Krakow Travel Guide: Old Town, the Main Square and a Sobering Day Trip
This Krakow travel guide centres on the Old Town, but the city’s spine is a single enormous rectangle: Rynek Glowny, the Main Square, at 40,000 square metres one of the largest medieval squares in Europe. Krakow escaped the wartime bombing that flattened Warsaw, so its core is genuine 13th-to-16th-century fabric, not a reconstruction. That continuity is why UNESCO listed it in 1978 as one of its very first World Heritage sites. You walk through the real thing.
The Main Square and the Royal Route
Start at the square’s edge and let it hit you. The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) has traded in the centre since the 14th century and now holds a market upstairs and a small gallery of 19th-century Polish painting. The brick St Mary’s Basilica hosts the hourly Hejnal, a trumpet call cut short mid-note to mark a 13th-century watchman said to have been shot mid-alarm. From the square, the Royal Route runs south to Wawel Hill, where the cathedral holds the tombs of Polish kings and a fabled dragon (with a breathing statue) guards the river below. The Louvre Museum and Florence Cathedral (Duomo) in our archive make good companions for travellers who like their old towns wrapped around great churches; see more in the Travel Cities section.
A Day Trip That Changes the Tone
No Krakow guide is honest without Auschwitz-Birkenau, 70 km west at Oswiecim. It is not entertainment; it is a former Nazi German concentration and extermination camp where more than a million people, mostly Jews, were murdered. Visits are free but must be reserved, and the recommended route takes about 3.5 hours with a guide. Go early, go quietly, and return to the city changed. Many pair it with the Wieliczka Salt Mine, a 13th-century mine with chapels carved entirely from salt 135 metres down.
Food, Cost and a 3-Day Plan
Krakow is one of Central Europe’s better food values. Pierogi (dumplings), zapiekanka (the open-faced mushroom baguette from Plac Nowy in Kazimierz), and hearty Polish mains cost a fraction of Western capitals. A simple plan:
| Day | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Old Town square, Cloth Hall, St Mary’s, Wawel Hill |
| 2 | Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, then Auschwitz-Birkenau |
| 3 | Wieliczka Salt Mine or a slower morning in Planty park |
Getting Around and Staying
Krakow’s old core is largely pedestrian; you walk it. The airport is 15 km out, linked by train and bus. Trams and a single light rail line cover the wider city. Stay in or near the Old Town for atmosphere, or Kazimierz for a grittier, café-heavy vibe. The Venice and Eiffel Tower pieces show how other cities balance old centres with modern life, useful if you are building a multi-city Europe itinerary.
Kazimierz, Podgorze and the Other Krakow
The Old Town gets the photographs, but two districts carry the city’s modern story. Kazimierz was the Jewish quarter for centuries, and its two surviving synagogues, the Old Synagogue and the Remuh with its 16th-century cemetery, are active sites of memory rather than museum pieces. Plac Nowy, the circular market at its heart, is where you buy a zapiekanka from a hatch and eat it standing up. It is twenty minutes on foot from the square.
Across the river, Podgorze was the ghetto during the occupation, and the surviving fragments of the wall on ul. Lwowska are a quiet thing to stand in front of. Schindler’s Factory Museum is a short tram hop from there and one of the best-curated museums in Poland. It sells out: book a timed slot days ahead in summer.
North-east, Nowa Huta is a planned 1950s socialist-realist district built for the steelworks, with avenues designed for parades. You can tour it by Trabant, which sounds gimmicky and is the most interesting half-day in the city.
What Krakow Costs
Poland uses the zloty, not the euro, and that matters to your budget. A mid-range double in the Old Town or Kazimierz runs 300-500 PLN a night in high season, a hostel bed 60-100 PLN, and a sit-down dinner with a beer 60-100 PLN a head. The milk bars, the surviving communist-era canteens known as bar mleczny, serve a full Polish meal for 25-40 PLN. They are not a novelty; locals eat there.
Wawel Cathedral and the castle exhibitions each carry a ticket, generally 20-40 PLN depending on which part you enter, and the Rynek Underground museum beneath the square is around 30 PLN and worth every grosz. Wieliczka is the expensive one, with guided routes in the low hundreds of zloty including transport. Entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau is free, but the reserved slot is usually booked as part of a transport package at 150-300 PLN per person.
What Most Guides Miss
The Hejnal, the trumpet call from St Mary’s, is played on the hour to all four sides of the city and stops mid-note. You can hear it from anywhere near the square, but the best place to watch is the north-east corner, where the trumpeter’s window is actually visible.
The planty, the 4 km green ring that replaced the medieval walls, is the easiest way to walk between districts without touching traffic. Nobody uses it properly. Several of the smaller museums also drop their admission on one weekday each week, usually Monday or Tuesday, which is worth checking before you build an itinerary around ticket prices.
And one scheduling point: the salt mine and Auschwitz on the same day is a mistake. Both are heavy, both take hours, and doing them back to back flattens both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Krakow walkable?
Extremely. The historic core is closed to through-traffic, and the main sights sit within a 20-minute walk of each other.
How far is Auschwitz from Krakow?
About 70 km, roughly 75-90 minutes by bus, train, or organised tour. Book the tour with transport if you want the logistics handled.
Is Krakow cheap?
Compared with Western Europe, yes. Meals, beer, and lodging run noticeably lower than Paris or London, though prices near the square climb.
When should I visit?
May-September is pleasant and busy; December brings frost and a fine Christmas market on the square; winter is cold but atmospheric.
Do I need cash?
Poland uses the zloty. Cards work almost everywhere, but keep small notes for toilets and market stalls.
Should I book Auschwitz-Birkenau in advance?
Yes, especially from April to October. Entry is free but the reservation system allocates slots, and both the guided and unguided windows fill days ahead.
Where should I stay for nightlife?
Kazimierz, without question. The Old Town has the architecture and the square; Kazimierz has the bars, the live music and the kitchens that stay open late.
Do I need a car?
No, and it will be a liability. The core is pedestrianised, parking is expensive, and trains and buses to Wieliczka and Oswiecim are cheap and frequent.
Where to Go Next
Krakow sits on the obvious Central European rail axis, a comfortable train or short flight from most of the continent’s other great old cities. Travellers who like a historic core wrapped around a cathedral should look at the Vatican Museums or the Roman ruins at the Colosseum. For the grand-monument end of the scale, Palace of Versailles and Mont Saint-Michel are the comparisons that come up most often. More city guides like this one sit in our Travel Cities archive.