Krakow 6 Day Itinerary
Krakow escaped World War II almost entirely unscathed, which makes it one of the few medieval city centres in Central Europe that was never flattened and rebuilt. That is the reason the Old Town looks genuinely old rather than reconstructed, and it is worth keeping in mind as you walk through it over six days.
Getting There and Around
Krakow John Paul II International Airport (KRK) is 15 km from the centre. The train connection from the airport to Krakow Glowny (main station) runs every 30 minutes, takes about 17 minutes, and costs around 9 PLN (roughly €2). Taxis cost 50 to 80 PLN for the same journey; rideshare apps like Bolt and Uber are active and usually cheaper than metered cabs. Do not take the unofficial taxi touts outside arrivals.
Inside the city, trams and buses cover everything you need. A 90-minute ticket costs 8 PLN (under €2). A 72-hour unlimited pass runs about 50 PLN (around €12) and is excellent value for a six-day stay if you use transit on most days. Validate your ticket immediately on boarding; inspectors are frequent and fines are around 150 PLN. The Old Town, Kazimierz, and Wawel Hill are all walkable between each other in under 20 minutes, so you may not need transit at all on some days.
Where to Stay
Kazimierz is the smartest neighbourhood base. Hotels here cost €60 to €100 per night for a good standard, compared to €90 to €130 in Old Town, and you are a 15-minute walk from the Main Square. The neighbourhood has better restaurants and a more lived-in atmosphere than the tourist-heavy Old Town. Podgorze, across the river, is quieter still and 10 to 15 minutes further out; useful if you are on a tighter budget.
Day 1: Old Town and Wawel Hill
Rynek Glowny (the Main Square) is the largest medieval market square in Europe at 200 metres across. Walk it before 9am to see it without the crowds; by midday in summer it is packed with tour groups. The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) in the centre was a 14th-century trading hub and now sells amber, linen, and woodwork on the ground floor, with a fine art gallery above. Entry to the gallery is 15 PLN.
St. Mary’s Basilica on the square’s northeast corner has a wooden Gothic altarpiece by Veit Stoss, carved between 1477 and 1489, which is widely considered one of the finest in Europe. A trumpeter plays a short call from the taller tower every hour on the hour, cutting off mid-phrase as a tribute to a medieval sentry reportedly shot by an arrow while sounding the alarm. There is a small entry charge.
Wawel Hill in the afternoon. The castle complex requires separate tickets for different parts: the State Rooms, Royal Private Apartments, Crown Treasury, and Cathedral each have their own admission (roughly 30 to 45 PLN each). Do not try to see everything in one afternoon. The Cathedral, where Polish kings were crowned and buried, and the Treasury are the most worthwhile. Skip the Dragon’s Den unless you have children with you.
Dinner at Pod Aniolami near the foot of Wawel Hill. The restaurant is set in Gothic cellars, serves traditional Polish meat dishes, and is genuinely good rather than just atmospherically photogenic.
Day 2: Kazimierz and Jewish Quarter
Kazimierz was the Jewish district of Krakow for five centuries before the Nazi occupation. Parts of Schindler’s List were filmed here in the early 1990s, and the neighbourhood is now Krakow’s most energetic after dark. During the day it rewards slow walking.
The Old Synagogue on Szeroka Street is the oldest surviving synagogue in Poland, now a museum of Jewish history and culture. Entry is around 20 PLN. The Remuh Synagogue next to it is still an active place of worship; the adjoining 16th-century cemetery is one of the best-preserved Renaissance Jewish cemeteries in Europe.
Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory Museum at ul. Lipowa 4 is the most comprehensive museum account of Krakow under Nazi occupation. Book online in advance; summer queues for walk-ins can be two hours. Allow two to three hours inside.
For coffee, Alchemist Espresso Bar is a well-regarded specialty coffee shop in Kazimierz. For dinner, try Singer on Estery Street, where the tables are set on old Singer sewing machines, or Pierwszy Stopien for Polish comfort food with a Kazimierz edge. Noah, an Israeli restaurant featured in the 2025 Michelin Guide, is worth booking ahead if you want a special meal.
