# Wieliczka Salt Mine Seven centuries of mining left galleries, salt lakes and an underground cathedral with chandeliers and reliefs made of salt beneath the town. You visit in a group with a guide, 135 metres down. Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/poland/wieliczka-salt-mine · Revisado: 2026-11-11 ## What is it and why does it have chapels? A rock-salt mine worked from the thirteenth century until 1996, when production stopped because of low prices and flooding. It is 327 metres deep and has about 290 kilometres of galleries. The miners spent whole days underground and carved chapels in the salt rock itself to pray in before going down to the dangerous workings. The largest, St Kinga's Chapel, has a floor, altars, reliefs and chandeliers made of salt. The salt is not white: it is grey, in several shades, and it shines when the light hits it. You can touch it; in the corridors people lick the wall to check. It was one of the first places on the World Heritage list, in 1978. ## How much time do I need? The Tourist Route lasts two to three hours and covers about 3.5 kilometres. Allow half a day including the journey from Kraków. If you add the castle museum or the Miners' Route, it is a full day. ## How do I get there? By commuter train from Kraków Główny to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, a few minutes' walk from the Daniłowicz shaft, where the visit starts. Bus 304 also goes from the Dworzec Główny Zachód stop, beside the Galeria Krakowska, with a zone I and II ticket. By car, about 10 km along the A4, with parking next to the mine. ## Dónde está - Zonas: Curious Places ## Qué hacer - **Tourist Route through the mine** (2 h 30 · 3.5 km · All ages, without a pushchair · From 121 zł per person): What it is The Tourist Route is the classic visit to the Wieliczka salt mine, the one almost everyone does. You walk about 3.5 kilometres of galleries and chambers between levels I and III, down to 135 metres underground, always with a guide and in groups of up to 40 people. You see salt lakes, tools and machines used to extract and move the salt, figures carved by the miners themselves and St Kinga's Chapel, the great salt church. At the end of the route is the underground exhibition of the Kraków Saltworks Museum, on level III. The mine was worked from the thirteenth century until the end of the twentieth and was among the first places on the World Heritage list, in 1978. What you see is not a recreation: they are chambers opened by miners over centuries, with grey salt on show in walls, floors and ceilings. What the route is like You enter through the Daniłowicz shaft. First come about 380 steps down to level I, at 64 metres. From there the path is gentler, with stretches of stairs down to the lower levels; in total there are about 800 steps, almost all downhill. The return to the surface is by lift from level III. Allow two to three hours, including the museum exhibition. Down below it is 17 to 18 °C all year, so in summer you will need a layer and in winter you can go down without your heavy coat. You do not need any special fitness, but the stairs add up if you have knee problems. Opening hours and tickets The Tourist Route runs from 9:00 to 17:00. Visits leave at set times, and those in languages other than Polish, including Spanish and English, follow the calendar you see when buying. The mine publishes prices from 121 zł per person for reduced, standard and family tickets; a ticket with a guide in another language costs more than the Polish one and the price changes with the season. See the exact price when choosing a time in the official shop. Children under 4 enter free. Buy online on the mine's website: that way you choose language and time. At the entrance there are ticket machines and at the Daniłowicz shaft a ticket office, but they only sell what has not been sold online. It is summarised in timed tickets. Luggage, pushchairs and accessibility You can only go down with small bags, up to 20 × 20 × 35 cm. Large backpacks, suitcases and pushchairs stay in the cloakroom in the Górnik building, free during visiting hours, or in the automatic lockers, of which there are few. Pushchairs are allowed, but there is nowhere to leave them down below and the stairs make them impractical: carry the baby in a baby carrier. Smoking is not allowed inside, nor are e-cigarettes, and naked flames are forbidden. How to get there From Kraków, by commuter train from Kraków Główny to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, a few minutes' walk from the Daniłowicz shaft, or on bus 304. By car it is about 10 km; the mine car parks are Tężnia and Daniłowicz, next to the entrance shaft. With children It works well from the moment they walk on their own: the lakes, the salt figures and the chapel catch their attention, and you can touch the wall. For those over 10 