Things to do in Poland

The 17 best things to do in Poland

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1. 1Krakow

   Stand in Krakow's Main Market Square on the hour

   Krakow's Main Market Square was laid out when the city received its charter in 1257, each side slightly over 200 m long, which made it the largest square in medieval Europe. In the middle stands the Cloth Hall, a trading hall rebuilt in Renaissance style after a fire in 1555, with a parapet of carved stone heads; its long ground floor is still lined with stalls, now selling souvenirs. Beneath it, the Rynek Underground museum shows the foundations of 12th and 13th century houses found by archaeologists. Every hour, a trumpeter plays the bugle call from the taller tower of St Mary's Basilica, and the tune stops abruptly, in memory of a legendary watchman shot mid-call.

   Tip: Rynek Underground's last entry is 75 minutes before closing, and on its free admission day tickets are sold only at the box office on the day, so plan the visit for earlier in the day.

   Public square
   Sources: Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Museum of Krakow (official); St Mary's Basilica (official)
2. 2KrakowBook ahead

   Explore the royal castle and cathedral on Wawel Hill

   For centuries Wawel Hill was the seat of Poland's kings. The first recorded coronation in Wawel Cathedral took place in 1320, the cathedral became the royal burial place, and Sigismund I added the Renaissance Sigismund Chapel and the great Sigismund Bell. The castle was rebuilt as a Renaissance palace around an arcaded courtyard finished in about 1540, and today it is a leading art museum, known for King Sigismund II Augustus's Flemish tapestries. You pick exhibitions one by one: the State Rooms, the Royal Private Apartments, the Crown Treasury and Armoury, and the underground Lost Wawel. From spring to mid autumn you can also walk down through the Dragon's Den to the Vistula. The castle is about a 10 minute walk from the Main Market Square.

   Tip: Buy timed tickets online, which go on sale a month ahead, and leave backpacks and large bags in the checkroom in the Arcaded Courtyard, since they are not allowed inside the exhibitions.

   Royal Private Apartments: PLN 57 (about $15) · Crown Treasury: PLN 47 (about $12) · Armoury: PLN 47 (about $12) · Select an exhibition and timeFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Wawel Royal Castle (official); Wawel Royal Castle (official); Wawel Royal Castle (official); Wawel Royal Castle (official); Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal)
3. 3KrakowBook ahead

   Descend into the Wieliczka Salt Mine

   Salt has been mined at Wieliczka for more than 700 years, and the mine was entered on the first UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978. Its corridors run about 245 km, and the Tourist Route shows a small part of them: chambers hollowed out of salt, underground lakes, huge timber supports, salt sculptures by miner artists and St Kinga's Chapel, carved in salt. Tours are always guided. You walk down about 380 steps to 64 m below ground, climb about 800 steps in all, reach 135 m and ride a lift back up. The walk takes about 2 hours, or about 3 with the Cracow Saltworks Museum. Trains from Krakow Główny stop at Wieliczka Rynek Kopalnia, a few minutes' walk from the mine.

   Tip: Buy tickets online for a set tour time, wear comfortable shoes and layers for the steady 17 to 18°C underground, and bring only a small bag, since larger luggage stays on the surface.

   Adult, English-guided tour: PLN 143 (about $36) · Adult, Polish-guided tour: PLN 103 (about $26) · Guided route and timed language slot; buy online for languages other than Polish or English.Fee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Wieliczka Salt Mine (official); Wieliczka Salt Mine; Wieliczka Salt Mine (official); Wieliczka Salt Mine (official); Wieliczka Salt Mine (official)
4. 4Oświęcim

   Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial with a guide

   The Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum preserves the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp on the edge of Oświęcim, the place that became the symbol of the Holocaust of European Jews and of Nazi crimes against Poles, Roma and other groups. Visits start at the former Auschwitz I camp, and the museum asks visitors to see both it and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, 3.5 km away, setting aside at least about 90 minutes for each. A museum shuttle bus links the two sites. The standard guided tour lasts about three and a half hours. Lajkonik buses run from Krakow directly to the museum car park, and the railway station is about 1.5 km away. Visitors are asked to dress and behave with solemnity and respect.

   Tip: Reserve free entry cards or a guided tour well ahead at visit.auschwitz.org, since none are issued at the entrance, arrive 30 minutes early for security checks, and bring only a bag no larger than 35x25x15 cm.

