Krakow attractions

Pisa’s leaning tower may have all the fame, but Krakow’s Town Hall Tower (Wieża Ratuszowa w Krakowie) is a must-see nonetheless. Quite literally – as one of the focal points of Krakow’s main market square, it’s pretty hard to miss. Built towards the end of the 13th century, the 70-meter tall tower started leaning (it currently tilts by as much as 55 centimeters) after massively strong winds in 1703. It should be said, however, that the tower survived many fires and was therefore weakened considerably throughout the years.To this day, the tower is the only remaining part of Krakow’s old town all. Visitors interested in visiting the tower should not worry; the tower is perfectly safe for visitors and even has an observation deck on its upper floor, reachable by a narrow staircase. The tower, as part of the Historical Museum of Kraków and because of its location in the old Cloth Hall, often has artworks and medieval costumes on display. There’s also an underground café, which is housed in the former city dungeons and torture rooms.

Lying at the heart of Jewish Krakow and today the gritty, edgy focus of the city’s subversive underground scene, Plac Nowy (literally, New Square) in Kazimierz is re-emerging from its Communist-era slump. It is a rather bleak square surrounded by once-handsome townhouses and was incorporated into the Jewish quarter in the late 17th century as its main market place; the landmark Okrąglak (Rotunda) was built around 1900 in the center of the square and it served as a kosher slaughterhouse right up until to the Nazi occupation of Krakow in 1939.Today, Plac Nowy is jumping with life once more; the daily food market morphs into a sprawling flea market at the weekends, when a young crowd pours in to snap up antiques, pre-loved clothes, Soviet memorabilia and Jewish ephemera. Butchers still operate in the Rotunda and they run a series of takeaway food hatches through which the Cracovian street food of choice, zapiekanki (baguette-shaped pizzas with a choice of toppings) are sold until the wee hours. Around the square is a burgeoning club-and-bar scene, which also stays open and buzzing until late. The Galicia Jewish Museum and several historic synagogues are close by and can be visited on sign posted walking tours of the district.

Built during the fifteenth century blending German and Bohemian Gothic architectural styles, the Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) is the oldest surviving synagogue in Poland. The structure was rebuilt in 1570 by Italian architect Mateo Gucci, who added a Renaissance aesthetic, and was subsequently renovated several times throughout the early twentieth century. During World War II, Germans took over the building and used it as a warehouse, during which time the furnishings and the ceiling were destroyed.Today, the reconstructed synagogue houses a Jewish history and culture museum; the collection includes Jewish ceremonial items, Ark curtains, Torah adornments and holiday costumes and craft items, as well as a permanent exhibit on family and private life.

Remuh Synagogue (Synagoga Remuh), the smallest of the historic synagogues in Krakow’s historic Kazimierz district, was founded by Israel ben Josef in honor of his son, Rabbi Moses Isserles. The Jewish community began worshipping in the synagogue in 1558, and it’s one of only two active synagogues in the city, as well as the site of the last well-preserved Renaissance Jewish cemetery in all of Europe (Rabbi Moses Isserles is buried there).Like many of Krakow’s religious buildings, Remuh Synagogue was used as a storehouse by Germans during World War II and looted of its ceremonial objects and furnishings, though the building itself was spared. The cemetery houses some of Poland’s oldest surviving tombstones.

Every year, millions of pilgrims flock to the riverside city of Częstochowa to pay their respects to the Black Madonna, a medieval icon credited with miraculous victories and held in the Jasna Góra Monastery. But there's more to the city; visit its museums, historic market square, and a memorial to its murdered Jewish citizens.

Surrounding Krakow's Old Town, Planty Park stretches about 2.5 miles (4 km) and covers 52 acres. It was established in the early 19th century to take the place of the Old Town walls after they were destroyed. The park is really a chain of gardens designed in different styles, connected by walkways and lawns and topped off with a variety of fountains and sculptures.Walking through Planty Park is like walking through Krakow’s history. You will pass a small segment of the old walls, as well as the 13th-century Gothic-style Florianska Gate and the Barbakan, a defensive fortress dating to 1499. Other notable landmarks include a Carmelite monastery that was once used as an Austrian prison, the 17th-century bishop’s palace from whose window Pope John Paul II once greeted the residents of Krakow and the Church of the Snowy Mother of God, built in 1635. More modern structures along the park are the art nouveau Palace of Art and the Bunkier Sztuki, a concrete exhibition hall that has been transformed into a museum and bar.