who want more, the Miners' Route is a different visit, with helmet and lamp, and repeats nothing from this one. Halfway round there is a place to eat underground, at the Karczma Górnicza; on the surface, by the entrance, is the Bistro Posolone. - **St Kinga's Chapel** (20 min · All ages · Included in the Tourist Route, from 121 zł): What it is St Kinga's Chapel is the largest chapel and the best-known chamber in the Wieliczka mine: a whole church excavated from a block of salt, 101 metres underground. It is about 54 metres long, 18 wide and 12 high, with a floor area of almost 1,000 m². Everything you see is salt: the floor, which looks tiled, the altars, the staircases, the reliefs on the walls and the crystals of the great chandeliers, made of halite. It cannot be visited separately. It is part of the Tourist Route, the classic guided visit of the mine, and the guide stops the group in it for a few minutes. The Miners' Route does not pass through here. Who made it and what you see It was excavated and decorated by miners, not academy sculptors. The chamber was opened in the late nineteenth century, around 1896, and the decoration work went on until the 1960s. Its main creators were three miners who taught themselves to carve: the brothers Józef and Tomasz Markowski and Antoni Wyrodek. Józef Markowski made the high altar, with the figure of St Kinga. On the walls, a series of reliefs tells the life, death and resurrection of Christ; the most photographed is the Last Supper. Miners today are still adding works, such as the statue of John Paul II. The salt of the figures is not white: it is grey, with veins, and against the light some areas turn translucent. Before salt, the miners built wooden chapels, but fires underground led to their being banned, and salt, which does not burn, took their place. The legend of Kinga Kinga, daughter of the King of Hungary, married the Polish prince Bolesław the Chaste in the thirteenth century. According to the legend, she asked her father for a salt mine as a dowry, threw her engagement ring into a well in Hungary and the ring turned up inside the first block of salt taken out at Wieliczka. That is why she is the patron saint of salt miners, and in the mine there is also a carved scene of that legend. When to go and how long It is a stop of a few minutes within a visit of two to three hours. What decides how you experience it is the time of day: by mid-morning the groups arriving by coach from Kraków coincide, and the chapel fills up so much that you can barely stop. The first and last visits of the day are quieter. The Tourist Route runs from 9:00 to 17:00 and down below it is 17–18 °C all year. The chapel is still in use: Mass is celebrated on Sundays, and also at midnight on Christmas Eve. If you want to attend, find out at the mine beforehand, because Mass is not part of the tourist visit. Tickets and how to get there You need the Tourist Route ticket, which is bought with a date, time and language on the mine's official website; prices start at 121 zł per person and children under 4 enter free. It is explained in timed tickets. The visit starts at the Daniłowicz shaft, a few minutes' walk from Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, where the commuter train from Kraków stops. Photos and behaviour You can take photos. It is a place of worship, so lower your voice if people are praying. The chandeliers and reliefs are not touched; the corridor walls are, and you will find they are made of salt. - **Miners' Route** (2 h 30 · 1.9 km · From age 10 · From 121 zł per person): What it is The Miners' Route is the other great visit of the Wieliczka mine, designed for doing and not just looking. Instead of walking through the decorated chambers, you go down into the maze of galleries around the Regis shaft, the oldest surviving one in the mine, and a foreman, who acts as your guide, teaches you the trade. You search for salt, measure the air as the methane watchmen used to, find your bearings underground and learn about trades such as the mine carpenter's. It is a more physical visit, with smaller groups, than the Tourist Route. It shares no point with the Tourist Route: it does not pass through St Kinga's Chapel or the salt lakes. If you only have time for one visit and it is your first time, the classic is the Tourist Route; this one is for anyone who wants to come back or for teenagers who get bored on guided visits. What the route is like It starts at the Regis shaft. Before going down you are given a lamp, a helmet and a self-rescuer, the device that absorbs carbon monoxide in case of fire, along with brief instruction on how to use them. You go down by lift to level I, at 57 metres, and cover about 1.9 km of galleries to level IIn, at 101 metres, from where you also go up by lift. The visit lasts two to three hours. Down below it is about 14–16 °C, a little less than on the Tourist Route: bring a warm layer. Groups are 20 people at most, and the guide hands out tasks along the way. It is run in Polish and English, at set times; there are no visits in Spanish. Opening hours, tickets and minimum age The route runs from 9:00 to 15:00. The mine publishes prices from 121 zł per person for reduced, standard and family tickets; the exact price appears when you choose a day and time. Buy on the mine's official website or, if places remain unsold online, at the Regis shaft ticket office. The minimum age is 10. Arrive at least 15 minutes before your time: latecomers are not admitted and the ticket is not refunded. What to bring Only closed shoes that cover the whole foot are admitted; canvas trainers are not recommended. Comfortable clothes and a warm layer. In the Regis shaft changing room there are lockers, but they are small: leave large luggage in the car or at the cloakroom. Smoking is not allowed underground, nor are e-cigarettes, and naked flames are forbidden. How to get there The Regis shaft is in the centre of Wieliczka, near the square and a few minutes' walk from Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, where the commuter train from Kraków Główny stops. If you come by car, see the mine car parks. With children From age 10 it is the mine visit that hooks them most: they wear a helmet and lamp, they have tasks and the group is small. For younger children, the Tourist Route has no minimum age. With a ticket in English, a teenager understanding the guide is part of the fun; if they do not, they miss a good part of the visit. - **Saltworks Castle** (1 h · Families): What it is The Saltworks Castle (Zamek Żupny) is the building from which the Wieliczka salt business was run for centuries. It is in the centre of the town, at Zamkowa 8, a few steps from the mine. It was the seat of the administration of the Kraków salt works from the late thirteenth century until 1945, and until the eighteenth century that administration also ran the Bochnia mine. It is home to the Kraków Saltworks Museum, founded in 1951, and since 2013 it has formed part of the World Heritage site together with the Wieliczka and Bochnia mines. The oldest part, fortified and built of stone, dates from the late thirteenth century and was raised beside a mid-century well, the oldest in Wieliczka, which can still be seen in the courtyard. The central building was remodelled in the Renaissance by Italian stonemasons. From the tower the workers were summoned, and in the seventeenth century a chaplain lived above the dungeons. In 1683 an apartment was prepared here for Queen Marie Casimire Sobieska. The bombing of 1945 damaged the central part, which was rebuilt after the war. What there will be when it reopens The museum is renovating the castle with European funds, in a project of about 50.6 million zł. The Middle Castle will be a modern exhibition space and the display area will grow from about 400 m² to more than 1,470 m². The new permanent exhibition, "The salt jewel in the crown", will tell the history of the Wieliczka salt enterprise from the thirteenth century to 1996, with multimedia resources. The collection of salt cellars, one of the most valuable in the world according to the museum, will move to the north wing with a new display. There will be lifts in the renovated wings, an underground passage between the North Castle and the Middle Castle, a catering area, classrooms and a square open to the public recalling the old saltworks garden, accessible to people with disabilities. What you can see in the meantime The museum's underground exhibition remains open inside the mine. It is on level III, at 135 metres, and is the final stretch of the Tourist Route: the mine's estimate of two to three hours for the visit includes it. There you see tools, machines and the story of how salt was extracted and transported. To see it you need the Tourist Route ticket, with a date, time and language, on the mine's official website; prices start at 121 zł per person. From outside you can see the castle complex as you stroll through the centre, between the mine and the square. If you want an idea of the interior, the museum has a virtual tour on its website. How to get there The castle is a few minutes' walk from the Daniłowicz shaft, where the Tourist Route starts, and from Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station, where the commuter train from Kraków stops. If you come by car, leave it in the mine car parks and continue on foot. Before planning your visit If you are travelling in 2029 or later, check the museum's website before you go: the reopening dates, opening hours and prices of the renovated castle have not yet been published. The museum has given two timeframes, the second half of 2028 and the turn of 2028 to 2029, so count on the later one. - **Bochnia