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (official); Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (official); Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum (official)
5. 5Warsaw

   Walk Warsaw's rebuilt Old Town Market Square

   Warsaw's Old Town Market Square was laid out at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, and the town hall once stood here. During the Second World War about 90 percent of the square and the Old Town around it was destroyed. Architects and the efforts of the whole nation rebuilt the colorful townhouses from 1949, with a dedication ceremony just four years later, and the Old Town was later added to the UNESCO World Heritage List for that reconstruction. In the middle stands the Warsaw Mermaid, the city's symbol, a copy of a 19th century statue whose original is in the Museum of Warsaw on the square. A short walk away, Sigismund's Column, raised in 1644, stands on Castle Square in front of the Royal Castle.

   Tip: Climb the historic stairs of the Museum of Warsaw to its top floor viewpoint for a look over the square's rebuilt facades, and allow about two hours if you want to see the museum's rooms too.

   Public square
   Sources: Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Warsaw Tourism Office; Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official)
6. 6Krakow

   Watch the Veit Stoss altarpiece open in St Mary's

   St Mary's Basilica, on Krakow's Main Market Square, was begun in the late 13th century and consecrated around 1320. Its great treasure is the high altar carved by Veit Stoss between 1477 and 1489, one of the greatest late Gothic masterpieces in Europe. The five-winged altarpiece shows the Dormition of the Virgin surrounded by the apostles, with figures carved in linden wood, and the wings carry scenes from the lives of Mary and Jesus. The walls and star-painted vault were decorated in the late 19th century to designs by Jan Matejko, with stained glass by Stanisław Wyspiański and Józef Mehoffer. The basilica has two towers of different heights; the taller one, 82 m, is where the hourly bugle call is played, and small groups can climb it.

   Tip: Be inside just before 11:50 AM from Monday to Saturday to see the altar's wings opened, and buy tower tickets at the visitor desk on the day, since they can't be booked ahead and children under 8 can't climb.

   Standard adult basilica tourist section; tower excluded: PLN 20 (about $5) · Tourist church access; worship takes priorityFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 4, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: St Mary's Basilica (official); St Mary's Basilica (official); St Mary Basilica, Krakow; St Mary's Basilica (official)
7. 7Krakow

   Wander Kazimierz from Szeroka Street to Plac Nowy

   Kazimierz, just south of Wawel, was founded as a separate town by King Casimir the Great in the 14th century. From the late 15th century a walled Jewish town grew up inside it, for centuries one of Europe's great centers of Jewish learning, until the Second World War destroyed the community. Szeroka Street, its old heart, holds the Old Synagogue, one of the oldest preserved in Poland, where services were held until 1941; it now houses a museum of Jewish holidays and family life. The nearby Remuh grave draws pilgrims from around the world. Today galleries, cafes and the Plac Nowy flea market fill the lanes, and the lit Father Bernatek footbridge crosses the Vistula to Podgórze.

   Tip: Come in the late afternoon to see the Old Synagogue before its last entry, 30 minutes before closing, then stay for dinner in the lanes around Szeroka Street and Plac Nowy.

   Public street
   Sources: Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Museum of Krakow (official); Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal)
8. 8KrakowBook ahead

   Learn wartime Krakow's story at Schindler's Factory

   The enamel factory at Lipowa 4 was taken from its Jewish owners in 1939 by Oskar Schindler, a Sudeten German businessman who first hired Jewish workers as cheap labor. After the Krakow ghetto was liquidated in March 1943, he used contacts and bribes to set up a sub-camp on the factory grounds, sheltering around 1,000 people, and he later saved around 1,100 by moving them to his factory in Brünnlitz. The story became world famous through Steven Spielberg's 1993 film. The museum's exhibition, Krakow under Nazi Occupation 1939 to 1945, follows the whole city through the war. It is recommended for visitors aged 14 and older, and your ticket also covers the Eagle Pharmacy and Pomorska Street branches within 7 days.

   Tip: Book a timed ticket online and bring the original ID it was bought with, because the ticket office only sells same-day tickets for the next free slot.

   Standard adult exhibition; guided option separate: PLN 60 (about $15) · Named ticket and original ID; first Tuesday closedFee changed?