Built in 1862 by Krakow’s progressive Jewish community, the Tempel Synagogue (Synagoga Tempel) is one of seven remaining synagogues in the city’s former Jewish quarter of Kazimierz. The synagogue is known for its gilded, Moorish-style wooden interior and hosts occasional religious services and regular Jewish community events such as concerts.

Located in the heart of Krakow, the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Krakow (Teatr im J. Słowackiego w Krakowie) has been staging plays continuously since it first opened in 1893. Later named after noted Polish poet and playwright Juliusz Słowacki, the theater was modeled after some of the most beautiful venues in Europe and was the first building in Krakow to have electric lighting. In the 20th century, the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre became known as a birthplace of modern Polish theater, including theater direction, stage design and acting. The theater hosted the premieres of noted Polish playwright Stanislas Wyspianski and welcomed Poland’s most important actors to its ensemble. While it struggled for a period after World War II, it has regained much of its former stature since the 1990s, hosting a number of popular productions and adding two more stages.Today, the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre features four stages: the original Large Stage, the Small Stage (added in 1976 in the former electric plant that had been built to provide the theater with its own electricity), the Stage by the Pump and the Gate Stage.

A Roman Catholic basilica, the Divine Mercy Sanctuary (Sanktuarium Bożego Miłosierdzia is home to the tomb of St. Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who saw a vision of Jesus in 1931. Consequently, the church is a popular pilgrimage place for Catholics from around the world.

This church is one of the oldest stone-built religious buildings in all of Poland, with some of the eldest relics dating back to the 10th century. In fact, it has been around for so long that its floor is actually situated roughly two meters under the current level of the square, which was covered with different layers of pavement throughout the centuries. The church underwent several renovations according to the style that was fashionable from one era to the next, but it has remained relatively untouched since it was revamped in Baroque style in the 1610s. In opposition to the grand and voluminous St. Mary’s Basilica on the other end of the square, St. Adalbert Church is actually quite small and confined.According to the legend, the church was erected on the site where St. Adalbert preached a famous sermon before he left on a mission to bring Christianity to Prussia that would lead him to his untimely and martyr death – it was later on proven by records that this was not the case and that St. Adalbert was alive and well as the official priest of the church for the better part of his life.

The Skalka Sanctuary—also called St. Stanislaus Church—is a baroque church and Paulite monastery in Krakow. Predated by two earlier churches, the sanctuary marks the location of the gruesome 11th-century killing of Krakow’s and Poland’s patron saint, Bishop Stanislaus of Szczepanow.

Spilling over Poland’s southern border into Slovakia, the Tatra Mountains (Tatry) are the highest part of the Carpathian range and make up Tatrzański Tatra National Park. Protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this wild and mountainous region is rich with snow-topped peaks, alpine lakes, and sparkling waterfalls.

In the heart of Krakow’s UNESCO-listed Old Town, Rynek Underground (Podziemia Rynku) sits approximately 13 feet (4 meters) below the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny), one of the most beautiful medieval squares in Europe. This subterranean museum showcases Poland’s past through interactive displays, artifacts, and 4D movies.

The Eagle Pharmacy (Apteka pod Orłem), Tadeusz Pankiewicz’s pharmacy in the heart of Podgórze, ran quite smoothly until 1941 when the Nazis closed off the surrounding area and created a ghetto for the Jewish community. And although Pankiewicz was offered to move the Aryan side of the city at the time, he chose to stay in his Krakow ghetto pharmacy, where he was able to supply the residents with medication and various pharmaceutical products that were not only used for health reasons but also to help them mislead the Gestapo; for example, many residents used hair dyes to disguise their identity, or even tranquilizers to keep children quiet during raids. The Ghetto pharmacy itself was often used as a shelter to Jews who escaped deportation to the camps.The Eagle Pharmacy museum is now part of the Krakow Historical Museum and has been restored to its wartime appearance. Multimedia exhibits and various artifacts, as well as numerous testimonials from Holocaust survivors and Poles, inform visitors about the reality of life in the ghetto and the pharmacy’s role in a very intimate, hands-on way.