Salt Mine** (4 h · Families): What it is The Bochnia salt mine is the oldest in Poland and the lesser-known sister of Wieliczka. Salt was found here around 1248 and extraction began in 1251; industrial production ended in 1990. Since 2013 it has formed part, together with Wieliczka and the Saltworks Castle, of the World Heritage site of the royal salt mines. It is in the town of Bochnia, about 40 km east of Kraków. If you have already done the Wieliczka Tourist Route, Bochnia is a different experience: fewer groups, a longer visit and more going on. It has an underground train, a boat across a salt lake and a slide. What you see The most complete visit is the route with a multimedia exhibition, a boat crossing of the underground lake and a walk along the Horse Path, the gallery along which horses hauled the salt. It lasts about four hours. You go down in the mine lift, ride the underground mining train, which covers around a kilometre with three stations, and walk through an exhibition with light, sound and sets featuring Polish kings and Genoese merchants. Bochnia's St Kinga's Chapel is the largest in the mine, and the train passes through it. The long stop is the Ważyn chamber, the largest in the mine, about 2,500 m², some 250 metres deep. It has a dining room, a bar and a rest area; the mine even offers nights underground. Beside the staircase that links it with the August level there is a slide that children go down again and again. The mine has other, shorter routes, of about three hours, without the boat; compare them on the website to see which suits you. Language, age and conditions The boat route is guided in Polish, with a free audio guide in Spanish, English, German, French and Italian. Guided visits in English are a different route, the "Salt Witness", and are booked in advance at the visitor service office. The minimum age for the boat route is 7. Down below it is 15 to 17 °C with humidity of about 70%: bring a layer. There are about 1,000 steps in total, but the descent and ascent are by lift. Wear sturdy shoes. It is not wheelchair accessible, pets are not allowed and there is no cloakroom, so do not bring large luggage. The mine does not recommend it to people with cardiovascular or respiratory problems, claustrophobia or reduced mobility. Tickets and opening hours The mine's official website publishes the price list and the departure times of each route. Buying online is cheaper than at the ticket office, and can be done up to 60 minutes before the visit; if online is sold out, try the ticket office. Check the day's timetable before you go, because departures are at set times. How to get there and where to park The visit starts at the Campi shaft (ul. Campi 15) at weekends and at the Sutoris shaft (ul. Solna 2) on weekdays. Check on your ticket which one applies to you. At the Campi shaft there is an unattended car park at 10 zł a day. From Kraków there are regional trains to Bochnia station; from Wieliczka, the car is the most convenient. How to combine it with Wieliczka Do not do both mines on the same day: each is a long half day and being underground is tiring. The sensible way is Wieliczka one day, with a night in Wieliczka or in Kraków, and Bochnia another. With teenagers, Bochnia is usually liked more for the boat, the train and the slide; with small children, Wieliczka has no minimum age and Bochnia's boat route starts at 7. - **Kraków, 10 km away** (8 h · Everyone): Why Kraków Almost everyone who visits the Wieliczka mine sleeps in Kraków, about 10 km away. It was the seat of the Polish court until the court moved to Warsaw, between 1596 and the early seventeenth century, and its historic centre was among the first inscribed on the World Heritage list, in 1978, the same year as the mine. It has good trains, plenty of hotels and restaurants, and you explore it on foot. With one or two days you see the essentials: the Main Market Square, Wawel Hill and the Kazimierz district. A day in Kraków Start in the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny), the great medieval square in the centre. In the middle is the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), with stalls on the ground floor, and on one corner St Mary's Basilica, from whose tower a trumpeter plays a call every hour that breaks off abruptly. From the square, walk down Grodzka Street to Wawel, the hill beside the Vistula with the royal castle and the cathedral, where kings were crowned and buried. In the afternoon, cross to Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter, about 15 or 20 minutes' walk from Wawel. It has synagogues, the old Remuh cemetery, Nowy Square and many bars. On the other side of the river is Podgórze, where the ghetto stood during the war and where Schindler's factory, now a museum, is found. Wawel: what to see and tickets Wawel castle works by exhibitions, each