“Freedom is not about doing what you want, but about having the right to do what you must” – John Paul II
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Itinerary of the city (2 days), with maps
- Day 0: Arrival in Krakow
- Day 1: Old town,Wawel Castle and Cathedral, Jewish town
- Day 2: National Museum, Kościuszko Mound and Wieliczka Salt Mines
- Missed stage: Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Conclusions
Introduction
I entrusted the incipit of this article to John Paul II, one of the most well-known and influential personalities ever connected with the city of Krakow, whose imprint is visibly present even today among its inhabitants, regardless of one’s faith. Observing people living their daily lives, I perceived the idea of freedom expressed in the words of the Polish pope, according to my interpretation of them, that is, as a value to be expressed with integrity and firmness, and also for this reason with extreme sobriety. It is a value to which the city and in general the entire region that hosts it seem to be particularly attached, on one hand because they have known the highest expression of its negation, by being the scene of the worst crimes ever committed against mankind, and on the other hand since they are still the headquarter of important places of Christian-Catholic worship, testifying a widely spread religious and solemn sentiment. Suffice it to mention, respectively, the lagers of Auschwitz and Birkenau, located just over an hour’s drive from the center of Krakow, and the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa (the so-called Black Madonna), reachable instead in a couple of hours.
Itinerary of the city (2 days), with maps
I had the opportunity to visit Kraków on a weekend in October with absolutely pleasant weather conditions. In addition to the main parts of the city, the itinerary described below includes a visit to the Wieliczka Salt Mines and the Kościuszko Mound, located somewhat outside the city walls. For various reasons, we were unable, unfortunately, to include a visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, but I plan to return to Poland soon to fill that important gap as well.
| Day | Destination | Map |
| 0 | Arrival in Krakow | – |
| 1 | Old town, Wawel Castle and Cathedral, Kazimierz | Castle and old town Kazimierz |
| 2 | National Museum, Kościuszko Mound and Wieliczka Salt Mines | – |
Day 0: Arrival in Krakow
Our adventure begins at John Paul II Airport (KRK); our plane lands as planned very late in the evening, so we already knew we would not have a chance to visit anything. We arrive at our bnb in the city center with a cab booked on Bolt, for which we spend the equivalent of about 15€ (Polish currency is the Zloty, corresponding to about 0.23€), which allows us to speed up our transfer without increasing the costs, as there are 4 of us.
Small note: John Paul II International Airport (KRK) is the city’s most important airport, being the closest to the center (the ride from the airport to the center takes about half an hour), as well as the largest. Many people also arrive in the center from Katowice Airport (KTW), which is served mostly by low-cost airlines, but the journey is significantly longer (the trip from the airport to the city center takes about an hour and a half by car and 2½ hours by public transportation).
Day 1: Old town,Wawel Castle and Cathedral, Jewish town
We start our tour early in the morning from the Castle area, which we easily reach from our bnb, conveniently located on a side street of Grodzka Street, one of the oldest streets in the city. On the way, which we leisurely walk given the ridiculous distance, we pass by the Church of Saints Peter and Paul and the Church of St. Andrew, located about ten meters apart. The former is closed, while the latter is open, so we go in for a very quick visit, also because it is really a very small church and moreover there is a restoration in progress.
Continuing in the direction of the castle, we move onto Kanonicza Street, passing the home of John Paul II, which is now the site of a museum dedicated to him, which we do not visit. We begin to catch a glimpse of Wawel Castle.
We start the tour of the Castle District and the Cathedral from the outside environment, partly because it is too early to visit the halls, which open at 9 a.m. (the outside part is accessible from 6 a.m. instead). There are very few people, but already half an hour later it becomes very crowded. The castle reached its present form in the 16th century through the actions of King Sigismund I the Elder.
We then enter the castle, buying tickets directly on site. If you wish, you can book them online first on this site. At the ticket office, they suggest we take tickets marked as Castle I, which includes the interior rooms, containing various paintings as well as furnishings, and a collection of porcelains, all at a cost of 49 zloty per person (about 11€).
