Trip Report: 6 nights in Kraków (September 2026)

Museums 🏛️

We pre-booked tickets online for the Czartoryski Museum but it wasn’t necessary. There was just a small group gathered at opening time. This is a small but lovely museum and we spent about an hour and a half wandering around here. The Lady with an Ermine is the star attraction, and yes, she’s lovely.

Muzeum Stanisława Wyspiańskiego is included in the ticket for the Czartoryski Museum, so we stopped by a couple of days later when we were nearby. It was fine. I wouldn’t have wanted to make a special trip for it, but glad we went since it was part of the ticket.

The Stara Synagoga in Kazimierz was really interesting and it’s such a beautiful building.

This one is a bit niche, but we took an Uber to Nowa Huta Cultural Centre to visit the Zdzisław Beksiński Gallery. We enjoyed it a lot. Afterwards as I was sitting on a bench daydreaming, my husband, who had gone in search of the WC, came back and told me that while my phone was sitting on silent in my purse he was frantically texting me to help him. Apparently the door wouldn’t unlock and the light must’ve been on a timer because he found himself plunged into darkness with a door that seemed bolted. I shouldn’t have laughed….but I did. 🤭

Basilicas and cathedrals and churches, oh my! ⛪

There are so many stunning places of worship in Krakow that it apparently has the nickname "Little Rome"

Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and St. Mary’s Basilica were the stand outs. The interior is so colorful and I love the contrast of red brick with blue ceiling. My photos don’t do it justice.

Wawel Cathedral was nice but smaller than it appeared and it was crowded with tour groups when we went, so we didn’t stay long.

St. Joseph's Church in Podgórze was also another favorite.

Stare Podgórze and Kazimierz

This was one of my favorite days. We started outside the Schindler Factory - we elected not to go inside. From here we walked to the Remains of the Ghetto Wall which I found really affecting. I just stood there staring at it. Maybe because I had rewatched Schindler’s List before this trip, maybe because ever since school I have read and watched so much about this piece of history, I was awed that I was actually there in person. It would be 2 days before we went to Auschwitz and I am so glad we did this first. We then walked to the Ghetto Heroes Square and across to St. Joseph's Church and sat in Rynek Podgórski for a while people (and pigeon) watching.

We crossed over Father Bernatek’s Bridge, which was so whimsical with dangling sculptures. We wandered around plac Wolnica (really atmospheric) and explored Kazimierz, stopping at places I had bookmarked but also just wandering. The streets around here were evocative and gave me a melancholy feeling. It was like walking back in time.

Thoughts and impressions ✈️

We loved Krakow. Walking up to Wawel Hill and seeing the castle grounds and cathedral; the morning I was at the Cloth Hall as everything was opening for the day; dipping in and out of Planty; exploring bookstores; hearing the trumpet at the Rynek; - this city is beautiful. It was one of our favorite trips so far.

Auschwitz

We took the train to Auschwitz and the irony was not lost on us. Have you all seen the movie A Real Pain? https://youtu.be/b2et8Vpu7Ls?si=k4wk-zWmxlyJioiM

We bought our tickets a few weeks prior on https://www.intercity.pl/en/ and had downloaded the app. But someone was sitting in our seats and she doesn’t speak English and she seems to be telling me that it’s not my seat but our tickets say cabin 2 and the door of this cabin has a big white 2 on it. Hmmm. I walked across to the next cabin which also had a big white 2 on the door. What? Is the whole train 2? There were some young German guys in my seat who whipped out their phone to show me their ticket and a young woman in the seat in front offered to help us. She glanced at both our tickets and the seats and nodded knowingly “Maybe they sold the same ticket again.” Was she saying they double sold the seats? “It happens many times like this” she said. Right. Meanwhile, where was my husband? Still in the other cabin 2 presumably. I texted him to come over and of course as he approached the train jerked and he fell into the lap of a very surprised man and sent his water bottle rolling down the aisle. The two young Germans must’ve felt sorry for us and the spectacle we were creating and told me to take the seats, but I wouldn’t hear of it. I told them that they paid for it just as we did and to not worry about it, so we found a couple of other empty seats and were done with it. By this point we were hot and sweaty and halfway to Auschwitz.