Day 3: Auschwitz-Birkenau
This is the hardest day. Auschwitz-Birkenau is 70 km west of Krakow, and most visitors go on a tour that includes transport and a guided visit. Book months ahead in summer. The official museum requires a guided visit during peak hours (10am to 3pm); outside those hours, self-guided entry is permitted but the guides add considerable depth.
A guided group tour with return transfer from Krakow costs roughly €30 to €50 depending on the operator. The visit covers both Auschwitz I (the original camp with its documentation and exhibits) and Birkenau (the vast extermination camp 3 km away). Plan on at least four to five hours on site.
Do not combine Auschwitz with Wieliczka Salt Mine on the same day, despite what some operators suggest. Both sites deserve full attention and the combination is disrespectful to both. Save Wieliczka for another day.
Day 4: Wieliczka Salt Mine and Planty Park
Wieliczka Salt Mine is 14 km southeast of Krakow and accessible by suburban train from Krakow Glowny (25 minutes, around 6 PLN) or by minibus from the main bus station. Standard entry is 134 PLN (about €31) for the main Tourist Route, which involves about 2 km of walking and 800 stairs. The temperature inside is a constant 14 to 16 degrees Celsius, so bring a layer regardless of the weather outside.
The carved salt chapels, particularly the Chapel of St. Kinga with its chandeliers made of salt, are remarkable in a way that photographs do not quite capture. The mine has been in operation since the 13th century and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Skip the extra-cost attractions at the end (restaurants, exhibits requiring additional tickets) and just do the main route.
Return by early afternoon and spend the rest of the day in Planty Park, the green ring that circles the Old Town on the site of the demolished medieval city walls. It is a good place to do nothing. For dinner, Milkbar Tomasza on ul. Tomasza is an authentic bar mleczny (milk bar), serving hearty Polish staples for €3 to €6 per dish. Eat here at least once; it is what locals actually eat rather than what tourists are pointed toward.
Day 5: Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains
The Tatra Mountains on the Slovak border are about 100 km south of Krakow. Zakopane, the gateway town, can be reached by bus from Krakow bus station in around two hours and costs about 20 PLN each way. Buses run frequently.
Zakopane itself is architecturally interesting (the traditional Podhale wooden highland style is distinctive and has been documented by preservation societies) but is extremely commercialised on the main street, Krupowki. Walk through it quickly and get up into the mountains. The cable car to Kasprowy Wierch (1,987 m) runs in clear weather and queues can be long in summer; buy tickets online in advance. The view from the top, weather permitting, extends into Slovakia.
For lunch in Zakopane, eat at one of the food stalls or restaurants serving oscypek (smoked sheep’s cheese, often served grilled with cranberry jam), zurek (sour rye soup), or grilled lamb. This is the region where these dishes originate and the quality is substantially better here than in Krakow.
Return to Krakow in the early evening. Wierzynek restaurant on the Main Square, which has been operating since 1364 according to its own history, is a splurge option for dinner.
Day 6: Krakus Mound, Podgorze, and Departure Prep
The Krakus Mound in the Podgorze district is older than Wawel Castle. Its origins are disputed (possibly Celtic, possibly Slavic), but the hill provides the best panoramic view of Krakow and almost nobody goes there compared to the Kosciuszko Mound on the other side of the city. It takes about 20 minutes to walk up. Go in the morning.
Podgorze itself was the site of the Nazi ghetto from 1941 to 1943. Ghetto Heroes’ Square has symbolic empty chairs representing the deportees. The Pharmacy Under the Eagle, where pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz helped ghetto residents at personal risk, is a small museum at the corner of the square and is one of the most quietly affecting sites in Krakow.
Spend the afternoon doing any shopping you have put off. The shops on and around Florianska Street sell amber at very variable quality; buy from a specialist rather than a street stall if you want genuine Baltic amber. The Stary Kleparz market north of the Old Town is a good place for food: bread, cured meats, pickles.
For a farewell dinner, Kuchnia i Wino on ul. sw. Jana in Old Town is consistently one of the best restaurants in the city for modern Polish cooking.
One practical note: the airport train leaves from a dedicated platform at Krakow Glowny. Find it the day before so you are not searching on departure morning. If you are flying early, Bolt or Uber will be faster than the train and cost less than a metered taxi.