If you’re looking for a short, budget-friendly European break, the charming city of Krakow in Poland is a great choice. I visited Krakow in the spring with my daughter for four nights, and we were sad to leave as we felt there were many more things to see and do.
Krakow ticks a lot of boxes and should appeal to even the most discerning of travellers. However, its history and architecture are what it’s best known for, and it was great to see and experience this. It was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and is considered the cultural heart of the country, and is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
Flights to Krakow from the UK are very affordable. We flew direct from Bournemouth. The basic price for a seat and a small bag was around £30 each way. The flight took two and a half hours.
There was some frustration when reaching Krakow airport. EU citizens passed quickly through automated passport control gates. All other countries, including Brits, had long queues to endure to reach a human in a booth. And this was only after being electronically screened. It was equally slow on our return. Each time it took over an hour to clear.
The journey from the airport to the city was reasonably straightforward. We prefer to use public transport when possible. You can take a bus, but we chose the train. Ticket machines on the platform dispense paper tickets, or you can pay your fare via the Koleo app. The cost for an adult was the equivalent of about £4, and discounts were on offer for students and seniors (over 60). The travel time to Krakow Glowny main station is about 20 minutes. Our apartment was a 30-minute walk eastwards on the other side of the old town, so it was a good opportunity to get our bearings and get a flavour of the place.
Getting around
Kraków’s public transport is cheap and reliable. It consists of a network of trams and buses across three zones. Zone one covers most of the city, and the trams only operate in this zone. Services run every few minutes, so you never have to wait long for the next service. Tickets cover both modes of transport and are time-limited. Paper tickets can be purchased and then validated when you start your journey.
The most convenient option is to download the Jakdojade app. Here you will find various ticket options, from 15 minutes to 7 days. Group tickets and various discounts are also available. Remember to activate the ticket in the app when you start your journey. Fines are steep for not holding a valid ticket.
Prices are very affordable. A 24-hour zone 1 ticket is just 20 Zloty (about £4).
We found the city very walkable as it’s flat and easy to navigate, so we never used the trams or buses. However, we would definitely have used it had we stayed a few more days.
What to see
Wawel Royal Castle is situated on Wawel Hill overlooking the Vistula River. This fortified residency is regarded as the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. It was constructed on the orders of King Casimir III the Great and enlarged over the centuries into a number of structures around a Polish Renaissance courtyard. It represents nearly all European architectural styles of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods.
You can enter the courtyard and the surrounding grounds free of charge. Tickets can be purchased to access specific exhibitions like the Royal Private Apartments or Crown Treasury.
Don’t forget to see the fire-breathing dragon (yes, real fire) at the foot of the castle, by the river. It protects its den, which is a limestone cave in Wawel Hill, formed around 12 million years ago.
Old Town Square is situated in the centre of the city and is home to many of Kraków’s famous sights.
The most prominent building is St Mary’s Basilica Church, which is free to visit. This 14th-century Gothic structure features two striking towers of different heights and designs. Every hour, a trumpeter plays a tune from the tower.
Running through the centre of the square is Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), which is considered the world’s oldest shopping mall. The present Renaissance structure dates from 1555, and inside you will find many food stalls and small shops, terrace cafes and flower stands that surround the statue of Adam Mickiewicz.
The square is also your starting point for a horse carriage tour through the old town. Standard rides take about 30 minutes, and a 60-minute tour is also available and covers additional areas, such as the Kazimierz district (Jewish quarter). Carriages can take up to 10 people and cost between 200 and 300 PLN.
Vistula River flows through the southern side of the city. We took a 1-hour evening cruise, which cost about £17. It was a relaxing experience and provided spectacular views of Wawel Royal Castle and the many bridges we passed under. The tour gives a unique perspective of the city beyond the tourist areas. Snacks and drinks are available to purchase onboard, and they even provide blankets if it gets cool for the passengers up top.
Wieliczka Salt Mine is situated 10km southeast of Krakow. Third-party operators provide tours, or you can travel by bus (line 304). The mine is located in Zone II, so bear this in mind if using public transport. We chose to travel by train from Kraków Główny station to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, which cost about £2 each way and takes 23 minutes. The mine is then a few minutes’ walk away. 
You can purchase a ticket at the mine, but it’s recommended to buy online in advance to secure a time slot and to get a tour in your language. The cost is about 143PLN (roughly £29) for an adult ticket. There are seven language tours available, and it takes between 2 and 3 hours for the standard tour. There is also a miner’s tour if you want something a bit more hands-on.
The tour covers 3.5km, with 800 steps and reaches a depth of 135m. Fortunately, ascent is by lift. Our guide gave a fascinating insight into its history from its creation until the present day. There are places where you can taste the salt from the walls, but if you don’t fancy that, you can buy a bag from the gift shop. It was a great experience, and well worth visiting.
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is located about 70km west of Krakow. There are several operators offering coach tours. We decided to travel by train again from Kraków Główny to Oświęcim, which takes between 40 and 100 minutes and costs about 20PLN (£5). The faster trains cost a little more. The museum is then a 20-minute walk away, or you can take a bus or taxi if you prefer.
It is advisable to purchase tickets online in advance to secure a time slot with a guide speaking your language, although it is possible to buy tickets at the museum. Tickets cost about 100PLN (£20). It is possible to visit for free without a guide, although these tickets are only available online and have to be booked months in advance due to demand.
You will visit the camps of Auschwitz and Auschwitz-Birkenau during your visit, and it was a fascinating but sombre and at times harrowing experience. Most who visit will likely know something about its history and notoriety. Getting up close to the buildings, the exhibitions, and the railway platform really brings home some of the horror that occurred in those few years during WWII, giving a whole new perspective. The suffering is really too much to comprehend, as well as the psyches of the Nazi perpetrators who inflicted it. It’s estimated that 1.5M people died here.
Our guide was excellent at providing details on events, conditions and processes and at answering questions. So I would say the 3-hour guided tour was well worth the money.
Understandably, this isn’t a place everyone would want to visit, but sometimes it feels necessary to look into the dark corners of history and hopefully learn something from them.
Final thoughts
We loved Krakow. It’s easily reachable from the UK and very affordable. Our lovely 2-bed apartment cost just £240 for 5 nights in March. Travel was cheap, food was cheap, and pretty much everything else felt like a bargain, too.
We didn’t take any cash and paid for everything by card. The only times this became a problem were with public toilets, which generally charge between 2 and 5PLN and were often cash only, although we did encounter an attendant with a credit card machine. If you don’t have cash, the toilets at the Galeria Krakowska Shopping Mall are free, which is located next to the train station. If you need to store your cases for a few hours, there are lockers at the nearby bus station, which you can pay for by card.
We were lucky with the weather. It was sunny most days, up to 22 °C, although the nights were cool, so I would say spring is an excellent time to visit Krakow and avoid the busy holiday seasons.
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