The Main Market Square  

One of the most scenic and largest market squares in medieval Europe.

  • Since 1978, a proud UNESCO World Heritage Site.
  • The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) - a historic trading site dating all the way back to the 13th c, ultimately remodelled  in the Renaissance style. Presently, the Cloth Hall accommodates a large number of stalls offering a variety of souvenirs, handicrafts and amber jewellery. The Gallery of Polish 19th c. Painting and Sculpture, a branch of the National Museum, is housed on the first floor
  • St. Mary's Church - an imposing Gothic basilica structure brimming with exquisite works of art, but first and foremost - boasting the largest Gothic altarpiece in Europe, sculpted by a renown Nuremberg master - Veit Stoss.
  • Town Hall Tower - an only remnant of the original medieval structure taken down in the 19th c.
  • St. Adalbert’s church - one of the oldest examples of Romanesque architecture in Poland
  • The Adam Mickiewicz Monument - an idolised national poet, believed to be the most renown bard of Polish Romanticism
  • Underground of the Main Market Square  - an original on-site museum dedicated to the subterranean remains of the original buildings and gangways, offering meticulous reconstructions of the medieval workshops and stalls, plenty of well-designed multimedia installations throughout

The Royal Wawel Castle 

One of the most stunning Renaissance royal castles throughout Europe, former official seat of Polish sovereigns

  • Royal apartments with world-renown Flemish tapestries, ornate reception halls and the Royal Treasury
  • The Cathedral - the historic coronation venue of Polish sovereigns
  • The Royal Vault - the burial place of Polish sovereigns, national heroes and eminent poets

The Royal Route

By far the most scenic tourist route that runs from the Brama Florianska gate all the way up to the Royal Wawel Castle. In ancient times this particular route was customarily followed by the visiting monarchs, envoys and other official delegations.

 

  • Barbican - a true gem of military architecture, a powerful bastion forming an essential part of the city's fortifications, dating back to the 15th c.
  • Brama Florianska gate - the only surviving city gate in Kraków, originally a part of the city’s ramparts, originally connected by a defensive, walled passage to the Barbican, dating back to the 14th c.
  • Main Market Square - the largest medieval market square in Europe
  • Ulica Kanonicza street - one of the oldest and most scenic streets in Kraków, boasting a large number of meticulously preserved architectural details (portals, coats of arms)  and a stunning view of the imposing structure of the Wawel Castle towering over its length
Źródło: Wikipedia. Autor: Cancre

Jagiellonian University

One of the oldest universities in Europe (est. 1364).

  • Collegium Maius - the oldest university building accommodating an in-house museum with an exhibition dedicated to the rich academic traditions of the University
  • Copernicus and Pope John Paul II are its most renown alumni
Źródło: krakow.pl

The Kazimierz (Casimir) Jewish quarter

Originally established as a separate town back in 1335, over the years it had become one of the largest Jewish centres in Central Europe, now one of the city districts.

  • Numerous synagogues, e.g. Old Synagogue, The Remuh Synagogue, the Remuh cemetery
  • Centre for Jewish Culture
  • In June - a boisterous venue hosting the world-famous Jewish Culture Festival
Źródło: Wikipedia. Autor: Zetpe0202

The original Jewish Ghetto site

  • Plac Bohaterów Getta (The Ghetto Heroes Square)
  • The Ghetto Museum - "Pharmacy Under the Eagle"
  • Remnants of an original Ghetto perimeter wall
  • Oskar Schindler's Factory
  • A monument commemorating the victims of the Holocaust
Źródło: mocak.pl Autor: R. Sosin

MOCAK (Museum of Contemporary Art) and a branch of the Historical Museum of Kraków

A museum established on the original site of the former Oskar Schindler’s factory  

  • Museum of Contemporary Art is accommodated in the original production halls
  • The former administrative building houses a branch of the Historical Museum of Kraków with a permanent exhibition dedicated to the period under the German occupation

 

 

Źródło: Wikipedia. Autor: Zetpe0202

The Łagiewniki Sanctuary

One of the largest religious shrines in this part of Europe.

  • Sanctuary of Divine Mercy
  • The Sanctuary and The John Paul II Centre
  • Chapel with the image of the Merciful Jesus  and the tomb of St. Faustina
  • Visited by ca. 2 million pilgrims annually
Źródło: Wikipedia. Autor: Zetpe0202

Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec

  • Scenically located on a limestone outcrop towering above the Vistula river
  • Venue of numerous cultural events, famous organ concerts are held there annually in the summer

 

kopalnia.pl

Wieliczka - The Salt Mine

One of the most precious historic sites in Poland, a fantasy world sculpted entirely out of salt

  • Since 1978 boasts the status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • An underground tourist route ca. 3 km long, located at the depth of 135 m
  • 22 spacious, mined-out chambers, subterranean saline ponds, numerous sculptures carved out in rock salt
  • St. Kinga’s Chapel - the world's largest underground temple, carved out entirely out of rock salt
  • An underground sanatorium - an uniquely beneficial microclimate, therapeutic management of respiratory tract diseases
Źródło: Wikipedia. Autor: Tobol

Niepołomice 

A small town at the edge of the Puszcza Niepołomicka forest

  • Renaissance royal castle - formerly a hunting lodge of the Polish kings, presently turned into a museum and a hotel facility
  • Plenty of hiking and biking trails throughout the area
  • Puszcza Niepołomicka forest - a Wood Bison Breeding Centre
Źródło: Wikipedia. Autor: Thomas.xx71

Wadowice  

  • Hometown of Pope John Paul II
  • The Karol Wojtyła Route - approx. 4.5 km long trail through 13 sites and venues closely associated with the pope’s youth

 

 

Wikipedia/ Schneider Ludwig

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska 

The second most revered sanctuary in Poland, apart from the one at Jasna Góra in Częstochowa

  • In 1999, the Sanctuary of the Passion of Christ in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska was entered on the UNESCO World Heritage List
  • A complex of 42 chapels scattered across a woodland area, linked by nearly 7 km of scenic pilgrimage pathways
auschwitz.org

Auschwitz

KL Auschwitz - Birkenau, the largest German concentration camp and extermination centre ever established.

  • The venue of organized genocide of over 1.2 million people
  • Presently, a state-managed Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, in 1979 granted the prestigious status of a UNESCO World Heritage Site
  • ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, barracks originally housing the camp inmates and mounds of their personal effects left behind