Krakow: Nowa Huta Communist District Private Tour On Vintage Car

Absolutely loved this trip. Matt got in contact before hand to confirm pickup details and all went smoothly. We did the office and bunker too which were super interesting and Matt did everything he could to make it an informative and fun experience when dealing with a serious subject. My husband thought it was one of the best things we did in Krakow (and we did everything!).

Fun, informative, and unique. Matthew was a very good and happy tour guide. It was very interesting!

Very fun, informative, and overall felt like I was out with a friend. Experience i will never forget and recommend to all!

By far the coolest tour I’ve been on! Got to see all the Soviet era relics and places. The guide was the best part of the whole thing… he is well worth asking for (although I forget his name, I think Matthew). He picked us up in an awesome vintage car and really felt like we were living in the area. A period of history where we aren’t used to seeing in person, especially as an American.

This was by far the best tour I have ever been on. Matt was the most knowledgeable and very kind. I felt like I was traveling back in time with a friend, and in a vintage communist vehicle! The tour was so comprehensive and lunch was served as well. It was the best day and I will remember it forever.

My son and I enjoyed this really interesting ride through Nowa Huta. Our guide was great and a very nice person. As he was from Nowa Huta himself, he was able to tell stories from first hand experience. Thank u so much for this great tour.

Mateusz is a very good guide. He is nice to talk with and very knowledgeable of Nowa Huta. My only criticism is he talks at you for a while which can be unengaging. Maybe I was tired as it was later in the day and I’d been in Europe for about a week at the time, but I started to lose interest while in the former administrative buildings and bunker. That being said, it is very cool that they are preserved the way they are. He also called me on one of the phones from another room to show it still works. The car was also awesome and he took some photos of me with the car by the Church of our Lady, which we stopped by after the administrative buildings and bunker. We briefly went inside where mass was ending. I think that church was the highlight of the tour. The tank was cool, as well. People around us also liked the car. When we stopped at the tank there was a family there with two children and they definitely liked the car. He also reached out to me beforehand to coordinate time and place. I was good with the tour being moved up to earlier in the day and I got picked up a few minutes earlier than I otherwise would have. This is a 3/5 but perhaps more of a 3.5/5. I recommend taking a friend or two with you on the tour. I was solo at the time.

Recent history doesn't get a lot of attention and soon recent history won't be so recent. The bunker was very interesting but for me the highlight was the lada it was beautiful.

Fascinating tour of Nowa Huta with Mateusz. As we were driven around in his Lada the history, architect and politics were explained in great detail. All questions were answered enthusiastically and thoroughly. I booked this for the last day of our holiday and it turned out to be one of the best days. Thank you Mateusz for the most enjoyable experience.

One of the best tours we have ever done. WAs picked up at the hotel on time. The guide was exceptional, perfect English and incredibly humorous. Showed us some modern history which we were completely unfamiliar with . His knowledge of Polish and soviet history was second to none. The drive in the Lada was also entertaining. The tour around the bomb shelter was fascinating. I would highly recommend this trip to anyone

Nowa Huta was a terrific addition to the traditional Krakow tourism. We saw an early Communist model neighborhood, a huge steel factory and the church built by the people of the neighborhood. It was a visual history of Poland under Communism and the peoples protests that brought it down. Our guide Mateus was terrific and the Soviet-era vehicles were fun

Incredible experience Everything was perfect from A to Z Mateusz is a perfect guide I really enjoy every second of this VIP tour I highly recommend

This was an excellent tour - picked up in Lada and driven to Nowa Huta - this was a great experience in itself! We then had a tour of Nowa Huta and the steel works which was fascinating to see and hear the history behind it. Our guide Matt really added to the experience - friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about the place, its history and also its future. The whole experience was so informative and so much fun.

We took this trip as it promised to be something different and away from the crowds. It certainly was. The lime green Lada, entering the steelworks managerial offices and having the doors locked behind us as we toured the facility meant that we felt really privileged to be in this relic of recent history. The Nowa Huta area itself was interesting and different to what we were expecting in terms of architecture and greenery. Our guide Mateusz was a pleasure to be with, conversation flowed easily and you can tell that he loves his work.