We showed our tickets and were let into a second ‘holding’ area to await our timeslot. This was the last chance for eating and drinking. A German couple sat next to us and pulled out tupperware with pizza. I munched on peanut M&Ms. It was a weird scene, sitting there like that about to enter a concentration camp.

What to say about our visit here? It was painful and horrific and emotional and all the things you think it’s going to be. Having been to Dachau and now here, I don’t believe I’ll go to another concentration camp. I don’t think I can.

Our guide was excellent and unfortunately he had to stop several times to tell people to stop being disrespectful by taking selfies. One woman was filming inside the areas specifically forbidden to film because there’s human remains. Our guide looked ready to scream.

I’m not going to go over the 3.5 hour tour and what we saw. I remember it vividly. I'm happy to answer question if you have any. I took 3 or 4 photos at the beginning and then put my phone away. I just wanted to listen to the guide and look around and think.

What people have done to each other. What we still do to each other.

The tour ends at Birkenau and our guide veered briefly into current day and social media and populist leaders. It’s been exactly one week since I was there, but I can still hear his parting words. “People need to be careful with what they say and put online. Words are important. Everything you saw today started with words.”

Thank you so much for your very well-written trip report.........it was both funny and moving. I honestly (foolishly, it seems) have never considered Poland but you have definitely made me think......

I really appreciate the time people take to post trip reports: it's great when they open my eyes to places I haven't considered before and lovely when they remind of places I have already been.

Thanks again......I'm so glad you had such a wonderful and impactful journey!

What a great trip report! You captured it so well. You have a gift with words. I can close my eyes and feel like I’m back in Krakow.

Kraków is really a special place, right? You saw so much in just one week. I am impressed!

Oh my goodness! I feel sorry for your husband, being locked in the bathroom, and then later falling onto someone’s lap on the train. I must confess that I laughed reading it.

Glad to hear you enjoyed that pierogi place. I passed by your hotel so many times the week before, it really is in a great location. Sorry about the bar across the street. But at least you could see the donut place from your window!

Did you take a taxi from the train station to Auschwitz? And I hope your return trip to Krakow was uneventful!

Just a heads up for anyone 65 and older, Krakow public transport is free.

Thank you for writing this! I'm sure I'll be re reading several times as I continue to plan my trip. We have 5 nights in Krakow next June.
I'm sure the concentration camp memorial at Auschwitz will be difficult. But I do want to go. I would have a hard time with people being disrespectful. I was telling kids to be quiet at Arlington national cemetery last year.
Thanks for all the details. Glad you could visit.

I honestly (foolishly, it seems) have never considered Poland but you have definitely made me think......

This forum is so wonderful at doing that. I'm not sure if Budapest would've been so high on my list if not for hearing so many good reports of it here.

Did you take a taxi from the train station to Auschwitz? And I hope your return trip to Krakow was uneventful!

Oh yes, I forgot to add that bit. We took a taxi to/from the train station and Auschwitz. They all seemed to be fixed at 40zloty/$10 USD. The train back from Auschwitz was delayed a couple of times and then they only had one door open so it was a bottle-neck trying to board. Not sure we ever found our seats again, so just sat sideways in that area where the suitcases are.

I'm sure the concentration camp memorial at Auschwitz will be difficult. But I do want to go.

It was a bit odd talking about my "vacation" at the office this week. A couple of people were interested to hear about Auschwitz, and others seemed perplexed that such a place would feature on what, to them, would be a leisure trip. I recommend anyone interested in history and humanity visit. Actually, I recommend those ignorant of history go, but that's just screaming into the void at this point.

Mary, what a wonderful trip report! Like the others, it’s made me want to visit Poland and I am bumping it higher up on my list. Krakow sounds absolutely beautiful, although I did have to laugh at the whole bathroom fiasco! 😂

As horrible as it is to see the atrocities at the concentration camps, I do think it’s important that people go there. I will continue to do so and will definitely go to Auschwitz. It’s the same reason I go to all the resistance museums in every city. I want to remember. You put it very well when you said we need to remember what people have done to each other and what they still do.

And thank you for putting the donut in there. I love hearing about donuts in trip reports! It sounded luscious!