The tour takes about an hour in total, at the end of which we begin the one in the cathedral, again buying tickets locally. The ticket costs 23 zloty (about €5) per person and includes the John Paul II museum if desired. It can also be purchased online here. The interior of the cathedral is quite nice, but nothing outstanding. There are also the tombs of several famous people of various kinds, most notably there is the Funeral Chapel of King Sigismund, built by an Italian architect. It is forbidden to take pictures, except from the bell tower in which Sigismund’s bell is kept (apparently the largest in all of Poland), which is accessed by a short but narrow flight of steps, and from which it is possible to appreciate a beautiful panoramic view of the city.
We leave the castle district by the obligatory route at this point, appreciating the remaining part of the outdoor environment, which overlooks the Vistula.
Leaving the castle, we head to the church dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi. Admission is free and really worth it, the interior decorations are really beautiful.
The next stop is Maius College of the Jagiellonian University, an institute in which Nicolas Copernicus, in addition to John Paul II, did his studies. That’s right, the one who, as someone unknown to me said so well, proved that the earth revolves around the sun and not around you.
By this time, the first half of the day has passed, our stomachs are beginning to growl, and we are among those who resist to everything but temptation. We decide to have our lunch in the Market Square (Rynek Glowny), which is the main square of the old city and it is considered the largest medieval square in the world. The square is divided into two parts by the Palace of Textiles (Sukiennice), where this kind of product was once traded and which now houses a few clubs and small stores. In the western part of the square is the Town Hall Tower, about 75 meters high in Gothic style, while in the eastern part are the Gothic-style St. Mary’s Basilica (free admission), the small church of St. Adalbert, and the statue of Adam Mickievicz, a famous Polish writer and poet. Do you want to tell me that you did not know who he was? Well, I had never heard of him either. Also worth mentioning is the curious legend of the towers of the Basilica, which apparently have different heights because of a dispute between two brothers who were entrusted with their construction, who loved each other like Cain and Abel, in fact in the end the one who builds the lower tower kills the other one.
Aware that we would return to the Market Square to see it illuminated, we set out again on Florianska Street. In this area we encounter, in order:
- St. Florian’s Gate and the medieval walls that once protected the city
- The Barbican, a building formerly connected to St. Florian’s Gate, with watchtowers, in Gothic style and still well preserved
- Jan Matejko Square, dedicated to the famous Polish painter of the 19th century, in the center of which is a monument commemorating the historic Battle of Grunwald, in which the Kingdom of Poland prevailed against the Teutonic Order in the 15th century
- The Gothic-style church of St. Florian (free admission)
Since we still have a few hours before dinner and the light allows it, we decide to head to the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz), once again booking a cab through Bolt. We arrive in a few minutes and head to the Remu’h Synagogue, the most important in the city, and its ancient cemetery. We observe the various buildings and murals in the streets as we walk. It feels like we are in a completely different city.
Upon reaching our destination, we discover that we are in the right place but at the wrong time, in fact it is the day of an important Jewish holiday (don’t ask me which one because I don’t remember) and all the synagogues are closed to the public. A pity, because the neighborhood is quite rich, as we can also see from the map we get hold of.
However, we continue to grind some more meters, still observing the architecture of the place and finally arriving at the Old Synagogue of Kraków, which is also closed.
Dusk is approaching at this point, so we decide to wait for it as we reach the Vistula, indulging in a leisurely stroll along the banks of the river, until we reach Bernatek’s Footbridge, a very striking modern bridge that features statues sculpted between the tendons of the structure by a contemporary artist .
After crossing the bridge, we close the circle with a visit to the Square of the Heroes of the Ghetto (Plac Bohaterow Getta), the place where Jews were rounded up before being driven to the lagers of Auschwitz and Birkenau. The square features metal chairs, installed in the early 2000s, in memory of the tens of thousands of deportation victims.
We finally head back toward the city center, once again with our cab booked through Bolt, to refresh ourselves after the miles and enjoy the illuminated city.
Day 2: National Museum, Kościuszko Mound and Wieliczka Salt Mines
Let’s start the day slowly, the first stop is the National Museum in Krakow, which opens at 10 a.m. The main objective is to see the Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo da Vinci, housed in the main building of the museum. Speaking of which, the museum has 11 locations located in different parts of the city, so in order to see Leonardo’s painting you have to go to the address Aleja 3 Maja 1. Here is the site to buy the ticket, at a cost of 35 zloty (about 8€).
