Krakow attractions

Remuh Synagogue may be Krakow’s smallest synagogue, but this cozy 16th-century temple retains its significance as one of Krakow’s primary Jewish places of worship. Situated in the heart of Kazimierz, a highlight of this complex is the neighboring Remuh Cemetery, which is the resting place of many renowned Polish Jews, such as Rabbi Moses Isserles.

St. Florian’s Gate was once the entry point for Krakow’s Old Town in medieval times when the city was surrounded by defensive walls. Many of the city’s fortifications have since been destroyed, but this Gothic gateway remains the only one of eight original gates still standing. So it’s an important photo stop for history lovers and architecture fans alike.

Krakow’s Jagiellonian University (Uniwersytet Jagielloński), dating to 1364, is one of the oldest universities in Central Europe and is considered one of the best on the continent. You can explore the Jagiellonian University Museum in the Collegium Maius building, which is filled with university memorabilia, scientific instruments, and a medieval art gallery.

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.

A magnificent structure in the heart of the city, the Krakow Town Hall Tower is located on the capital’s Main Market Square. Dating back to the 14th century, this Gothic-style masterpiece rises above the Old Town and lets you climb up to a small observation area. It’s also home to an exhibition space, a theater, and a cafe.

Encircling Krakow’s Old Town, Planty Park is a picturesque green space that replaced the city’s former defensive walls, taken down in the 19th century. The park stretches roughly 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) and consists of trees, fountains, monuments, flower beds, and seating areas—the ideal place for a break from sightseeing.

The Old Synagogue (also referred to as the Stara Synagogue) stands out as Poland’s oldest surviving synagogue. Originally built in the 15th century, it has been reconstructed over the years after it was damaged during World War II. Now, it’s been transformed into a branch of the Historical Museum of Krakow, and it hosts exhibits about the city’s Jewish community.

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.

When Tadeusz Pankiewicz became the only Pole allowed to work within the boundaries of the Krakow Ghetto—made in 1941 to segregate the city's Jewish population—his Eagle Pharmacy (Apteka Pod Orłem) became an important place of refuge and resistance against Nazi power. Today, the pharmacy is a branch of the Historical Museum of Krakow.

Continuously staging plays and operas since 1893, Krakow’s Juliusz Słowacki Theatre (Teatr im J. Słowackiego w Krakowie) is known for being the birthplace of Poland’s modern theater movement. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the venue boasts magnificent European baroque and eclectic architectural features inspired by the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris.

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.

The Church of St. Adalbert is one of Krakow’s oldest churches, and it's believed to have been built in the 10th–11th centuries. Smaller in stature and less well-known than St. Mary’s Basilica, it also happens to be one of Poland’s oldest stone structures. Visitors come here to see its Romanesque architecture and a small museum in the crypt.

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.

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.

Considered Poland’s winter capital, Zakopane is a snow-sports paradise situated at the foot of the Tatras. Attractions include the Gubałówka mountain resort, the nearby thermal springs, and the Wielka Krokiew ski jump. The town is also known for its rich Goral heritage and traditional architecture, as well as sweeping summertime views.

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.

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.

Krakow has four memorial mounds: two that are prehistoric and two that are modern. The citizens of Krakow created the Kościuszko Mound in 1823 to honor Poland's national hero, Tadeusz Kościuszko. Visitors can wind their way atop the grassy, cone-like structure for spectacular city views and visit a museum of Kościuszko's achievements.

Across the river from Kazimierz, Krakow’s Jewish Quarter, Podgórze has a tragic past. It was here that Nazi Germans forced Jews into a ghetto, then transported them to concentration camps. Most travelers come here for World War II sights, particularly Oskar Schindler’s Factory, home of the story retold in the film Schindler’s List.

The Maly Rynek (which translates from Polish as “small market square”) is the lesser-known baby sibling of Krakow’s Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square). Tucked behind St. Mary’s Basilica, it’s a place to escape the crowds, stop for a coffee, and enjoy views of colorful townhouses. It also hosts festivals throughout the year.

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.

The beating heart of Zakopane, car-free Krupowki Street (Ulica Krupówki) is one of Poland’s most recognizable promenades. You can find everything here, from horse and carriage rides and oscypek (smoked sheep cheese) to international brands, local leather goods, and lively aprés-ski. Landmarks include the Tatra Museum and the neo-Gothic Sanktuarium Najswietszej Rodziny w Zakopanem church.

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.

Rather than one single venue, The Historical Museum of the City of Krakow is a collection of museums and historical sites that tell the story of the city’s past. The headquarters are at Krzysztofory Palace, in Krakow Old Town, but there are branches all over the city, including Oskar Schindler’s Factory Museum and the Eagle Pharmacy.

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.

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.

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and an important Calvary pilgrimage site in Southern Poland. It's backed beautifully by the Carpathian mountains and is home to more than 40 small churches and chapels. The site is also famous for its annual passion plays that depict Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

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.

In Krakow’s former Jewish district of Kazimierz, the Galicia Jewish Museum pays tribute to the victims of the Holocaust and illuminates Jewish culture through exhibitions and educational programs. The museum is renowned for its collection of photographs, which captures 800 years of Jewish life in Polish Galicia. It also hosts regular concerts and cultural events.

Close to the Slovakian border in southern Poland, Pieniny National Park is best known for the Pieniny mountain range and the Dunajec River Gorge, where you can go rafting down the gentle river. Another highlight is the Three Crowns (Tri Koruny) peak, a mountain range that resembles its namesake.