Kraków, 10 km away

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.