Tickets to Schindler's Factory Museum

We took the English guided tour this past June.

PROS:
I thought it was beneficial because most of the artifacts and things hanging on the walls are NOT in English, although there are some written explanations in English. So it was helpful to have the guide explain what we were looking at.

Our trip to Auschwitz was the next day, and I thought the Schindler Factory was a good prelude to that.

CONS:
It seemed like the guide was working off a script, and she tended to rattle things off quickly. This could vary with guides, though.

You didn't really have time to linger over any of the exhibits, because the guide and the rest of the group was moving on. But this was not a huge issue for us.

Some of the exhibits had sounds/music playing, and at times it was difficult to hear the guide over them. I did OK by sticking close to her and listening very carefully. Again, this could vary depending on the guide's ability to project their voice (they didn't use the earphone microphone devices).

But overall I'm still glad we took the tour instead of deciphering things on our own, even given the 'Cons'.

As for the website (https://muzeumkrakowa.pl/en/branches/oskar-schindlers-enamel-factory), did you click the 'EN' button, which I see on the far left side (while using a computer, not my phone)? For me, that is switching everything to English. Then click the little ticket icon, also on the left side, to book tickets. I do see that the ticket types aren't translating, but I highlighted the Polish text, then right clicked, then selected 'translate text to English'. The English translation pops up in a small window near my navigation bar. I'm using google Chrome, by the way. Other browsers may differ.

FWIW, it looks to me like the second option in the list is the reduced admission (bilet ulgowy), and the first is regular price (bilet normalny), by the way.

Additionally, when we purchased our tickets for the June visit, we had trouble getting the website to accept our credit card (and we had used the card on other international sites with no issue). We emailed the museum people at the contact info on the website, and they recommended we choose the 'pay at ticket office' option. We paid and got our tickets at a ticket office in Krakow before heading out to the museum later that day.

Our RS tour of Auschwitz was the day before the Schindler’s Factory Museum. Looking back it was too much dry repetition of the very emotional tour of the concentration camp. Something lighter would have been nice. For example, the salt mine tour or just walking more of the town using the mass transit.

Barbara,
Thanks for all of the great info. I copied and pasted to the translation page and it worked. I too got to the end and it said that it did not accept my credit/debit card. I will have to email them just like you did. Did they email you a receipt once you emailed them?
Thanks.

My (unfairly concise) summary of the Museum is that it is much more about the Occupation than about Deportation or extermination. It is not based on the film script.

Try to get an email receipt because they always sell out and they do make paperwork errors. Observe timing deadlines for arrival.

For what it's worth, I used the audio guide and thought it was well done. As someone especially interested in that time period, I would not have liked visiting the museum on a guided tour; tour groups always move through museums much faster than I do.

acraven,
Does the regular ticket come with the audio?

I copied and pasted to the translation page and it worked. I too got to the end and it said that it did not accept my credit/debit card. I will have to email them just like you did. Did they email you a receipt once you emailed them?

After our credit card didn't go through, we emailed them and they advised us to try again, but this time choose the option at checkout that says 'Booking Only (payment at ticket office). Then we received an automated confirmation of our reservation via email. The day of the tour, we stopped in at the ticket office, paid, and received our tickets. Even though we had emailed their office about the confusion, we still had to reserve the desired time slot on the website ourselves (as they advised).

Hope that helps!

Patti, I don't remember whether there was an extra charge for the audioguide; it was six years ago. I've just checked the website, and I don't see a reference to the guide, so it may be automatically included in the ticket. It's not uncommon for sights with limited foreign-language text on the displays to provide a free audioguide in a bunch of languages.