Krakow Things to Do Tips by tini58de

The Rynek Glowny is one of the largest squares in all Europe - it measures about 40.000 m?!! It is devided into two halves by the huge Cloth Hall and is surrounded by medieval houses and small palaces. In these houses you will mostly find cafes, restaurants or fancy shops.

St. Mary's church is the most remarkable building on the market square - together with the Cloth Hall, of course!

There is a permanent flower market here and in summer this is the place where life goes on!!

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Address: Rynek Glowny, Krakow
Directions: in the center of the old town of Krakow

This church is the symbol of Krakow - note the two different towers/steeples. There is a legend that two brothers were building those steeples and when the one brother had finished "his" steeple, he was afraid that his brother would build a higher and more beautiful one, so he stabbed him! That is why one steeple is smaller than the other!

There are two entrances: one entrance is for visitors only who want to use the church for prayer. The other entrance (with an entrance fee) is for everybody who wants to enjoy the beautiful architecture and the stunning altarpiece!

Once an hour you can hear a trumpet tune from the north steeple - read more about that on my general tips!

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Address: Rynek Glowny, Krakow
Directions: right there on the market square - you can't miss it!

The Cloth Hall has a long long history: in the 13th century there was already a market at that exact spot and in the 14th century a hall was built to protect the stalls from rain and storm. After Krakow was burnt down in the 16th century, the Cloth Hall was rebuilt in the Renaissance style. It was only in the 19th century, when the arcades were added.

Inside the Cloth Hall you will find souvenir shops to the left and the right, but you should also look at the details: the lamps, the coat of arms, sculptures etc!

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We visited Krakow in March, so this experience was different to many other stories that I have heard about!

For one thing due to construction works outside the castle we had to walk around the hill and enter the castle from the back side. The other difference was that in March there are not that many visitors - in fact there was only a handful of us plus two school groups -, so it was very easy visiting and no cueing up for hours!

When you get to the Wawel you will have to decide, what you want to see: You can have a look at the castle free of charge, but that is only the outside and the courtyard. If you are interested in taking a tour of the inside, you will have to purchase a ticket. There are 4 different tours that can be taken, including the Royal rooms or the Crown Jewels and once you get the ticket, you are assigned to a specific tour. Although there were only a very few visitors when we visited, we had to wait for one hour until our tour started.

So as an idea:
if you are visiting in the high season, you might want to get a ticket a day before you plan to visit the castle, so that you only have to spend time waiting only once!

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Address: Krakow old city

The cathedral on Wawel hill is a Polish national treasure.

To visit you have to purchase a ticket - and that is not in the same place as the ticket office for the castle is. You will find the cathedral ticket office next to the church itself.

With this ticket you can visit the cathedral, the Royal tombs in the Crypt and climb up the bell tower with both an impressive bell and a gorgeous view over Krakow.

Inside the cathedral there is so much to see: a fantastic altarpiece, various tombs and dozens of little chapels of which we liked the Holy Cross chapel best (please see the other pictures as well).

We obtained a very good guidebook just for the cathedral at the ticket office for 10 zl (March 2006).

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Directions: Wawel hill

Up till 1939 there were 7 synagogues in Krakow, but now there is only one (active) synagogue left - the Remu synagogue. It was built in 1558 and renovated in 1829. Destroyed during WW II it was rebuilt between 1958 and 1968.

To visit they will charge you 5 zl for both the synagogue and the cemetary and they understand the 5 zl as a donation rather than an entrance fee.

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Directions: Kazimierz

Next to the synagogue there is a beautiful Jewish cemetary that is worthwhile visiting. The cemetary has a very interesting story:

even before the Third Reich the cemetary was closed, because there was no more space available. It was then covered with soil and a second cemetary was started on top of the first one. When the Nazis came they tore all the gravesites down and used it as a garbage dump.

After the war the site was cleaned and the layer of soil was taken off - so now you can visit a totally and fully preserved old cemetary! The remains of the torn down graves have been collected and can be seen alongside the wall that surrounds the cemetary.

The cemetary houses the gravesite of Rabbi Moses Isserles (Rabbi Moses-Remuh), a very well-known interpreter of the Thora.

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Directions: Kazimierz, next to the Remu Synagogue

The Old Synagogue - Stara Synagoga - is the oldest synagogue in Poland and one of the only two Gothic synagogues in Europe (the other one being in Prague). It was built in the 15th century and now houses a museum of Jewish Heritage.

I did not go inside, so I cannot tell you anything about the museum, but I know that it is mentioned in every guide book, so it should be interesting.

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Directions: Kazimierz

The High Synagogue (Synagoga Wysoka) was built in the 16th century, but destroyed during WW II. It has been rebuilt in the 1970s and now houses exhibitions. We saw a wonderful exhibition of black and white photographs of Jewish life in Krakow at the beginning of the 20th century. Very impressive !

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Directions: Kazimierz

St. Florian's Gate is the only gate in Krakow's city wall that is still intact. It was built at the beginning of the 14th century. The tower is 34.5 m high and you can find a relief picture of St. Florian's on it. There are always artists near St. Florian's gate who exhibit their own pictures or copies of well known art.

Just outside St. Florian's gate you will find the Barbican, another gate type structure from the 14th century, which used to be both passway and defense mechanism.

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