Built by the citizens of Krakow in 1823, the verdant Kościuszko Mound (Kopiec Kościuszki) is as revered as it is beautiful. One of four mounds in Krakow, it sits on top of Blessed Bronislawa Hill in honor of Polish national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko. The hollow mound is modeled after the city’s prehistoric Krak and Wanda burial grounds and made from soil brought from towns all over Poland. Inside, are urns with soil from the battlefields where Kościuszko fought. Visitors can follow a serpentine path to the top of the hill, where they will find a granite boulder inscribed with Tadeusz Kosciuszko’s name and spectacular views of the city and neighboring Tatra Mountains.Next to the mound is a museum that displays artifacts relating to Kościuszko, who fought in the American War of Independence and later inspired an uprising against foreign rule in Poland. Visitors may also be interested in the neo-Gothic Chapel of St. Bronislawa, which contains several objects related to Kosciuszko, as well as the surrounding fortifications which include additional historical exhibitions.

Built around 1870, the tenement house at No 7 Kościelna Street where the Holy Father John Paul II was raised has been operating as a papal museum since 1984. Visitors may take a trip through different stages of the Holy Father’s life by touring the multimedia exhibition that invites reflection and shows what the climate and life was like in pre-war Wadowice.The Family Home of John Paul II museum (Muzeum Dom Rodzinny Ojca Świętego Jana Pawła II) attracts 300,000- 400,000 visitors each year to tour the few rooms in which John Paul was born and raised. The tour begins on the ground level and ascends by ramps to the top of the museum. The two main rooms of the original home are the central focus of the museum, with the multimedia exhibit constructed lovingly around them. The museum includes personal items that were meaningful in John Paul’s life, including the Vatican clock (which was stopped at the moment of his death) and the Polish bible, which was read to him by the sisters in his final moments.

The Dunajec River runs through the Pieniny Mountains from the northern part of Slovakia into southern Poland and forms part of the border between the two countries. The Dunajec River Gorge is one of the river’s most scenic sections and makes for an action-packed day trip for travelers who want to spend time canoeing, rafting, or hiking.

Podgorze is a district of Krakow on the southern bank of the Vistula River and at the base of Lasota Hill. It was originally a separate city, but in 1915, as the Austro-Hungarian Empire was beginning to collapse, the town was combined with Krakow. The neighborhood was home to a large Jewish population, and thousands of its residents were sent to concentration camps during World War II. Several signs of the neighborhood's past can still be found here. One significant memorial is Plac Bohaterow Getta (Ghetto Heroes Square), a monument using large metal chairs that commemorates the heroes of the ghetto and the victims of the Holocaust. This is where many waited to board trains that took them to Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps.There are several other memorials including Eagle Pharmacy and Plaszow Camp Memorial. Schindler's Factory, which is now a museum, is also located in this district. This is the factory the movie Schindler's List was based on. There are also several museums, galleries, parks and squares in this neighborhood.

Tucked away behind the flying buttresses of St Mary’s Basilica, the Mały Rynek is the baby brother of Krakow’s landmark Rynek Główny, just as beautiful but without the constant crowds. Just as with Rynek Główny, you'll see the name written lots of different ways in English: Small Market Square, Little Market Square, Small Square, and Little Square are some of the most common.The oblong square is lined with townhouses painted in muted greens, yellows and reds, some with Baroque embellishments dating from the 17th century. The brick-red apse of the Church of St Barbara backs on to the piazza; with its origins in the early 14th century, it was Krakow’s Jesuit church for centuries and its interior has a mix of Gothic and Baroque architecture, several rare icons and an mournful sculpture depicting Christ in the Garden at Gethsemane.In the Middle Ages a meat market took place in Mały Rynek, and these days a thrumming weekend market offers up plenty of street entertainment and has all manner of stalls offering hand-painted eggs, amber jewelry and dolls in national costume as well as traditional sweets and the ever-present pierogis; in August the square plays host to the Pierogi Festival, when thousands flock to sample different takes on Poland’s favorite dish.

