Krakow: Wawel Castle Guided Tour With Skip-the-line Entry

I had wanted to travel to Poland for a long time. I adore Chopin—his compositions and the sheer force of emotion in his music—so where better to go than to the International Chopin Festival, held in late August and early September? I had booked tickets for the concerts as early as May, just in time to catch the last available ones. Another good reason to visit Poland is that it is the homeland of Nicolaus Copernicus, the astronomer who completely changed the way people viewed the world by challenging the prevailing geocentric system and placing the Sun at the centre, with the planets revolving around it. And then there is Isaac Bashevis Singer, who was one of my favourite writers for a period of my life and, of course, a Nobel Prize winner. I sometimes think there isn't a single word he ever published that I haven't read. Through his wonderful writing and the Yiddish language, he introduced us to the world of Jewish Poland: Bilgoraj, Lublin, Warsaw, Krochmalna Street. We flew from Belgrade to Kraków on an evening flight. We were welcomed by 22 degrees Celsius—essentially Belgrade spring—and beautiful weather stayed with us throughout our entire time in Poland. We immediately set off on foot towards the city centre. We assumed the city would be deserted and that we would end up hungry. After all, this was the north, and it was Sunday. Oh, how wrong we were! After about a ten-minute walk from our hotel, we found ourselves in the main square, Rynek Główny, the very heart of Kraków. And at its heart stands St. Mary’s Basilica, followed by the Renaissance building of the former Cloth Hall, Sukiennice, now filled with shops selling amber and everything that can be made from it—from jewellery to crucifixes. There is, of course, also the monument to Adam Mickiewicz, Poland’s great Romantic poet and a symbol of love for the homeland. Restaurants and cafés crowd around the enormous square with its colonnades. Everything was buzzing with people. Everyone who could possibly walk had come out onto the square. There were also white horse-drawn carriages, their horses beautifully decorated. Children ran after them. It was wonderfully chaotic. And where to eat? The choice was enormous. We decided to use the simplest possible criterion: the busiest place must surely be the best. Most people apparently know this rule. We chose Staropolska Karczma. And we kept coming back there throughout our stay in Kraków. Pierogi—potato dough filled with all sorts of fillings: meat, mushrooms, cabbage. My choice was cottage cheese. Nobody could go wrong with the breaded schnitzels, which irresistibly reminded me of Wiener schnitzels. They were always served with sauerkraut and whole peppercorns in a wooden bowl, while another wooden bowl held the potatoes. Lager beer was by far the most popular drink. You simply couldn’t go wrong. Prices were much like those in Belgrade, and the bill arrived with the tip already included. The following morning, we walked along the Vistula to the remarkable district of Kazimierz, founded by charter of King Casimir the Great in 1335. Over time, it developed into the centre of Ashkenazi Jewish life and community. Jews were allowed to live there freely, trade, practise crafts and, of course, pursue intellectual professions. They were doctors, lawyers, pharmacists and bankers. Over time, their influence on the city’s economic life grew stronger and stronger. Kazimierz flourished and pulsed to its own rhythm, with its own customs, schools and places of worship—its synagogues. And even now, when you walk along the district’s main street, Szeroka, you can feel the spirit of its long-departed inhabitants. Jews from all over the world are helping to bring this place back to life, preserving the traditions and way of life of their people. The cafés and restaurants that have opened here have a distinctly Jewish character, which I find slightly exotic. We had coffee with honey, a whole cinnamon stick and cardamom. Then we entered the small, old Remuh Synagogue, named after its famous sixteenth-century rabbi. It is also one of the oldest surviving synagogues in Kraków. What made the strongest impression on me was the cemetery in the synagogue courtyard. Some of the graves date back as far as the sixteenth century. Every grave preserves a story about the person who lies there. There are many small graves too—children’s graves. Carefully placed little stones lie on each one, a sign that people still remember them. There are no candles, no flowers. They melt and decay. Stones, like memories, do not. During the