Three Days in Krakow, a Highlight of Poland

Krakow is arguably Poland’s most popular tourist destination, which makes sense when you experience its old town’s personality and local culture in person. Whether you spend two days or three days in Krakow, you’re sure to have plenty of time to see just how special this city is.

Before visiting Krakow, I was cautiously optimistic about seeing the city, given all the good things I’d heard. There was no need for caution though as the hype is deserved. My three days in Krakow were busily spent seeing different neighbourhoods, taking walking tours, and doing a worthwhile day trip. Here’s a 3-day itinerary that you can use to fit in all the Krakow highlights.

How to get to Krakow

Krakow may not be the capital of Poland, but it’s still a very easy city to reach. This makes it a good place to start a tour of Poland or even an itinerary through Central Europe.

Flying to Krakow Airport is possible from many European capitals, plus a bunch of European cities thanks to Ryanair. Train travel is less useful if you’re coming from another country, except with the direct Berlin to Krakow train. But you can get to Krakow from everywhere within Poland easily enough by train.

Buses are your best bet when coming from neighbouring countries such as Austria and the Czech Republic. It’s also a good idea to compare bus and train prices if you’re on a budget.

How to get around Krakow

Most visitors to Krakow should find they don’t need a car in the city. Stay somewhere central and walking or public transport should meet your sightseeing needs.

For most of the neighbourhoods mentioned here, walking around is just fine. Most of central Krakow is quite level and the Old Town limits traffic, so walking and cycling isn’t stressful. You can also walk between neighbourhoods, but taking a tram in Krakow is an easy way to get from the train station to your hotel or from the Old Town to Stare Podgórze, for example.

Learn about things like tickets and tram routes here.

Where to stay in Krakow

A big decision when planning your three days in Krakow is where you’re going to stay. You not only have to pick a hotel, hostel, or apartment but where in the city to stay.

Staying in Krakow Old Town is obviously appealing. You get the ambience of the area and so many attractions on your doorstep. But also look at the neighbourhoods of Stradom and Kazimierz, as they’re conveniently located and have everything a visitor needs.

As where I stayed is no longer listed, I can’t recommend the apartment I used. But these places to stay are very highly rated, saving you the time of digging through accommodation options:

• Hotel Pod Różą
• Stradonia Serviced Apartments
• MUSE – LoftAffair Collection
• Hotel Teatr

Day one in Krakow

Start your visit with Krakow Old Town, as so many of the best things to do around Krakow are there. This is the part of the city you should fall in love with, at least if you appreciate history and grand architecture.

Krakow Main Square

The Old Town’s Main Square is a great place to start exploring Krakow. Here you’ll find everything you need to get a feel for the city. Incredible gothic architecture embraces the sides of the square, as do cafes and restaurants, while swarms of tourists mill about.

Just walking around the square I had that sense of wonder you get in a genuine and atmospheric old town.

At the centre of the Main Square is the historic Cloth Hall. The building exterior is pleasant enough, but the inner arcade is what makes the Cloth Hall memorable. The best way I can think of describing it is as “imperial grandeur incarnate”.

Today the arcade mostly exists to sell souvenirs and trinkets. While I couldn’t care less about those, I did get a kick out of photographing the hall and its baroque features.

St. Mary’s Basilica

St. Mary’s Basilica looms over Krakow’s Main Square and there’s no question that it’s the star attraction. Its masterclass of Gothic architecture is truly remarkable, especially when you account for its uneven spires.

The lopsided addition to the tower was made to serve as the watchtower for the local fire brigade, as I understand it. Krakow rebuilt it in the 14th after the Mongols destroyed it. This history has granted the tower a creative backstory to its signature hourly trumpet call.

Every hour, a trumpeter appears in the taller of the two towers performing a tune “Hejnał Mariacki” in each direction that is abruptly cut off.

The story goes that this is in honour of a trumpeter who was shot in the throat by a Mongolian arrow after he had sounded the alarm for their imminent attack. It’s one of many legends attempting to explain the trumpet call but it’s a compelling story.

Explore more of the Old Town

Beyond the Main Square, there are plenty of other places to visit in Krakow’s Old Town. Krakow was the last stop on my first trip to Poland, so I had visited quite a few Polish cities by then. And yet, none had quite as much original and beautiful architecture as Krakow.

Much of the city’s gorgeous architecture is found within the limits of the old town and is best uncovered on foot. Walking is easy, it’s free and it’s genuinely one of my favourite things to do in any new city. Plus, so much of Krakow Old Town is pedestrianized that visiting with a car would be impractical. Taking a bike tour or renting a bike also works.

What sets Krakow apart from most big cities in Poland is that WWII left it with minimal damage. Krakow wasn’t a centre of industry so it wasn’t seen as an overly strategic place to be bombed into oblivion. Thanks to that, Krakow boasts many more original buildings than cities such as Warsaw, Gdansk or Poznan.

If I had to pick a favourite building away from the main square, it would have to be the above Arsenal. Just look at its elegant walkway to the Czartoryski Palace and overall design. It’s a sublime example of Krakow’s captivating beauty.

See what’s left of the City Walls

I have to admit, I’m a sucker for a good city wall. While city walls no longer surround Krakow, a stretch still stands preserved at the old town’s northern end. It’s enough to give you an idea of what must have once been there and that medieval feel. St Florian’s Gate and the large Barbican that lies beyond it are what remains.