   Last verified Nov 4, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Museum of Krakow (official)
9. 9WarsawBook ahead

   Trace a thousand years at the POLIN Museum

   The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews tells a thousand years of history in Muranów, the prewar district where most residents were Jewish and which the Germans turned into the ghetto during the war. The building itself carries meaning: the main hall cuts through it from the basement to the roof, a symbol of the break the Holocaust caused. Eight galleries lead from the first Jewish settlements in medieval Poland and a 13th century royal statute guaranteeing Jews safety and freedom of religion, through a golden age and the reconstructed roof of the wooden synagogue from Gwoździec, to a prewar Jewish street, the Warsaw ghetto and the postwar years. The Monument to the Ghetto Heroes stands in front.

   Tip: Leave time before or after your visit for the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in front of the museum, where German Chancellor Willy Brandt knelt in a gesture seen as Germany's apology for the Holocaust.

   Adult: PLN 45 (about $11) · Allow time for the core exhibition; free on Thursdays, closed Tuesdays.Fee changed?

   Last verified Nov 7, 2026

   Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official)
10. 10WarsawBook ahead

    Tour the Royal Castle on Castle Square

    The Royal Castle was the seat of Poland's rulers from the 16th century, after King Sigismund III Vasa moved the court and state administration to Warsaw. Its Senate Chamber is where the Constitution of 3 May 1791, the first in Europe, was adopted. You choose a route: the Royal Route through King Stanisław August's rooms, including the Great Assembly Hall, the Throne Room and the Canaletto Room with its painted views of Warsaw; the Museum Tour with paintings by Rembrandt and Jan Matejko and the parliament chambers; or the Castle Route, which combines the two. Finish in the restored gardens on the slope down toward the Vistula.

    Tip: Individual visitors can buy tickets on the day, but the castle's free admission visits cannot be reserved in advance, so arrive early on those days.

    Royal Route: PLN 60 (about $15) · Castle Route: PLN 95 (about $24) · Choose an available route; tickets include an audio guide.Fee changed?

    Last verified Nov 7, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Warsaw Tourism Office; Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Royal Castle in Warsaw (official)
11. 11Warsaw

    Understand 1944 at the Warsaw Rising Museum

    The Warsaw Rising Museum tells the story of the fighting from 1 August to 2 October 1944, when the Home Army and the people of Warsaw rose against the German occupiers, and of the civilians who suffered as the city was destroyed. It opened on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the fighting as a tribute from Warsaw's residents. The exhibition is interactive, and one of its highlights is a full-size replica of the B-24 Liberator flown by Captain Zbigniew Szostak, whose crew made airdrops of weapons and medical supplies over the city. A panoramic lift climbs the museum's 32 m tower for a view over the Wola district. The museum is at Grzybowska 79.

    Tip: Plan around the opening days: the museum is closed on Tuesdays and admission is free on Thursdays, so expect bigger crowds then.

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Warsaw Rising Museum (official); Warsaw Rising Museum (official); Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official)
12. 12Warsaw

    Hear Chopin in summer at Royal Łazienki Park

    Royal Łazienki was the summer residence of Stanisław August Poniatowski, Poland's last king, who reigned from 1764 to 1795 and shaped the park as a picture of his ideas. Its centerpiece, the Palace on the Isle, began as a 17th century nobleman's bathhouse, which gave the park its name, and was rebuilt in the 18th century; here the king held his Thursday dinners for scholars and poets, and its rooms now show paintings from his collection. Around it are an orangery, an amphitheater, a court theater, sculptures and peacocks. The gardens are open daily from 6 AM to 9 PM with free entry, while the museum buildings open Tuesday to Sunday. The park is about 2.4 km from the city center, with bus stops on Ujazdowskie Avenue.

    Tip: In summer, come on a Sunday for the open-air Chopin concerts by the Fryderyk Chopin Monument, and check this season's dates and times before you go.

    Gardens: free · Gardens free; interiors separateFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 4, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Royal Łazienki Museum (official); Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Royal Lazienki Museum; Royal Łazienki Museum (official); Warsaw Tourism Office
13. 13Warsaw

    Follow Chopin along the Royal Route

    The Royal Route runs from the Royal Castle along Krakowskie Przedmieście toward Łazienki and Wilanów, past palaces, churches and the University of Warsaw, and it is full of Chopin. At the Presidential Palace, the largest of Warsaw's palaces, he gave his first concert at the age of eight; from 1817 to 1831 the Warsaw Lyceum he attended was housed in Kazimierzowski Palace, now on the university campus. Inside the baroque Basilica of the Holy Cross, behind the statue of Christ carrying the cross, the composer's heart rests. Nearby, soldiers stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beside the Saxon Garden, the first public city garden in Poland. Bus 180 continues along the whole Royal Route to Wilanów in about 60 to 70 minutes.