Second World War, the inhabitants of this district were first taken to the ghetto, which was located outside Kazimierz, and from there to the camps that became their final destination. Kraków has its patron saint, St. Florian. The city’s main gate into the Old Town is named after him, and from there, along Floriańska Street, one reaches the main square. A green ring surrounds the walls of the Old Town. This park, a green oasis, is full of benches and swings and crowded with students, elderly people, mothers with children and tourists exhausted from walking. Poland had many aristocratic families who competed with one another in wealth and social power. One of the most important was the Czartoryski family. They were patrons of the arts and passionate collectors. The most important among them was Izabela Czartoryska and her son Adam, who acquired Leonardo da Vinci’s painting *Lady with an Ermine* and gave it to his mother. Leonardo painted Cecilia Gallerani, the mistress of Ludovico Sforza. Unlike the conventional poses of high-society ladies of that period, she appears as though someone had suddenly called her and she had turned to look over her shoulder. It is one of those paintings that requires a bench, so that you can sit down and give it the time it deserves. What can I say? A beauty that leaves you speechless. To be in Kraków and not visit Wawel would simply be unforgivable. Wawel was the seat of the Polish kings for centuries. They lived there, and they were buried there. From the hill they had the most beautiful possible view of the royal city. They also kept their treasures there, many of which have survived to this day. And what kind of castle would it be without a terrifying cave and a dragon breathing fire? Proof that there is simply no point arguing about taste was my husband’s declaration that all European castles look alike to him. Hahaha! What really interested him was the Wieliczka Salt Mine—which, I must admit, pleasantly surprised me too. It is located 15 kilometres from Kraków. Salt was mined there for almost seven centuries. It is an entire city beneath the ground. It reminded me of Moria from *The Lord of the Rings*—only with chandeliers. The mine reaches a depth of 327 metres. It is an entire complex of corridors, chapels, chambers and underground salt lakes. Can you guess what the sculptures, chandeliers, floors and crucifixes are made of? Salt. The most beautiful part is St. Kinga’s Chapel, named after the Hungarian princess who married a Polish king. Many miners lost their lives in this mine. Descending so far underground and working endless shifts was incredibly difficult, and for some, returning to the surface was simply impossible. The temperature inside the mine remains constant, between 14 and 16 degrees Celsius. I had the strange feeling that the deeper we went, the warmer it became. The total length of the excavated corridors is an astonishing 245 kilometres. A special experience was travelling to Warsaw on the high-speed Pendolino train. The distance of 300 kilometres takes just two hours and twenty minutes. For me, this is a hundred times better than flying. First, through the large windows you can see endless forests of golden pines and birch trees, little lakes and beautifully maintained villages. Second, the service on the train is excellent—the friendliness of the staff as well as the choice of Polish dishes. Warsaw, of course, is a story in itself. It is a huge city of 1.9 million inhabitants. It represents a combination of medieval European and socialist architecture. During the Second World War, it was practically razed to the ground, but through determination, perseverance and enormous effort, the Polish people managed to reconstruct the entire historic centre, stone by stone and brick by brick. As Warsaw is an educational and university centre, I had the impression throughout our stay that the average age of people on the streets was about 25. From almost every part of the city, the imposing Palace of Culture and Science catches your eye. It reminded me very much of the building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow, as well as Moscow’s Lomonosov University. My daughters, for example, would probably have found the Złote Tarasy shopping centre fascinating, with its extraordinary water-like architecture. It looks almost like a sea wave made of glass and steel. And how could we possibly be in Warsaw during the Chopin Music Days and not visit the Church of the Holy Cross, where Chopin’s heart is kept? Chopin was born in Poland and spent his childhood and youth in Warsaw, where it quickly became