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Tatra Mountains
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Zakopane, home of the smallest high peaks in the world, and a huge centre for winter sports, is the perfect destination for a one day-trip from Krakow. Visitors often enjoy a trip to the Pieniny mountain range and an unforgettable raft ride down the Dunajec river, which meanders through a narrow, two-hundred metre deep gorge among picturesque rock formations. A taste of the fascinating highlander culture of this region, famous for its expressive music and dance as well as its original wooden architecture also make a stay in the Tatra mountains complete. |
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Czestochowa
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One hundred kilometres to the north of Krakow is Czestochowa and its Paulite monastery of Jasna Góra. It is a famous place of pilgrimage and the most holy place in the country for Polish Catholics who come to see the famous miraculous painting of the Black Madonna. To get to Czestochowa you have to travel through the Krakow-Czestochowa Upland which is covered with many picturesque limestone rock formations and the ruins of medieval castles known as the Eagles' Nests. The most well-known attraction in this area is the Ojców National Park - set in the Pradnik river valley and filled with fascinating rock formations and the renaissance castle of Pieskowa Skala. |
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Auschwitz
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About one hour's drive from Krakow is the small town of O??wiecim better known throughout the world by the German name of Auschwitz. The largest of the Nazi concentration camps, it is now a place of remembrance and a museum which is included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. |
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Kalwaria Zebrzydowska
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The Bernardine monastery in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, about 40km outside of Krakow, is also included on the UNESCO list, with its unique collection of picturesque chapels built over the surrounding hills. And not far from the church in Kalwaria is the town of Wadowice - the birthplace of Karol Wojtyla, the man who became Pope John Paul II. |
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Wieliczka
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On the outskirts of Krakow is the Salt Mine in Wieliczka. Its labyrinth of tunnels, underground turquoise lakes and corridors, chambers, sculptures, reliefs, stairs and entire chapels all hand carved in salt make it a unique monument of medieval European industrial culture. In fact, Wieliczka is also a UNESCO World Heritage site. |
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Wooden Architecture Trail
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The historic lands of Malopolska are full of original and well-preserved wooden churches, built from the Middle Ages until the 20th Century, including the oldest preserved wooden church in Poland in Debno from the 15th century with its polychromes, sculptures and paintings. A visit to see this historic wooden architecture is invaluable. |
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Shtetl
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Following the traces of a world which no longer exists. A visit to former small Jewish towns with their characteristic buildings, synagogues, architecture and cemeteries... |
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Prague, Vienna, Budapest
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There are excellent transport connections from Krakow to Prague, Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava - the most beautiful cities in Central and Eastern Europe.
...or not too far away either is Lviv in Ukraine; the last undiscovered gem in Europe. |
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