I recommend anyone interested in history and humanity visit. Actually,
I recommend those ignorant of history go, but that's just screaming
into the void at this point.

I heartly agree with this.

My husband and I visited Dachau a few weeks ago. I'll keep working on my trip report but we both wanted to visit. My grandpa was a liberator so it was important to me for that reason. It's amazing that while we still have 1st hand witnesses alive there are people denying that the Holocaust or Shoah happened. I have told my children (all minors) to teach their children about it.

Thanks for the report, Mary! I had delightful images floating through my head remembering walking through the streets in Krakow as I read it!

Great trip report, Mary! I had a fabulous trip to Poland last summer and adored Krakow. Your "Thoughts and impressions " paragraph summed up my feelings about Krakow, too. Thank you for posting and reminding me of a wonderful trip.

Thanks Mary, this was a great trip report, appreciated all the details! (And I really liked the emoji to identify categories.)

Thank you Mary for the excellent Trip Report. Your guide's words are so very eloquent.

Thanks for including what you guide said at the end of the Auschwitz tour. We all need to hear that, over and over.

Thank you Carol now retired, Mardee, TTM, Christine, Sandancisco, Pam, cala.

pbscd, maybe your daughter will create another scrapbook?

The train back from Auschwitz was delayed a couple of times and then
they only had one door open so it was a bottle-neck trying to board.
Not sure we ever found our seats again, so just sat sideways in that
area where the suitcases are.

Ugh - you seemed to have had bad luck with the trains. But glad you were able to at least get a seat both ways.

It is so sad to see the disrespect of some visitors at Auschwitz. I said a silent prayer as I walked through the gate, and another when we reached the back of Birkenau. And seeing some people (high schoolers on a field trip) doing selfies was heartbreaking.

Krakow was the first of my 4 "sampler cities" when I broke out of my self-erected Western European travel fence. You've reminded me how it had such an oversized impact, with its charm and its history.

It's interesting that you mentioned the irony of your train ride to Auschwitz. As I read your modern day train debacle, I was envisioning the prisoner passengers and their crowded cars. Your word choice took me to another train in the circumstances of a different time. Amazing how words can do that.

Nicely written report about this charming and historically impactful city.

A couple of people were interested to hear about Auschwitz, and others
seemed perplexed that such a place would feature on what, to them,
would be a leisure trip. I recommend anyone interested in history and
humanity visit. Actually, I recommend those ignorant of history go,
but that's just screaming into the void at this point.

I understand that some people want a vacation to be a place where you can turn your brain off, but that's not me. I always joke that it's not a vacation if I come back rested, but for me it's also not a vacation if my brain doesn't come back full. Thanks for the report, I keep adding Poland to the list but then move it down because of so many other places I want to go. I've but to figure out time to go. Now I need to go back to look at your photos.

Thanks for your trip report. Krakow is a very special, beautiful, charming place;and the Auschwitz/Birkenau camps are hallowed ground. All of this makes it a truly unforgettable place to visit.

And seeing some people (high schoolers on a field trip) doing selfies was heartbreaking.

Would you believe these were adults? We had a group of 4 women in our group who were applying lipstick and posing in front of the baracks. One of them filmed inside the rooms with the hair. Later there was a couple that were not in our group but our guide approached them because he was posing on the tracks at Birkenau while she crouched down to take a photo. The other one I rememeber was a man who had to be 40+ that our guide approached because he was picking up rocks and putting them in his pocket.

Mary - I am shocked!
Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee who will be in our group. Glad your guide took action. I am sure that happens quite a lot, unfortunately.

Now that I think about it, our guide also told someone (from a different group, I think) “no photos here”. I heard as I was reading the sign.

Mary, thanks so much for your terrific report on Krakow. Next year in October I will be doing the RS tour and plan to add another 5-7 days in Krakow. Seeing Leonardo’s Lady With an Ermine is one of my life quests. I’m very interested in WWll history and I know I will love being in Poland. And everyone seems to universally love Krakow. Thanks for the specific information on churches, museums and restaurants. Very helpful!

I’ll pass on a book recommendation for The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli. It’s a dual timeline novel so you are with Leonardo as he’s painting the portrait and in Krakow during WWll as the Nazis want to steal it. It’s a great read.