By the 19th century, Krakow no longer needed fortifications for protection. The walls also limited the ability to expand the city from its historical centre. But the people of Krakow were desperate to preserve the last part of the city walls and came up with all sorts of excuses to justify leaving it.

From what I was told, the winning gambit was to claim that without the gate, a strong wind would come down Floriańska Street and pull up women’s skirts. This indecency, apparently, could not be tolerated! I give the citizens props for using conservative prudishness in such a creative way.

Go to Wawel Castle

Another feather in its cap is that Krakow is home to Wawel Castle, lying just beyond the southern end of the old town. Having seen remarkably few castles throughout my travels in Poland, to find this superb Krakow landmark just down the street from my studio apartment was an utter delight.

From the 13th century, the castle served as the royal residence when Krakow was the nation’s capital. Like many castles, Wawel had an unfortunate habit of getting destroyed, be it by fire or occupation. This means it’s a curious mix of architectural styles, each harkening back to their respective rebuilds.

Thanks to repeated reconstructions and renovations it’s in pretty good nick these days despite periods of neglect. This architectural jumble is best seen in the castle’s cathedral where nothing matches. Sure it clashes but you also can’t look away.

The real highlight of the castle is the gigantic Renaissance courtyard found within. On three sides of the courtyard (the Nazis messed up the fourth) you’ll see magnificent arched balconies. The uppermost balcony also happens to contain fragments of frescos that you’re still able to make out from ground level.

There is a grand scale to this courtyard that I just can’t put into words. Oh and everywhere I’ve mentioned for the castle so far has free entry. But you will need to pay to see the castle interior, Cathedral, Royal Armory, and Crown Treasury. Book a tour if you want to benefit from skip-the-line tickets.

Day two in Krakow

Step beyond the limits of Krakow Old Town and you begin to peal back the layers of the city. Kazimierz and Podgórze are generally the next places to visit in Krakow after the Old Town. Once you see what they have to offer, you should understand why.

Visit Kazimierz, the former Jewish Quarter

Another pleasant aspect of visiting Krakow was getting to know the city’s neighbourhood of Kazimierz. Once the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, Kazimierz has retained elements of its history and community despite the awful events of the 20th century.

I liked exploring Kazimierz as it had a distinctive feel, with different architecture and a smaller community vibe. In the neighbourhood you’ll find multiple historic schools and synagogues, but also a nice little local market, complete with pigeons digging into the berries! Maybe avoid those.

Kazimierz is also well-known for its restaurants. Having run into a friend from back in Australia, we ventured here to try one of the many restaurants in the area. I have no idea now what the unassuming restaurant was called, but the food was great. Everywhere we went to eat in Krakow was pretty good.

Learn about the Jewish Ghetto

A point that should be made crystal clear is that there is and was a difference between a city’s Jewish district and the Jewish Ghettos formed during WWII. This goes for Krakow but also for other cities in Poland. Historically, Poland had a far more welcoming disposition towards the Jewish people fleeing persecution from the rest of Europe.

Neighbourhoods like Kazimierz were where the community lived for centuries. It was only under Nazi occupation from 1939-45 that the ghettos were formed. Krakow’s former ghetto is found in Podgórze across the Vistula River. It’s there you see the haunting memorial above, but also the famous factory owned by Oskar Schindler. Get your tickets to the factory in advance as the museum is very popular.

Take the Macabre Tour

I’m going to sound like a broken record at this point, but if you’re in Poland, then look into taking a tour with the folks at Free Walking Tour. I did several tours with them in Krakow and got a lot out of them. I thought the dwarf tour in Wroclaw would have been my strangest and coolest but I think Krakow’s Macabre Tour may have pipped them.

In the evening, the tour takes you through the city’s old town and shares Krakow’s darker, spookier side. From tales of local serial killers during the country’s communist days to ghost stories and haunted buildings, something’s bound to capture your imagination as you’re led through the dark city backstreets.

If you’re easily spooked, maybe take a friend with you. To me it was just cool to learn a fun mix of history and urban legend, all the while seeing some parts of the old town at night that I hadn’t come across yet. Sadly, there are no photos though, I forgot.

Day three, a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau

Two days in Krakow is ideal if you want to explore the city’s highlights and different neighbourhoods. But the value of staying an extra night is that you can use day three to do a day trip from Krakow. You have a few choices of day trips, but going anywhere but Auschwitz-Birkenau feels like a wasted opportunity.

This is the most famous Nazi concentration camp and needs no introduction. Its proximity to Krakow makes it an easy day trip. You can handle the transport on your own and just by the tickets, but honestly, taking a tour from Krakow is so much easier and very affordable.

Over the day, you’ll visit the different sites that made up the concentration camp. The museum at Auschwitz I, where you’ll see the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” sign is informative but haunting. Later, you head to Auschwitz II-Birkenau, with its recognizable gate and train tracks. The scale of this camp is horrific, as are the gas chambers.

This won’t be a fun day, but it’s a touching and memorable experience that ensures you never forget the horrific lessons from this moment in history.

What would you say are the highlights of visiting Krakow? Do you think that three days in Krakow is enough? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

This article is now available as a mobile app. Go to GPSmyCity to download the app for GPS-assisted travel directions to the attractions featured in this article.