Our visit lasts a short time, moreover in the meantime my phone runs out and I cannot take pictures. I assume, however, that you know which work I am talking about.
We next head to the Kościuszko Mound, a memorial dedicated to the Polish independence fighter, which we reach by the usual cab booked through Bolt. We purchase the ticket directly on site, costing less than €5 per person. The visit begins with a museum, in which the history of the character is told, and continues with a climb to the highest point, which can be reached on foot in a few minutes without any particular difficulty. There is a park area nearby, sometimes used for some events. The monument is quite impressive, in my opinion worth a visit, but do not expect one of the most unforgettable things in your life.
After our visit to the mound, we have our packed lunch and head to the Wieliczka Salt Mines, the final unmissable stop on our itinerary. The visit is necessarily guided and is available in several languages, including Italian. You must go at set times, however; in the case of the Italian tours there are only two scheduled throughout the day, at 1:15 pm and 4:15 pm. It is advisable to purchase tickets in advance; seats sell out easily. Should your schedule not fit with the Italian tours, you can opt for an English tour, in which case you will find one every half hour, the last of which is at 6 p.m. Tickets can be purchased directly from the mines’ website, at the cost of 122 zloty per person (about €28).
The visit takes about a couple of hours (on the site you will find it says 2-3, but in 2 hours you can do it all). The mines are really beautiful and immense, in fact only 2% of the corridors are open to the public, which instead are almost 250 km long in total! In the past, the mines were a major source of support for the economy; today they are used purely for tourism and, for some diseases, for therapeutic purposes. Worth mentioning is the fact that there are hundreds of steps to descend (about 600 in total if I remember correctly), so if you have motor difficulties you may have a lot of difficulty, especially in the initial part. For the ascent, however, there is a claustrophobic elevator that gets the job done in some seconds.
After the visit, we head to the airport to catch our scheduled return flight in the evening.
Missed stage: Auschwitz-Birkenau
Although we were not able to include a visit to the Auschwitz and Birkenau lagers in our itinerary, I provide below some useful planning information (I may need it sooner or later as well), considering that we want to visit the camps in a day trip starting from (and returning to) downtown Krakow. First of all, it is possible to visit both camps either independently or with a guided tour. In the former case, the visit is free of charge. In both cases, the average total time of the visit is about 4 hours, to which one must add the time required to get to the destination and back, which also depends on train and/or bus schedules, should one not have a car. In general, you have to consider about 7-8 hours in total from when you leave to when you return to the city (useful to know if you have to take a plane, for example). Find bus and train schedules online.
Note: The camps are located in Oswiecim, a location that many people may not have heard of, so reference this destination when booking.
Conclusions
Krakow is among the European cities I have most enjoyed. It reminds in several ways of other Eastern European cities, such as Prague and Budapest. I liked it more than Warsaw, the only other city so far visited in Poland.
Going back, I think the visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau could have fit into the itinerary, given the same number of days. The visit to the city neighborhoods could have been shortened by slightly speeding up the pace (which we did not do for various reasons that I will not explain) for the same number of kilometers traveled, considering that the distances we covered are rather short (refer to the Google Maps tracks given in the introductory table), so that we could have been able to anticipate the visit to the salt mines to the first day, (taking advantage of the last guided tour in English, scheduled at 6 p.m.), and thus dedicate the entire second day to Auschwitz and Birkenau. In doing so, one would have to cut back on more; I think in this case one could sacrifice the Kościuszko Mound, while the National Museum could somehow be included (although, apart from the Lady with an Ermine, it did not strike me as a must-visit).
Cost note: Krakow is a fairly inexpensive city. For a good bnb in the center of town we spent a total of about 250€ (to be shared by 4, so around 30€ per night per person), for meals the average is the equivalent of about 10-15€ per person for fairly hearty dishes. Transportation is really cheap, in fact we often relied on Bolt for convenience, but public transportation in general is also totally affordable.