With 14 outposts scattered across the city, the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow is headquartered at Krzysztofory Palace in the Old Town’s central square of Rynek Główny. This glorious 17th-century Baroque townhouse and its ornate stucco decor has been refurbished, and now houses a permanent exhibition on the urban development of the city. Look out for the portraits of civic leaders and a famous collection of traditional Krakovian Christmas cribs (calledszopki in Polish). Another recent addition is the museum store full of beautiful coffee-table books and textiles.Branches of the museum include the interactive displays of the Rynek Underground (Podziemia Rynku), also in the Rynek Główny; the Oskar Schindler Factory; the Barbican; the Old Synagogue in Ulica Szeroka and the Communist-built suburban town of Nowa Huta. There are several themed cycling trails— bikes can be borrowed from the museums—and walking routes uniting the venues across the city; the most popular of these is the Memory Trail, which incorporates the Schindler Factory, Eagle Pharmacy and the former Gestapo headquarters in Pomorska Street. Together these three permanent exhibitions unfold the story of Krakow during World War II and the subsequent Soviet Occupation.Explore the museum on a two-hour guided tour of Oskar Schindler's Factory Museum or visit multiple branches at your leisure with a two-day hop on, hop off bus tour including museum admission.

A popular meeting point in the center of Krakow’s Old Town, the Adam Mickiewicz Monument commemorates the Polish poet, who lived 1798 to 1855. The statue, which depicts Mickiewicz surrounded by four artistic muses, was created on the centenary of his birth by sculptor Teodor Rygier. Destroyed by the Nazis in World War II, it was restored in the 1950s.

Jasna Góra Monastery in Czestochowa is one of the most famous Catholic pilgrimage sites in Poland. Visitors from across Poland and around the world come to the monastery to see the Black Madonna of Czestochowa, also known as Our Lady of Czestochowa—a Gothic painting of the Virgin Mary associated with multiple miracles.

One of the country’s largest amusement parks, Energylandia sprawls over 64 acres (26 hectares) of southern Poland. It offers a wealth of shows, a water park, and scores of rides spread across three zones: Family, Little Kids, and Extreme, known for its roller coasters. Summer weekends see music festivals ranging from ‘80s to EDM.

Sitting in the foothills of the rugged Carpathian Mountains southwest of Krakow, the town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska grew up to accommodate pilgrims who flocked to the red-roofed and copper-domed complex of religious buildings that still dominates life there to this day. Built in the 17th century, the ornate Baroque Sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska provided Catholics with a substitute Chapel of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, which at that time was under Turkish rule and firmly off limits to Christians; it incorporates the Franciscan Bernardini Monastery alongside 42 chapels and churches all beautifully sited on pathways among woodland and symbolizing the Stations of the Cross at Calvary.In Polish religious life, only the Shrine to the Black Madonna at Częstochowa is more important than Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which is UNESCO World Heritage listed for its sheer, breathtaking Baroque beauty, all created by Italian architect Giovanni Maria Bernardoni and his Flemish counterpart Paolo Baudarth. The fanciful, twin-spired main basilica is dedicated to Our Lady and its Chapel of Holy Mary of Calvary holds a highly revered icon of Mary and Jesus; the faithful gather there in thousands to see passion plays on Good Friday and celebrate on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption. Pope John-Paul II was born 15 km (9.25 miles) away in Wadowice and made several visits to the shrine when he returned to his homeland; his statue stands near the entrance to the basilica.The town around the sanctuary has been known for the skill of its woodworkers since the mid 18th century; today more than 1,500 artisan cabinetmakers work among a population of 4,500 in total.

Krakow's Cricoteka (Centre for the Documentation of the Art of Tadeusz Kantor) is a theater, exhibition space and bookshop dedicated to a bizarre brand of experimental theater and the local man who created it in 1955: avant-garde and controversial playwright, designer, director and artistTadeusz Kantor. Visitors to the museum will walk through bizarre theater set designs with spooky mannequins, marionettes and costumes on display. There is also a gallery showing Kantor’s work in Ulica Sienna, which housed his theater company Cricot 2, as well as frequent temporary exhibitions of art inspired by his ideas.A visit to the Cricoteka museum provides a change from the historical monuments and buildings of Krakow, showing a more contemporary side of the city. Visitors will enjoy the modern architecture of the museum—a former power station turned riverfront exhibition space with a rusted metal and black glass exterior—and great views of the city and Vistula River.Having moved its headquarters to the Podgórze district in 2014, Cricoteka offers a modern piece of Polish cultural history in a clean, new and rarely crowded facility worth at least an hour's visit. Enjoy free admission to the museum and 40 other city attractions with a Krakow Museum and Transport Official Pass, including free, unlimited public transportation.