apparent that he was a musical child prodigy, something like Mozart. He then moved to Paris at the age of twenty. He quickly became a star of the aristocratic salons. He socialised with Liszt and Berlioz, but unlike Liszt, who gave large concerts and earned good money, the refined and delicate Chopin disliked large audiences. As a result, he was constantly on the edge of financial hardship and poverty. He practically supported himself by giving private music lessons. Such an irregular and impoverished life inevitably led, in those days, to tuberculosis, a disease that claimed the lives of many young artists. It was tuberculosis that eventually took Chopin too. He was buried in Père-Lachaise Cemetery, while, according to his final wish, his sister carried his heart back to the aforementioned Church of the Holy Cross, so that it could rest in his beloved Poland and so that admirers of his music from all over the world could pay tribute to him there. At this time of year, all of Warsaw seems to be under the spell of Chopin and his music. His preludes, nocturnes and polonaises can be heard throughout the city. The International Music Festival *Chopin and His Europe* brought together virtuosos and audiences from all over the world. We attended a concert held at the National Philharmonic. The pianist was the young Chinese musician Zitong Wang, winner of the third prize at the 2025 International Chopin Competition. She performed a brilliant piano recital, playing nocturnes and impromptus. The concert hall was packed to the last seat. Young and old had gathered, and what delighted me most was seeing so many entire families there. The applause and ovations were thunderous, and young Zitong returned several times to play encores. The champagne served before the concert certainly added something to the overall atmosphere! For me personally, the best-designed museum—modern, engaging and accessible to young people—is POLIN, a name that can mean Poland but also resembles the Hebrew expression “here you may rest.” It is dedicated to the thousand-year history of Jewish life in Poland. The museum stands on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. It is an interactive exhibition that takes you through the streets of a small shtetl, a Jewish town. You can look inside the home of an ordinary, modest man whose entire family lives in a single room, or enter the elegant salon of a bourgeois Jewish intellectual where the crème de la crème of society gathers. There is also a reconstruction of the interior of a beautiful synagogue. Original newspapers can be seen that demonised and dehumanised Jews. You can walk along railway tracks and enter a railway carriage that carries them towards the point of no return. You can experience the ghetto, where poverty, disease, hunger and death prevailed. Sadly, Jews also suffered after the war, under accusations of spreading communism. Sadly, an entire world disappeared. That Warsaw and Poland no longer exist. Most of those who managed to survive emigrated to the United States or Israel. In the final analysis, of the 3.3 million Jews who lived in pre-war Poland, today only around 10,000–15,000 people identify as Jewish. Walking through this museum, and afterwards, I was left with a powerful realisation: we Serbs, too, should create something like this, dedicated to the suffering of the Serbian people at the hands of the Croatian Ustaše and Nazi Germany. We need a Memorial to Remembrance that gives an individual identity to every Serbian victim. I had always thought Belgrade was a green city, so I was astonished by the amount of greenery and the number of parks in Warsaw. And, of course, the most beautiful of them all is Łazienki Park, with its Palace on the Isle. The palace was once the summer residence of the Polish kings. The park is full of lakes where carp swim, streams, squirrels and peacocks. Yes, even the way to Łazienki Park takes you through a large park. I must admit that my idea of what constitutes a green city has changed somewhat. Kraków and Warsaw are beautifully illuminated with modern lighting. But what leaves a particularly strong impression at dusk and at night are the countless street lamps and lanterns. At night, the historic parts of these cities look almost unreal in their beauty. It would be wonderful to see them in winter, covered in snow. It must be truly magical. And finally, I was so happy when we returned to Belgrade that I realised something: the more beautiful a place is, the more beautiful it feels when you come home. Because nowhere—and I mean absolutely nowhere—is it as beautiful as our Serbia!

