Krakow - must do activities

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Can anyone give me some recommendations on what to do, touristy stuff and less obvious please.

I stayed near the main square and just enjoyed walking round all the main parts. Did visit Auschwitz and the salt mines on a 1 day trip booked through get your guide however 2 separate trips might be better as it was a long day. Both worth a visit though.

Some lovely restaurants over in the Jewish quarter, wish I'd done a walking tour as I think I'd have learned more than I did walking round myself.

Lots of good places for cocktails, I liked Mr Blacks which is a bit tricky to find but you can sit with a drink and a board game for ages!

We really just walked at. Didn't do Auschwitz because I couldn't handle it, I ended up crying my eyes out at the old new synagogue in Prague.

The castle was really good but bitterly cold.

Did visit Auschwitz and the salt mines on a 1 day trip booked through get your guide however 2 separate trips might be better as it was a long day. Both worth a visit though.

Agree, wish we’d not done them in one day, I can hardly remember the salt mines after Auschwitz.

We went to Auswitz Birkenau and the salt mines on separate days. Really don't think I could have done both same day. Booked Auswitz through 'get your guide'. Salt mine we did independently , took the bus from the main station. Walked round valvel castle and saw smoky the dragon. Went up to the top of the church in the town square. Really loved Krakow. The restaurants in the main square are good. I had a delicious beef slip and potatoe cake with beetroot (they love their beetroot) I liked the Tyskie lager. Had a huge plate of pyrogie one night.

There is a good museum literally under the ground of the main square that shows the history of building the square and still remains underneath it.
Autswitz and salt mines worth a visit too.
Jewish quarter was really interesting.
The Schinders museum is good too.
We found a cool pinball museum which had all old style playable pinball/arcade machines which my teenage son and hubby enjoyed!
Enjoy your break!

Parkrun! It's a great, flat course. Lovely views of the castle.

I also recommend the museum under the square. Its amazing.
As others have said,Salt mines are well worth a visit as is Schindlers factory.
If you are going to Auswitz take a whole day and expect to feel awful afterwards.

Beware the several hundred steps down to the salt mine (the lifts are only used for the return trip) - injured my already dodgy knee which took several weeks to recover.

See the inside of the basilica in the main square, it's absolutely stunning.
Salt mine is fascinating and after all those steps you can get lunch or refreshments in the mine.

We loved Krakow. Some of things we did:

• walking tour of the Old Town with Krakow Explorers. Great way to orientate ourselves on the first day.
• walking tour of the Jewish Quarter & Ghetto with Walkative.
• The Salt Mines. Much cheaper and very easy to book tickets directly and go by the train (the trains are fab).
• Shopping for Amber in the Cloth Hall followed by people watching from the rooftop bar above the Cloth Hall.
• Food!!!! We enjoyed wonderful Polish dinners at Pod Aniołami, Starka, Kuchina u Doroty & Morskie Oko.
• Lunches at Hevre, Hamsa.
• Lots of quirky bars in the Jewish Qtr.
• Wawel Castle & Cathedral and the fire breathing dragon.
• Lady with an Ermine at the Czartorski Museum.
• Polish Donuts are a must and ice cream.

We did an e-scooter tour of the old town and Jewish Quarter. Once you got the hang of it, it was a fun way to see a lot in a couple of hours. Also Auschwitz is a must.

For something different, and depending how much time you have, we did a day trip to Zakopane and the mountain thermal baths (booked through Get Your Guide). Lovely cheese & vodka stop in the morning too.

There's a Japanese art museum over the river. With the loveliest cafe.
Also the Magia Cafe just off the main old square was good, we killed quite a bit of time on our last day due to it raining lots!

Bit of a curve ball but Just come back we went to the Octoberfest at Energylandia £40 in an Uber from Krakow. Has two of the highest coasters in Europe we has a fantastic time food and treats in the park we’re so much better than the usual bland fair in the UK.

We did a Trabant tour of the Nowa Huta communist district which was really good - a few years ago now but they are still doing them at https://www.crazyguides.com/krakow-tours/communism-basic
also second the pinball museum and a wander round the Jewish quarter and museum. We had quite a lot of time there so also got bus out to Park Wodny water park https://www.parkwodny.pl which our children enjoyed. Plus Schindlers museum and a big shopping mall quite close to it, can’t remember the name of it now. Have fun, it’s a great city.

I forgot the oskar schindler museum. It's in the original factory and really worth a visit. We walked there from the city centre in 20 mins

Thanks for so many replies. We've already done a bit of research, but good to know what stands out for others. Also, great to have other things suggested we haven't come across. Will have a look into all of them. We're there for three whole days and the way our flights fall mean we get two half days as well, so hoping we can fit a lot in and chill a bit as well. Will have a really good look at suggestions.

I saw the option to book at guided tour for the castle which last two hours, or you could book each section and look around at your leisure. Has anyone done the latter, just wondering how it works fitting in the time slots, and what's best to do?

To be honest we won't do the concentration camp, we did one in Germany which we learnt a lot from and made us think, but I found a bit harrowing.

We just rocked up to the castle and picked the bits we wanted to do. It is very sectioned! There weren't any queues (we went this time last year)

Pashazade thanks for that. Obviously want to know what we'd really like to do, but at the same time want to be spontaneous and do whatever we fancy or fits in on the day.

Go to Ghetto Heroes square. There is also a fragment of the old ghetto wall around the corner.

Tbh, going to Auschwitz-Birkenau was the most memorable part of my trip. I also really enjoyed the walking tour of the Jewish district.

A guru walks free walking tour.

There's a Krakow episode the Travel Man on 4OD which is quite good.

We were there two weeks ago.

Church of the Virgin Mary is spectacular and listen out for the trumpeter in the tower (every hour!)

We did Auschwitz and the Salt Mines on separate days, it would be a lot of walking for one day unless you are super fit. We were picked up at 6am for Auschwitz and we’re back in the Square by 1.30.

As someone else said, there are 800 steps down in the mines, 400+ at the beginning on a tight winding staircase. No option to stop. It was worth it though and there is a lift back up at the end (although still a bit of a trek when you think the tour has finished!)

Starka is a fab restaurant with live music after 8pm on Wednesdays, we booked before we went, but you will get great food practically anywhere!

There is a church on Grodzka where they have classical music concerts in the evening if that is your kind of thing. We stumbled across it whilst walking from the main square to Wawel Castle.

Ghettoes heroes square and the remains of the ghetto wall in the Jewish Quarter were also worth a visit.

Enjoy, Krakow is absolutely beautiful.

The waxworks museum is absolutely hilarious and well worth an hour. They are just soooooo bad.

Oh, forgot to mention the waxworks museum! Little tip, go to the loo before you go in! 😂😂😂