    Tip: If you are in Warsaw on the anniversary of Chopin's death, go to Holy Cross, where Mozart's Requiem is performed every year.

    Public street
    Sources: Warsaw Tourism Office; Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Warsaw Tourism Office
14. 14Warsaw

    Ride up to the Palace of Culture terrace

    The Palace of Culture and Science is the tower you see from almost everywhere in central Warsaw. Soviet and Polish builders put it up between 1 May 1952 and 21 July 1955, and it opened bearing Stalin's name. Today it holds theaters, museums, a cinema and restaurants, and its clock, started on New Year's Eve 2000, is the second biggest in Europe, with four dials each 6 m across. An elevator takes about 19 seconds to reach the viewing terrace on the 30th floor, 114 m up, which wraps around the tower and gives a full panorama of the city. The same floor has the Gothic Hall, a small gallery and a cafe.

    Tip: Go up after dark as well as by day, since the terrace is open in the evening and the lit-up city makes a fine view.

    Standard adult terrace: PLN 30 (about $8) · Check holiday closuresFee changed?

    Last verified Nov 4, 2026

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Palace of Culture and Science; Palace of Culture and Science (official); Palace of Culture and Science (official); Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official)
15. 15Warsaw

    See King Jan III's baroque palace at Wilanów

    Wilanów Palace, about 10 km from central Warsaw at the end of the Royal Route, was the summer residence of King Jan III Sobieski, the victor of the Battle of Vienna, and his wife Maria Kazimiera, from 1677. It is often called the Polish Versailles. The Royal Apartments, the oldest part, keep their original decoration: the King's rooms in the south and the Queen's in the north, with ceiling paintings of the Four Seasons, a 17th century marble floor that tricks the eye into seeing depth, and the King's Library. In 1805 Stanisław Kostka Potocki opened the interiors and collections to the public. Formal baroque gardens, a rose garden and landscape parks surround the palace.

    Tip: Take bus 180 along the Royal Route for a scenic ride out, and buy your ticket in the yellow building in front of the palace or online beforehand.

    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów (official); Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów (official); Museum of King Jan III's Palace at Wilanów (official); Warsaw Tourism Office
16. 16Warsaw

    Eat pierogi and cake your way across Warsaw

    Warsaw is a good city to eat your way through Polish food. Start with pierogi, filled with meat, cabbage, mushrooms, cheese or fruit, then try żurek, the sour rye soup served with egg and white sausage, beetroot barszcz in winter or cold chłodnik in summer. Milk bars serve home-style dishes at low prices, a holdover from the communist era. For sweets, the city's own cakes are the wuzetka, named after the W-Z route under the Old Town, and the zygmuntówka, plus doughnuts with rose jam. When you want choice, Hala Koszyki, a restored Art Nouveau market hall, gathers dozens of restaurants and bars under one roof, from Polish to Thai and Indian.

    Tip: Order a hot chocolate at the E. Wedel cafe on Szpitalna Street, and look for traditional pastry shops such as Blikle for doughnuts with rose jam.

    Pay as you go
    Sources: Go To Warsaw (Warsaw Tourist Office, official); Warsaw Tourism Office
17. 17Krakow

    Circle Krakow's Old Town through the Planty

    The Planty is a ring of gardens that wraps around Krakow's Old Town where the medieval walls and moats once stood. Early in the 19th century the city pulled down the crumbling fortifications, keeping only a stretch of wall with St Florian's Gate and the Barbican, filled in the moats and planted trees, lawns and paths. Today the Planty is divided into eight gardens running for about 4 km and covering 21 ha, Krakow's largest city park, with about 40 kinds of trees and shrubs, monuments to Polish artists and plenty of benches. Three 19th century kiosks still stand along it, one near the Słowacki Theatre now a city information point.

    Tip: Treat it as a walking route between Old Town sights rather than a single stop, and pause at the Barbican, one of the few pieces of the old fortifications still standing.

    Public park
    Search tickets and tours on TiqetsSources: Krakow Travel (official city tourism portal); Wawel Royal Castle (official)

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