Krakow is one of Europe's finest city breaks — an intact medieval centre, Europe's most important WWII memorial site, an extraordinary underground salt cathedral and one of the best-value food and nightlife scenes in Central Europe. Here are the 10 best things to do in Krakow in 2026.
✔ Auschwitz-Birkenau — book a certified guided tour 2–4 weeks ahead in summer
✔ Wieliczka Salt Mine — book online ahead to avoid queues
✔ Main Market Square (Rynek Główny) — Europe's largest medieval square
✔ Wawel Castle — the royal seat of Poland, extraordinary inside
Top 10 Things To Do in Krakow
🕯️ Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
The Nazi German concentration and extermination camp where 1.1 million people, predominantly Jewish, were murdered 1940–1945. A certified guided tour is essential — the site is vast, the history complex and the emotional weight requires proper context. Book 2–4 weeks ahead in summer. Allow a full day. One of the most important experiences available anywhere in Europe.
Check Availability →⛏️ Wieliczka Salt Mine
700 years of underground salt mining — cathedrals, sculptures and chandeliers carved entirely from salt crystal, 135m below ground. The Chapel of St Kinga (the most remarkable underground chamber in Europe) took 30 years to carve. Tours last 2.5 hours on the standard tourist route. Book online ahead — queues without tickets are very long.
Check Availability →🏰 Wawel Castle & Cathedral
The royal castle on Wawel Hill above the Vistula — the seat of Polish kings for 500 years. The State Rooms (Renaissance interiors, Flemish tapestries) and the Crown Treasury and Armoury require separate tickets. The Cathedral — burial place of Polish kings, popes and national heroes — is unmissable. The dragon's cave at the hill's base is a free curiosity.
Check Availability →⛪ Kazimierz Jewish Quarter
The medieval Jewish district — now one of Krakow's most vibrant neighbourhoods. The Old Synagogue (Europe's oldest surviving synagogue in Gothic style), the Remuh Synagogue and Cemetery, the Galicia Jewish Museum and the streets where over 65,000 Jewish Krakovians lived before the Holocaust. Moving, beautiful and alive with good restaurants and bars.
Check Availability →🎭 Schindler's Factory Museum
The actual enamelware factory of Oskar Schindler (made famous by Steven Spielberg's film) — now a city museum telling the story of German-occupied Krakow from 1939–1945. One of the finest WWII museums in Europe, emotionally powerful and intelligently curated. Book timed entry ahead in summer.
Check Availability →🏛️ Main Market Square (Rynek Główny)
Europe's largest medieval square — 200m across, surrounded by merchant townhouses, the Gothic St Mary's Basilica and the Renaissance Cloth Hall. The trumpet call (hejnał) from St Mary's tower sounds every hour on the quarter, breaking off mid-note in commemoration of a 13th-century trumpeter shot by a Mongol arrow. Free and extraordinary.
Check Availability →🧗 Nowa Huta — Soviet Planned City
The Communist-era planned city district built by Stalin in the 1950s as a workers' utopia — extraordinary socialist realist architecture, the Lenin Steelworks and one of Poland's most fascinating architectural experiments. Very few tourists visit. Guided tours from the city centre explain the history brilliantly.
Check Availability →🍺 Kazimierz Bar Hopping
Krakow has one of Central Europe's best bar scenes — concentrated in Kazimierz, with craft beer bars, jazz clubs and traditional Polish vodka bars in the old Jewish tenements. Cheaper than Prague or Budapest, more authentic than most European cities. The Alchemia, Eszeweria and Singer Café are Kazimierz institutions.
Check Availability →🚤 Vistula River Cruise
A short summer boat cruise on the Vistula River passes below Wawel Castle — the castle and cathedral seen from the water at dusk is magnificent. Evening cruises with local beer are a relaxed way to see the city from a different angle. Depart from the Wawel landing stage.
Check Availability →⛷️ Zakopane Day Trip
The mountain resort town at the foot of the Tatra Mountains, 1.5 hours from Krakow by bus — Poland's most popular ski resort in winter, a hiking base in summer. The Gubałówka cable car gives spectacular Tatra panoramas. Zakopane's góralski (Highlander) culture, smoked oscypek cheese and local vodka make it a genuine cultural experience as well as a scenic one.
Check Availability →Book Krakow Tours Before They Sell Out
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View All Krakow Tours →FAQs
How many days do you need in Krakow?
3–4 days covers the main highlights comfortably. More time allows day trips and deeper neighbourhood exploration.
Is Krakow expensive?
Costs vary by season and travel style — see our dedicated budget guide for specific prices.
When is the best time to visit Krakow?
May–June and September–October offer the best balance of weather, crowds and prices.