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Things to do in
Krakow most popular with visitors.
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The central square
of Krakow, Rynek Glowny, the biggest piazza of medieval Europe,
remains one of the world’s most beautiful plazas. Visitors just
love to hang around the vast square: sipping coffee at pavement
cafes, dining out in its numerous restaurants, enjoying alfresco
performances, etc. Also a number of city's attractions is to be
found here, including five museums and such landmarks as
Saint Mary's
Church, the
Cloth Hall, and the
Town Hall Tower.
And last but not least the
Krakow
Christmas Market and the
Easter Market
take place here as well as other seasonal markets such as the
mid-August
Folk Art Far.
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Sightseeing tours of
Krakow
The best way to enjoy the
city is touring
Krakow on
foot but those who opt for seeing it on wheels may choose
from many available options, from a carriage to a bicycle to a
bus. Most of the popular sights are concentrated in the
Old Town and
the nearby
Kazimierz area but some of the most interesting places such
as the Tyniec Abbey,
the Bielany
Monastery, or
St. Norbert's Convent - to name just a few of them - sit
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Wawel: the Royal Castle
and the Krakow Cathedral
The Wawel Hill, located on the southern edge of the Old
Town central district, is a top item of all lists of the
must-visit places in
Krakow. The
Wawel Royal Castle, which was home to three dynasties of Poland's monarchs
in the past, offers five permanent exhibitions as well as other
attractions such as the
Dragon Cave. The
Wawel Cathedral,
a monument of Gothic architecture crammed with art treasures,
boasts also the
Royal Crypts and the giant ancient Zygmunt bell.
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Visiting the basilica of the
Virgin Mary's
The immense Gothic church of the 14th century, situated
in the heart of Krakow, is Poland's most popular temple. It nave shelters the Stoss altarpiece,
the world's greatest Gothic sculpture, among its many excellent works of art.
The taller of two church towers contains the upstairs room from
which trumpeters play the famous
Krakow hejnal bugle
call.
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The Wieliczka Salt
Mine
Millions of visitors, the crowned heads and such celebrities as
Goethe and Sarah Bernhardt among them, have enthused over that
subterranean world of labyrinthine passages, giant caverns,
underground lakes and chapels with sculptures in the crystalline
salt and rich ornamentation carved in the salt rock. The last
900 years, when the Wieliczka Salt Mine has been worked,
produced 200 kilometers of passages as well as 2,040 caverns of
varied size.
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The Kazimierz
historic district
In the Middle Ages Kazimierz was a separate, rival city
situated next to Krakow. Small part of it was turned into a
Jewish Quarter, the
safe haven for Jews from every corner of Europe till the 20th century
and a major center of the Diaspora, which attracts now many
tourists. It's a pity some visitors overlook other sights of
Kazimierz, notably the
Skalka Sanctuary.
Since the late 1990s the Kazimierz area has become fashionable
also for its nightspots.
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Day trips
Krakow is the gateway to the entire Malopolska Province, the
most attractive region of Poland. Everybody heard of the
notorious German
Nazi Camp of Auschwitz in the city of Oswiecim, some 70
kilometers west of Krakow. Other top destinations are e
Wieliczka Salt Mine,
Tatra Mountains,
and Ojcow National
Park.
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