Entirely dedicated to honoring Holocaust victims and celebrating Jewish culture of the former Austro-Hungarian region of Galicia through photographs, the Galicia Jewish Museum (Żydowskie Muzeum Galicja) features poignant and contemporary exhibits that will leave no one indifferent. It highlights a time in Poland when the Jewish community flourished, choosing to focus on what was and what remains, rather than on what was annihilated. The main exhibition, called Traces of Memory, presents the work of photojournalist Chris Schwarz and depicts what is left of the Austro-Hungarian’s heritage through photographs of cemeteries, houses, synagogues and other structures that are still visible today, and that once were at the heart of the Galician Jewish community; it also features video testimony of survivors. Additionally, the Museum also hosts two to three temporary exhibitions as well as concerts and other commemorative events. Through its various exhibits, cultural center, and impressive Jewish library, the museum has been aspiring to transform the misconceptions about the Jewish heritage in Poland ever since it’s opening in 2004.

This historic Krakow venue hosts a nightly performance that pays homage to Poland’s most celebrated composer, Frédéric Chopin. Housed inside a 15th-century townhouse adorned with period furnishings, the setting provides an elegant evening out for lovers of classical piano music.

Located in what used to be a regional airport, the Polish Aviation Museum (Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego) is indeed dedicated to old aircraft, engines, and aviation history. The military airfield on which the museum is located is one of the oldest in the world, having been established by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1912. It was soon used to train crews and repair aircrafts throughout the war; it became a major Polish Air Force Base until World War II, during which it was used by Germans to supply the Eastern front.The rather large collection consists of over 200 aircraft, including several unique and extremely rare models from World War I, as well as a massive collection of archives and photographs; it, therefore, doesn’t come as a surprise to know that CNN deemed it the world’s eighth best aviation museum in the world.

Niedzica Castle (Zamek w Niedzicy) was built between 1320 and 1326 by the Hungarian Kokos of Brezovica. Sitting on a hill upstream from the mouth of the Dunajec River, it is also sometimes called the Dunajec Castle (Zamek Dunajec). Long a border post with Hungary, the castle is considered to be one of the most picturesque in Poland. It has changed hands and undergone renovations numerous times over the centuries, but has been a museum since 1963.While much of the castle is in ruins, the dungeons and some rooms in the upper and middle castle have survived, as has a painting of the crucifixion that once hung in the chapel. The castle museum displays artifacts, remnants of the old interior, historical documents, prints and engravings of the castle’s exterior and antique clocks, pistols and rifles. Two terraces provide visitors with scenic views of the river and nearby lake.Niedzica Castle is also the subject of local legend, which says that an Inca princess was killed here, leaving her ghost to haunt the castle nightly, leaving a testament to her son describing the location of a lost Inca treasure.

Found in buzzing Kazimierz’s former town hall—itself a creamy-hued Renaissance masterpiece—the superb Krakow Ethnographic Museum (Muzeum Etnograficzne w Krakowie) should be on everyone’s itinerary. Formally known as the Seweryn Udziela Museum of Ethnography in Krakow, the museum covers the history and culture of rustic Poland through the ages, with detailed reconstructions of 19th-century peasant rooms, schoolrooms and rural kitchens. The museum also has a fine collection of traditional musical instruments, colorful folk costumes and day-to-day utensils used in leather making, wood carving and farming. The highlight of a visit, however, is the display of ornately decorated Nativity cribs calledszopki, which are traditionally painted red, green and gold and resemble multi-tiered Orthodox churches.New permanent exhibitions are being curated, including displays on traditional Polish rituals such as the painting of Easter eggs and the delicate folding of paper flowers; another recent addition on the second floor of the museum contain more than 300 pieces of art spanning the last five centuries. A separate gallery for temporary exhibitions is found at Ulica Krakowska 46, which recently hosted an in-depth exploration of the customs and traditions of Polish weddings.