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Krakow

Things to Do in Krakow Besides a Free Walking Tour and a Shot

Krakow is one of the easiest old towns in Europe to enjoy, and one of the easiest to cheapen with pub crawls. Book Auschwitz properly, eat in Kazimierz, and keep the salt mine as a full half-day.

4.7(60k)
Activities vetted
7
Cheapest pick
PLN 32
Best time to go
May to June, or September
Last checked
August 24, 2026

Krakow's main square is a success story of reconstruction and also a gravitational field for the worst of European city-break nightlife. You can ignore that field. The city is Kazimierz, the river, and two sites — Auschwitz and Wieliczka — that are not entertainment.

Give Auschwitz a silent day. Do not book a pub crawl for that night as if you needed to "balance" it.

Where to spend your money

Book: Auschwitz with a proper operator, Wieliczka separately, Kazimierz food, Schindler's Factory timed ticket.

Skip: Auschwitz + mine combos, "party hostel" pub crawls if you came for the history, and Zakopane unless you have a spare long day.

The part nobody tells you

Milk bars (bar mleczny) are still a thing and still cheap. They are not a meme if you eat at the right hour. They are also not the only food in the city. Use them for lunch, not as your entire culinary take.

The 7 activities we would book in Krakow

Ranked by rating weighted against review volume, then filtered for free cancellation and honest itineraries.

1
Day trips7 hours

Auschwitz-Birkenau guided day trip

The reason many people come, and not a product to cheap out on. Official guides, enough time at both camps, no "plus salt mine" combo. That combo is a moral and logistical failure.

  • Entry is regulated — you will be on a guided tour either way
  • Birkenau is essential, not optional
  • Quiet on the bus back is normal
4.8(22k)
fromPLN 149

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on GetYourGuide. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

2
Day trips4 hours

Wieliczka Salt Mine

Genuinely strange and worth it. Lots of stairs, constant temperature, a chapel carved in salt. Do it on a different day from Auschwitz. Always.

  • Tourist route with a guide is mandatory
  • Lift up at the end on most routes
  • Not for severe mobility issues
4.7(16k)
fromPLN 120

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on Viator. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

3
Food & drink3.5 hours

Kazimierz food tour

Kazimierz is where you should eat. A tour on night one beats another pizza on the Rynek. Jewish history here is not a side note — read before you treat it as a bar district only.

  • Zapiekanka is a snack, not the cuisine
  • Plac Nowy and beyond
  • Replaces dinner
4.8(2.7k)
fromPLN 280

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on GetYourGuide. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

4
Culture & history2.5 hours

Wawel Cathedral and castle hill

The hill is the civic monument. Cathedral interiors and the royal tombs need a ticket. The dragon statue breathes fire on a schedule — treat it as a joke for kids, not an activity.

  • Timed tickets for some interiors
  • Views over the Vistula
  • Grounds are partly free
4.6(4.8k)
fromPLN 90

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on Viator. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

5
Walking tours2.5 hours

Old Town and Rynek — one paid walk or none

The square is something you inhabit, not a tour product. A good paid small-group walk can unpack St Mary's and the cloth hall. A free tour that ends at a vodka bar is a pub crawl with a history intro.

  • St Mary's trumpet, cloth hall upstairs museum
  • Rynek underground museum if you like archaeology
  • Skip a second old-town walk
4.7(3.1k)
fromPLN 40

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on GetYourGuide. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

6
Day trips11 hours

Zakopane and Tatra day trip

A long day to a mountain town that deserves an overnight. Do it only if you will not get to the Tatras otherwise. Krupowki street is a souvenir mall. The cable car and trails are the point.

  • Mountains, not shops
  • Weather can erase the view
  • Overnight is better
4.3(2.4k)
fromPLN 180

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on Viator. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

7
Culture & history2 hours

Schindler's Factory museum

Timed tickets, good museum, book ahead. It is a Krakow-under-occupation museum, not a film set. Pair with the ghetto memorial, not with a "Schindler's List locations" entertainment tour.

  • Timed entry
  • Allow two hours
  • Combine with a serious reading of the ghetto area
4.7(9.0k)
fromPLN 32

Free cancellation up to 24h before

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Booked on GetYourGuide. We may earn a commission — the price is the same for you.

Krakow activities: common questions

How many days in Krakow?

Three. Old town and Wawel, Kazimierz, Auschwitz on its own day, salt mine on another. Two days means dropping either the mine or a slow Kazimierz.

Can I combine Auschwitz and Wieliczka?

You can. You should not. One is a memorial that takes emotional energy. The other is an underground tourist route with hundreds of stairs. Combining them is how operators sell a "full day" and how visitors remember neither properly.

Zloty and cards?

Cards are widely accepted. The Rynek will take them. Small milk bars may prefer cash.

Is Krakow a stag-do city?

Parts of it, on weekends, around certain clubs. Kazimierz and the quieter old-town side streets are still a normal European city. Choose hotels accordingly.

Free walking tours?

The format is tip-based and variable. Pay for Auschwitz and the mine. For the Rynek, a guidebook and an hour in St Mary's may be enough.

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