ticketing, book a Wawel Castle and Old Town tour instead of queuing twice.
Is Krakow’s Old Town really a UNESCO site?
Yes, but as one listing, not building by building. The “Historic Centre of Krakow” was inscribed in 1978, one of the first 12 sites on the entire UNESCO list, covering the Old Town, Wawel Hill, and Kazimierz together. St Mary’s and the Cloth Hall are part of that listing, not separate sites. Wieliczka and Auschwitz-Birkenau are separate UNESCO listings, reached as day trips.
Kazimierz, Podgorze, and the day trips
Kazimierz, a 15-20 minute walk south of the Old Town, was Krakow’s Jewish quarter for roughly 500 years before the war. It’s worth knowing that the Nazis did not turn Kazimierz itself into a ghetto: in March 1941 they forced the Jewish population across the river into Podgorze and sealed it there as the Krakow Ghetto. Schindler’s Factory, now a museum on the Podgorze/Zablocie side, tells that history in detail. Beyond the city, Wieliczka Salt Mine is a 30-minute trip and unlike anything else nearby. Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi German concentration and extermination camp, is roughly 1.5 hours away, books only through the official visit.auschwitz.org , and deserves its own day rather than being paired with lighter sightseeing. Our Krakow day trips guide covers all three in full, and things to do in Krakow rounds out the rest of the list.
Where this fits in a trip
Pair the Old Town/Wawel spine with a 3-day Krakow itinerary if you’re adding one day trip, and check where to stay in Krakow before booking: Old Town puts you closest to the sights, Kazimierz has the better food and nightlife, and both run cheaper than a comparable Western European base. Check rates on Booking.com before peak summer dates fill up. For the two stops covered in full, see our guides to Wawel Cathedral and Rynek Glowny .
Book the Old Town’s paid sights (Cloth Hall gallery, Rynek Underground, Town Hall Tower) online a day ahead in summer; the busiest ones routinely sell out their same-day walk-up slots by late morning.