One of the best experiences during our holiday! Mateusz explained everything in a super interesting and fun way! No rush and always open for questions and conversions. 12/10 experience :)

This was one of, if not the, best things I did in Poland. The guides were so informative, and the experience was so unique. Unlike anything I had done before!

This was a fun tour to get an insight of Krakow during the communist regime. Matthias is a very knowledgeable guide and also very personable. Try this out for a unique half day trip.

This was such a wonderful way to learn more about Polands history and huge thank you to Mateusz for putting up with me on a cold March day. I highly recommend taking this tour as it's a pivotal piece to Poland's history and everyone should learn about this. Mateusz is an enthusiastic guide and I appreciated his knowledge and what he and his business partner are trying to do here. The tour was incredibly comprehensive, you can't go wrong with the full tour. He picked me up in a vintage 1981 Lada Vaz. It was so cool!

We enjoyed our afternoon tour to Nowa Huta with Mateusz so much and found it very historically informative. It is clear to see his enthusiasm and passion on the subject. All the details like the control room lights and the vodka are all little touches to show that he is are trying to create a very unique experience. To be able to access areas of the steel factory offices which otherwise are inaccessible is a truly unique experience. I would definitely add this experience to your “must do” itinerary whilst in Krakow.

This tour of Nowa Huta is a fascinating experience! The guide was great and very knowledgeable. He shared great insights about the history of the area and personal anecdotes. It's a must for anyone interested in Poland's past. Highly recommend it!

Excellent tour with Mateusz to Old Nowa Huta, a relic of Poland's imposed communist past and one of only two existing 'utopian' communities. Built between 1949-1955, this model socialist community was intended to counter Kraków's intelligenstia and their anti-communist leanings, with a thriving working-class and self-sufficient suburb (even bomb shelters!). Great chat - cheers from Canada!

Awesome experience! Cool car, awesome bomb shelter and great history. It was like going back in time. My best tour in Krakow.

Booked this for myself and Dad. We both really enjoyed it. We wanted a look into what life was like under Communism in Poland and Mateusz delivered this very enthusiastically. He had many personal stories which added to the authenticity. He knew a lot and was able to answer most questions we had and he painted a vivid picture of life back then. I would definitely recommend the tour. A few comments/feedback: 1) Driving around in the old Lada was quirky, but we had to wind the windows down because of the fumes. 2) Compared to other tours these are on the expensive side because of the very limited number of people that can sit in the small car. I would have enjoyed the tour just as much if it was in a mini-bus with a bunch of other people. The old cars appeal to enthusiasts and those who lived through it, but the most important part really is the guide and their knowledge and Mateusz was great. The cars aren't essential. From a business perspective, I'd offer a cheaper tour option without the car in a larger group to pull more people in :) Keep up the great work!

This tour was one of the highlights of our vacation in Krakow. A very unique experience, this was very interesting as it brought to life how things were during socialist Poland. My family with teens enjoyed the tour with Matt, as our guide. He was very knowledgeable and engaging. The car used, bunkers, and steel mill offices were well maintained for the purposes of the tour. Highly recommended!!

Very enjoyable, having the vintage style car really elevated our tour and made it feel much more authentic. The guide qas also very enthusiastic and knowledgeable.

This tour provides a fascinating look into Poland's communist past while driving around the communist-designed Nowa Hutta district in a tiny communist-era Polski Fiat. Very highly recommend.

Our guide was great and explained the history of Nowa Huta with a personal touch. He picked us up at our hotel in a Lada 2101, a 1970s era car made in the Soviet Union, and took us through different parts of Nowa Huta including the Steel works' gate and administration buildings, Ronald Reagan plaza, Lord's Ark church, an old Soviet IS-2 tank from WW2, and he pointed out many other interesting places and sights along the way. We learned a lot about the communist era in Poland after WW2 and the protests and resistance movement in the 70s and 80s. Overall this was a very interesting tour and our guide made it a truly memorable experience - very highly recommended!

