48 Hours in Krakow, Poland: The Perfect 2 Day Itinerary
Last Updated on 21 August 2024
Taking a 2 day city break to Krakow, Poland? This is a great city to visit, especially if you’re into history! This guide will include everything you need to know on how to spend 48 hours in Krakow including things to do, where to stay and the best tours to take!
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There are 3 simple ways to get from Krakow Airport (John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice) to the city centre: train, bus and taxi transfer.
The most cost and time-effective way is via train. This will take you straight from Krakow Airport to Krakow Main Station (also known as Krakow Glowny) in 25 minutes. To get to Krakow Airport train station, head to the rear of the multi-storey car park connected with the terminal building by a footbridge. You can purchase a ticket either at the passenger terminal, at the station or by a train conductor on board. A single ticket costs 17 zloty (PLN).
The most cost-effective way is via bus, where a single ticket costs 6PLN. 3 regular bus lines serve Krakow Airport: 209 and 300 in the day and 902 at night. For bus 209 and 300, it takes about 40 minutes – 1 hour to get just outside the city centre, before the Vistula River (Rondo Grunwaldzkie bus stop). Bus 902 takes about 30 minutes and will take you just outside the city walls (Teatr Słowackiego bus stop)
The easiest and most time-effective way is via private taxi transfer, which takes you straight to your accommodation from Krakow Airport in 30 minutes more or less from €35.
Where to Stay in Krakow
Krakow is split up into various districts, however, if you’re only spending 48 hours in Krakow, then it’s best to stay in Old Town (Stare Miasto). It’s pretty much the centre of Krakow’s most popular landmarks and attractions! Here are the top choices for where to stay in Krakow:
Alternatively, you can find more hotels or lodges via Booking.com and Vrbo below!
48 Hours in Krakow: Day 1
Walking Tour
To make the most out of your 48 hours in Krakow, start day 1 with a walking tour! I highly recommend doing a free walking tour of Old Town with Walkative. It takes 2.5 hours, taking you to the must-see spots in the city. You’ll start at the meeting point between Barbican and St Florian’s Gate then you’ll go around to explore Main Market Square, St. Mary’s Basilica, Cloth Hall, Jagiellonian University, including Collegium Maius (the oldest university building in Poland) and Wawel Hill.
If you love learning about history and visiting historical places, you will adore this walking tour. And as with any walking tour, don’t forget to tip your guide at the end!
If you’re visiting Poland in the winter (like I did), I can’t stress layering up enough! I visited during January and I knew it was going to be cold but I definitely underestimated it! Although I was wearing leggings underneath my flares, 3 layers of tops and a puffer jacket, the weather was still making me shiver. Suffice it to say, I wasn’t prepared for the cold. So I strongly advise layering up a ton when you visit Poland in the winter. That includes layering your socks too!
Rynek Underground Museum
Located underneath the Market Square, Rynek Underground Museum takes you through the history of Krakow in the Middle Ages.
One notable thing about the museum is the huge weighing scale that shows you how much you weighed in the system of units in the 14th century. The whole experience was very affordable but it’ll take you hours to explore the museum. I didn’t realise just how much our day had gone by after we left, and by that time, it was evening so places were starting to close.
General entry to the Rynek Museum costs 36 PLN but if you visit on a Tuesday, tickets are completely free! Alternatively, you can take a guided tour of Rynek Museum if you prefer getting insight into Middle Age Krakow by a local!
Museum of Illusions
After visiting Rynek Museum, a fun way to end day 1 is by visiting the Museum of Illusions!
When I went, I was able to visit for the last half hour it was open and the guide was incredibly nice to show me around (considering I arrived at quite an inconvenient time). There were cool photo illusions, zoetropes (motion picture spinners), warped mirrors, and of course, dedicated rooms to take optical illusion photos.
Best of all, general admission tickets for the Museum of Illusions only cost 55 PLN!
And that is your first day in Krakow complete! For day 1, it’s important to get enough sleep as you can because day 2 will start off very early for a full day tour.
48 Hours in Krakow: Day 2
Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine Day Tour
For this itinerary, day 2 of your 48 hours in Krakow, will be spent on a day tour to Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine. I know that this day tour technically isn’t in Krakow but it’s very accessible from the city and I think that it’s a really important and insightful tour too!
My friend and I booked this day tour through Mr Shuttle and I would highly recommend them to anyone else, especially because they provide full-packed lunches! I’m talking about a nice sandwich, fruit, water, a snack and even mints! You can also inform them prior about your dietary requirements, such as whether you’re a vegetarian, and they will adjust your meal accordingly.
You’ll get picked up from your hotel (or nearest meetup location if you’re staying at a hostel or Airbnb) very early in the morning by a minivan to start the tour.
Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau
First, you’ll be taken to Auschwitz. It’s about a 1.5-hour drive and along the way, they’ll play a World War 2 documentary centered on the Holocaust. Once you arrive, you’ll tour Auschwitz for 2 hours then head to Auschwitz II-Birkenau for a 1 hour tour. This was a very sorrowful experience and for obvious reasons, photographs were not taken inside.
Our guide was a local historian who provided a different but informative insight into the history of the Holocaust in Poland (different from what I was taught in school in the UK). So I would highly recommend being guided by a local historian.
Wieliczka Salt Mine
After touring Auschwitz and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, you’ll take a 1 hour journey to Wieliczka Salt Mine. This salt mine dates back to the Middle Ages when it was named Magnum Sal (the Great Salt). And yes, the whole mine is completely made out of salt!
It was the largest source of salt in Poland and features so many incredible spaces, caves, underground lakes as well as a chapel! Our tour guide was hilarious and made visiting Wieliczka Salt Mine a really fun experience. We travelled more than 1000 ft underground and as expected it got pretty cold so make sure to layer up!
In my opinion, the best area of the Salt Mine is St Kinga’s Chapel, a whole underground cathedral made of salt, including a salt wall sculpture of The Last Supper and salt chandeliers! Unfortunately, we couldn’t see the full beauty of the Chapel when I went as there was some construction going on, but it still looked really cool!
More Places to Visit in Krakow
As we only spent 48 hours in Krakow, we couldn’t explore as much of the city as we would’ve liked. But if you’re spending more than 2 days in Krakow, a few other places to visit are Dragon’s Den, Kazimierz Jewish Quarter, Starà Synagogue, Oskar Schindler’s Factory, and Wawel Castle.
48 Hours in Krakow: Final Thoughts
Krakow is an amazing place to spend a 2 day city break! I hope this itinerary have you some inspiration for when you spend 48 hours in Krakow! I highly recommend taking a walking tour to see the best of the city on the first day then a day tour to Auschwitz, Auschwitz II-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine on the last day!
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