with its own ticket. The official prices, full and reduced, are 95 and 71 zł for the two floors of the castle's state rooms, 47 and 35 zł for the Crown Treasury, the Armoury or the underground Wawel, and 35 and 26 zł for the dragon's den ("Looking for the Dragon"). The viewing tower is open from 24 April to 31 October and the royal gardens from 24 April to 4 October. Children under 6 enter free, and some exhibitions are free on certain days, with a pass collected at the ticket office. Tickets are sold online up to a month in advance on the castle's website. Wawel Cathedral, with the royal tombs and the Sigismund Bell, is separate: tickets are bought on the cathedral's website, not the castle's. From Kraków to the mine From Kraków Główny station the commuter train goes to Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia, a few minutes' walk from the Daniłowicz shaft, where the Tourist Route starts. Bus 304 also goes from the Dworzec Główny Zachód stop, beside the Galeria Krakowska, with a zone I and II ticket. By car it is about 10 km. Sleep in Kraków and take the first visit of the morning: you will arrive before the organised coaches. How long and how to split it With two days: one for the Main Market Square and Wawel, another for Kazimierz in the morning and the mine in the afternoon, or the other way round. With a single day, choose: the mine and the Main Market Square at dusk. If you prefer to sleep next to the mine, in Wieliczka there is the Hotel Grand Sal, in Kinga Park, and you go to Kraków by train. When to go Kraków can be visited all year. In summer there are more groups and in December the Main Market Square has a Christmas market; in winter it is properly cold, but the mine stays at 17–18 °C. For Wawel, check the temporary exhibitions on its website: in the winter of 2026-2027 there are several, among them one devoted to Vermeer, from 27 November 2026 to 28 February 2027. ## Dónde comer - **Karczma Górnicza** (Restaurant, Wieliczka (125 m underground), €€). Qué pedir: home-style Polish cooking. - **Bistro Posolone** (Café, Wieliczka, €). Qué pedir: a salad, a burger or a coffee while you wait for your time slot. ## As a family: A real mine, with real stairs Children are fascinated by salt you can lick and the enormous chapel underground. What is hard is three hours on their feet and the steps. ### What works best The Tourist Route first thing, with fewer groups Tasting the salt wall and looking for the salt lakes The Saltworks Castle, short and above ground ### Where to sleep At the hotel next to the shaft or in Kraków ### Where to eat The restaurant underground, halfway round the visit, with high chairs and a changing table ### Keep in mind 800 steps, 380 at the start and downhill No pushchair: baby carrier for the little ones; under 4s free A child under 6 tires before the two hours are up ### Qué hacer as a family - Tourist Route through the mine - St Kinga's Chapel - Miners' Route - Saltworks Castle - Kraków, 10 km away ## With teenagers: Helmet, lamp and miners' work The Tourist Route may feel like a museum with a guide. The Miners' Route, from age 10, is something else: equipment, tasks and a certificate at the end. ### What works best The Miners' Route, with overalls and helmet St Kinga's Chapel and its legend of the ring The Bochnia mine, if they want another one ### Where to sleep In Kraków, so they have the city in the evening ### Where to eat Pierogi underground; in Kraków, Kazimierz ### Keep in mind The Miners' Route requires closed shoes There is no mobile signal down below, but there is wifi ### Qué hacer with teenagers - Tourist Route through the mine - St Kinga's Chapel - Miners' Route - Bochnia Salt Mine - Kraków, 10 km away ## Consejos ### Choose the first or last slot By mid-morning the organised groups arriving by coach from Kraków coincide. ### Leave your backpack You can only go down with small bags, up to 20 × 20 × 35 cm. There is a free cloakroom and lockers. ### Wear comfortable shoes and bring a layer Down below it is 17–18 °C on the Tourist Route and a little less on the Miners' Route. ### Eat down below if it suits you At 125 metres there is a restaurant halfway round the route, about two hours in. ## Preguntas frecuentes ### Are there visits in Spanish? Yes, at set times and subject to availability. Buy in advance, because there are fewer than in English. ### Can you go with a pushchair? It is not recommended because of the steps. Children under 4 enter free; better in a baby carrier. The pushchair is left in the cloakroom. ### Is it cold down below? Not very: 17–18 °C on the Tourist Route. On the Miners' Route, 14–16 °C. ### Can you go in with a dog? No, except assistance dogs. There is no pet-minding service. ### How much does the ticket cost? From about 131 zł per person, depending on language, season and fare. There is a family ticket.