We had a wonderful day in Nowa Huta. We can warmly recommend this guided tour. So fun to ride in their vintage cars. And what great guys who guided us, knowledgeable, passionate and nice. They talked about historical events, architecture, politics, etc. Thanks to Mateusz x 2 for a wonderful day, from the Swedish gang (Disaster travlers ).

This is the best tour you can do in Krakow, if you have a feeling for old cars and life in the 1950-1980 period in the polish side of the iron curtain. The guides are really interested in this, very funny and even repairs the brakes of the old cars themselves (but not during the tour...). We are a not ordinary art group from Sweden who took the opportunity to have our annual congress at the large conference room in Nowa Huta s office. Best group picture ever!

We did the complete Nowa Huta, steelworks administration buildings and underground bunker tour with Mateusz and his Polski Fiat 126 in January 2024. It was by far the highlight of our trip to Poland - Mateusz is a highly knowledgeable and passionate Nowa Huta local who expertly guided us around the city. He talked us through the history, architecture, politics and economy of how and why Nowa Huta came to be and also discussed several key points in it's history including the city's construction, the Lenin statue, redevelopment, the Ark Church and the uprising against the militia (all with supporting historical photographs). The tour lasted almost 4 hours in total, and remained highly entertaining and engaging throughout. We were also lucky enough to experience the Steelworks as a small private tour of 4, on a snowy day which only added to the fantastic atmosphere. I highly recommend booking this tour and would urge anyone thinking about it to just do it - you won't regret it!

This week (with seven people) we had an incredible, surprising tour with a vintage car through Nowa Huta. What an incredibly enthusiastic guide. We can recommend it to everyone!

Picked up in the green Lada by Matthew. Taken to Nowa Huta to look around with all the history needed then on to the steel works and bunker which was the highlight of the trip for me. The wife and I both enjoyed this trip. First class trip with very knowledgeable guide Matthew would highly recommend this company

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history of Nowa Huta. He shared personal experiences of his family in Communist times to make the history relatable. Hope he sees the former steel factory offices and tunnels turned into a funded museum before the artifacts are removed.

This was a fascinating tour about so much more than a housing project. My teenage son found it really interesting and it gave him a much deeper understanding of Poland’s Communist past. Mateusz was a charming and enthusiastic guide, extremely well informed and insightful. I can’t recommend him and his tour enough. We loved the pea-green Lada too!

Our guide, Matthew, picked us up in a charming bright green Lada. He took us to Nova Huta and was generous with his time to explain the history of the city, how it related to Krakow, and its impact on both the people at the time and the people now. It gets you out of the city for a couple of hours and gives you insight into the past. Strongly recommended.

Amazing tour that exceeded our expectations. Matthew showed us a part of Krakow and Poland’s history while driving around in a historical Lada car. It was one of the highlights of our stay and not a lot of people seem to take this tour. We would definitely recommend!

we experienced a very interesting tour to a very special place. Our guide was very knowable, kind and intresting.

We loved the Nowa Huta and Cold War Shelter tour, it was our favourite part of our visit to Krakow. Our guide was extremally knowledgable, enthusiastic and fun. I'm Polish and my partner is British and we both learned tonnes! We think Nowa Huta is a seriously underrated part of Krakow and we would recommend this trip to anyone. Plus, we left with beautiful and really unique photos taken by our lovely guide!

If you’re at all curious about Poland under communist rule, this tour is incredible. The tour is by a foundation that promotes Nowa Huta as a heritage site, so it’s not a regular tour company. My guide genuinely cared about the history, because it’s his family’s history. He was fantastic. You get picked up in a 1980s communist era car, extremely small and a trip back in time. I had a private tour, so it was really a conversation with the fantastic guide. I highly recommend it.

