7 days in Poland

How many nights is seven days? Kraków deserves four nights if you include a day trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Gdansk and Malbork are outliers, so you may want to go to Wroclaw instead.

Though I cannot suggest a full seven-day itinerary, I can make some suggestions of places to go. I visited Poland in 2015 and 2022, spending a lot of time in Krakow, where you're planning to go.

Zakopane/northern Slovakia: Zakopane is a good base if you'd like to hike in the Tatra Mountains or breath in the fresh air of the Polish highlands. The Tatras are also picturesque on the Slovak side of the border.

Katowice: A place that few travelers ever visit is Katowice, in the Silesian district of western Poland. I had an unscheduled stop there once, and I'm glad I saw it. The atmosphere of the old industrial town was fascinating. The Nikiszowiec district, a historic workers' housing estate with distinctive red brick architecture and vibrant street art, was fascinating. The Silesian Museum is also excellent. (Side note: some people use Katowice as a base to visit Auschwitz, a sobering place to visit but unquestionably worth it.)

Gdansk/Tricity: I didn't visit Gdansk, but I've met several people who have, and they say it's one of Europe's best-kept secrets. Sometimes it's referred to as Tricity as the visitors also go to nearby Sopot and Gdynia. The Solidarity Centre and Amber Museum are supposed to be excellent. A good idea is to watch Rick Steves's video on Gdansk to get the flavor of the town: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/video/tv-show/warsaw

I would agree that of all the places on your wish list, Krakow should be the priority, and should get at least three of your seven days, preferably four. To fit in two more stops would be difficult with just seven nights (or is it six nights?). Between Gdansk and Wroclaw, I found Gdansk to be more interesting, with more options for day trips. Malbork is an easy and worthwhile day trip by train from Gdansk. A boat tour up to Westerplatte is interesting for history buffs, or a short train ride to Sopot or Gdynia for beach lovers. Wroclaw has a great food scene, and a large and lively central square, but doesn’t have the old world charm of Gdansk. The advantage of Wroclaw however is that it is closer to both Krakow and Prague, so the logistics are easier if you will be travelling by train. That said, my recommendation would be a 4/3 split between Krakow and Gdansk.

Thank you for these suggestions!

We stayed 9 nights in Poland in Aug 2017, staying in Wroclaw (2 nights), Boleslawiec (2 nights), and Krakow (5 nights). Our trip report might be useful reference. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/poland-wroclaw-boleslawiec-krakow-aug-2017-part-1-of-2