During your trip to Kraków, Poland, stroll down the Old Town (Stare Miasto in Polish) and discover all the stunning townhouses of Main Square like: brick gothic St. Mary’s Basilica (Kościół Mariacki) towering over the Square, or 70 meters tall, brick and stone gothic Town Hall Tower, baroque Church of St. Adalbert (Kościół św. Wojciecha). The Main Square has its unique atmosphere with St. Mary’s Trumpet Call (Hejnał mariacki) played by the trumpeter on every hour from the highest tower of the Basilica. The melody ends unexpectedly as a memento of legend recalling the Mongol invasion of Kraków. The trumpeter raised an alarm with hejnał, so the sentries managed to close the city gates which stopped Tatars, but the trumpeter himself was killed with an arrow that pierced his throat and therefore the tune wasn’t finished. Make sure to visit Sukiennice (Kraków Cloth Hall) – they were the place of international trade and now there are: a gallery with stalls where you can buy souvenirs and handicrafts, famous Café Noworolski as well as the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum with the largest exhibition of Polish paintings and sculptures from the 19th century, and museum Rynek Underground where visitors can see, for example, a reconstructed workshop from 12th century, the residues of burned settlements, the oldest brick trading buildings, aqueducts, or 13th century groovy stone paths.
Wander around one of the largest city parks in Krakow, Planty Park, which surrounds the historic fragment of Old Town, where you can marvel at various gardens, fountains and alluring walkways. See the remnants of city walls like gothic St. Florian’s Gate with a fortified tower or impressive medieval Kraków Barbican.
Travelling by trains in Poland – especially in Spring-Summer time – we advise you to book all necessary train tickets with us before you start your tours to Poland. We always suggest a proper train, time and class compartment for your journey – in addition, if you come earlier or later to your destination city, our flexible drivers will be waiting for you at a right train platform.
Firstly, the monarchy-related sightseeing. Start with the Wawel which is a limestone hill on the left bank of the Vistula River, and a fortified complex of buildings with the Wawel Castle that was finished in 17th century, but was under construction and constant refurbishment works on the course of years from 11th century, therefore it consists of elements from Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism, but also gothic ones.
Now it is a place of Wawel Royal Castle Museum – State Art Collection, where especially worth seeing are Crown Treasury and armory, and the Royal Private Apartments, State Rooms or The Lost Wawel. In certain seasons there are also additional exhibitions available for visitors like: Dragon’s Den (of mythical Wawel Dragon, killed by the legendary Polish ruler and the founder of Kraków, Krakus) or Wawel Architecture and Gardens as well as Sandomierska Tower. On the Wawel Hill there is also located The Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus (in Polish in short: Katedra Wawelska) which construction started in 1000. It is a place of coronation of numerous kings and queens, as well as the burial site of kings and queens (from Władysław I the Elbow-high to Augustus II the Strong) and other important figures. The Hill is enlisted on the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Trips to Kraków may be also rich in Jewish history. Kazimierz, formerly an autonomous city (from 14th century, when it was established, to the breakthrough of 18th and 19th century), now is a district of Kraków and is mainly known for being a center of Jewish culture in Poland, since it was in large part inhabited by Jews.