The city is very intersting. You will learn a lot with the tour than you exploring the city by yourself. The guides are very informative. They spent a great deal of time to make the tour works really well (maintaining the directors buildings of steelworks and its shelters) . Please join and support them. The Fiat 126 in the tour was very cold.

The excursion was excellent, our guide was very kind and patient (I had to traslate for my mother beacuse she doesn't speak English) The visit was totally worth it, we went into shelters from the communist era and where able to enter every room, take pictures and ask questions, there was time for everything. If you are interested in history this is a must seen in Krakow. Special mention to our guide beacuse he was really into his job, I mean the explanations were clear and very detailed and easy to have a conversation with (can't remeber his name right now)

Once you've had your fill of the castle with a dragon, the trumpeter playing every hour on the hour, horse-drawn carriages and olde-worlde buildings it's time to find something else to do. We would highly recommend a trip to Nowa Huta. Having grown up in the 70s/80s I knew about the Cold War but nothing about what it was like to live in the Eastern Bloc. I expected Nowa Huta to be ugly, dark, cramped and horrible. To give the weather credit it was very foggy first thing so our first impressions of Nowa Huta were gloomy, grey and damp - it all felt very Communist. We met our guide Mateusz a short walk from our accomodation as the car couldn't come into the very centre of the old town. He had a 1976 Lada for us. There was another couple with us at the start of the tour and the other guide came along in a Polski Fiat 126 so we were able to swap between cars which gave us a feel of being in a typical family car and a luxury party members car. We started our tour in Nowa Huta in 'rose alley' which has been renamed after Ronald Reagan. Mateusz had photos of what it used to look like to give us a good idea of the area in the past including when it had the statue of Lenin. We then visited the steelworks administration centre - just the hallway not the centre itself followed by a museum nuclear bunker. Finally we saw a tank outside a block, heard why it faced the wrong way and then visited the Arka Pana church. The other couple with us then left and we continued on to visit the 1950s flat. This flat is only seen by people visiting with the Fundacja Promocji Nowej Huty and was tiny. We ended up in a milk bar and had a variety of foods for lunch before being driven back. Mateusz was an excellent guide and happy to answer any of our questions however random. He is very enthusiastic about the topic and the area. If you get the chance to go to NH then definitely go.

Fascinating tour with an outstanding guide, Matthew (Mateusz). Lots of very interesting stories about Poland then and now, all in a fun to ride in Polski Fiat.

This tour is definitely worth it. It is one that is not on the main circuit but it definitely worth reviewing the dark history of Poland's past under Soviet rule. It tells of the struggles that Poland had under the iron hand of Russia and what an evil empire it is. Poles learned to survive under this repressive regime.

This tour gives you a unique look at communist Poland. Make sure to sign up to go to the bomb shelter. Our guide, Mateusz, was knowledgeable and passionate about the subject. Don't miss this tour; it is definitely worth the time and money. So different!

fun packed tour and a great intro to the history Poland and the world of communism. A lot of fun and very interesting. a must

This was a really interesting and engaging tour, the best thing we did in Krakow. Our tour guide was excellent.

<p>Very interesting, great guide, a look at how Polish culture survives with pride and hard work, captures the Polish spirit of the past 50 years</p>

We took a trip with the eNHa people, who are locals trying to convince tourists and other Poles that Nowa Huta has history and interest of its own. They can take you there in a Fiat 126 - the dream car of the inhabitants of the area in communist days. We weren't able to visit the museum in the evening, so were very grateful for such a knowledgable guide. I was impressed that they're not trying to see NH in an ironic 'how awful were the communists' way, but instead celebrating the idealism and quality architecture of the time while making it clear that society was very differently organised at that time. (It's easy to forget that in Britain at that point we were buiding prefabs...) In retrospect it would have better to go during the day, when more is available to see, and it would have been nice to see inside one of the apartments, especially if there are any in original condition. It's sad that it's impossible to see any of the steelworks itself - I would imagine that this would be a big draw in itself if it could be organised. It's a perfect foil to a visit to historic Krakow, so despite the cynicism of many Poles I defintely recommend this.