Nice tour. Supposed to be 2 hours, but she ended it 15 minutes. Paid premium for skip the line tour.

I cannot emphasize enough how absolutely off the charts wonderful this tour was. This was my first tour after landing in Krakow and it was worth every penny and second. Helen, who is an academic historian of the highest order provided a world class tour of the most sacred ground in Krakow, Wawel Hill. I will remember this tour for a very long time. You get so entrenched and enriched by Helen’s telling of Polish history throughout the tour. This is a must. Please check this out.

I had the pleasure of experiencing a private tour of Wawel Castle and Cathedral with Barbara, and it was truly unforgettable. Even though it was just the two of us, she gave her full energy and passion to the tour, making me feel like I had a personal journey through centuries of history. Barbara’s deep knowledge is matched only by her heartfelt storytelling. You can tell that the history of the castle and cathedral lives in her heart—she speaks not just with expertise, but with genuine love and pride for the place. Every detail she shared made the walls, halls, and stones of Wawel come alive.

This was a great tour. Helen, the guide, was very knowledgeable and helpful. She explained all the history and hidden stories that made it very interesting. She knows the history back and forth. She interjected humor with history. I would recommend this tour to anyone.

This tour far exceeded our expectations and was worth way more than the price. It was great sight seeing, cultural education, and a history lesson wrapped into one with a tour guide who was more knowledgeable and qualified than we could have hoped. A truly amazing once in a lifetime experience.

Our Guide was very professional, accommodating, and highly knowledgeable. She permitted our questions and obviously knows her stuff.

Incredible tour with the most knowledgeable and vivacious guide. There is so much to see- the skip the lines tickets are a must. Bring comfortable shoes, lots of walking and climbing if you want to go up the tower.

We booked the tour before leaving Australia hoping for the best experience ever. Unfortunately the experience was opposite. We were at the meeting point on time, even a little earlier to be sure that nobody would have to wait for us. After 20 minutes of waiting and not knowing why nobody else is at the meeting point I called the number given to me prior to the tour. I have learned that the tour guide Irena just could not make it and there is no tour. What a disappointing experience on the first day in Krakow. The only good news about the tour is that money was refunded straight away.

Our tour guides were very knowledgeable and informative. It was a wonderful experience. Would definitely recommend this tour.

The rooms are perfect temperature, clean and comfortable. The breakfast is amazing and the pool is beautiful

It was a very extensive tour. The guide was very knowledgeable of Polish history and culture. I would recommend this tour to all who visit Wawel.

We did the tour of all exhibits with no guide. It took about 3.5 hours. It was nice to view things at our own pace. Lots of fascinating artifacts.

Magdalena our English speaking guide was excellent. She’s very knowledgeable & shared the historical significance of Wawel Castle & it’s contents with an impressive familiarity. Magdalena was especially enthusiastic in showing us the important features of the castle & it’s rooms.

We did this tour on May 21st with Anita and it was excellent. First, she introduced us to our guide for the State Rooms (who was also wonderful). Following that portion of the tour, we met back up with Anita for the remainder of the tour, including the breath taking Wawel Cathedral. Anita was amazing! She was friendly, informative and engaging. We enjoyed our experience very much and highly recommend it!

The guide was so knowledgeable and passionate about the history of the castle. We learned so much and the castle was amazing.

Great tour with a fantastic guide. My three teens were fascinated by the story of Wawel! Our guide shared historic facts but also less known interesting details that kept us captivated!

First part of the tour was the cathedral but, for some reason, it didn’t work for us, and we dropped out at the end of that bit. Couldn’t hear very well - to be fair, the guide needs to keep the volume down in the cathedral - but the commentary never really brought the history to life. And we are a BIG fan of guided tours. But maybe our heads just weren’t in the right place on the day. My star rating would’ve been lower, but the company were clearly very concerned that it didn’t work out for us, and tried to fix things, and that’s worth a star or two. Do read other reviews as well as this one. Most rate the tour very highly, and I don’t doubt that they are genuine.

Magda was amazing and fantastic. I did the tour that included everything. I got lucky and was the only one in the group so had a “private” tour and I couldn’t have asked for anything more. She provided me with so much information, answered all my questions, and even went above and beyond to make my first-time experience in Krakow worthwhile. Thank you so much, Magda! This tour is a must with Magda. She’ll tell you everything you need to know and then some. Also, she’s a world traveler and has such a wealth of knowledge to share about all of her experiences. :)

We visited the Wawel Cathedral, tumbs and bells and got a lot of valuble information from our guide. Thank you Magdalena

We toured the Wawel Castle complex during July 2021 with Magda. She did a wonderful job escorting us around the castle and cathedral explaining the history and details. I highly recommend you take this tour!!

We toured Wawel castle with Magdalena and got to see their incredible collection of tapestries that were spread out around europe after WW2, apparently its very rare for them to all be on display at once, so if you go any time soon, definitely check it out. We also explored Wawel Cathedral, which was gorgeous.

Our tour guide was so lovely and pleasant throughout the full tour, she was very informative and knew loads of information and details regarding all the places we visited throughout the tour. We were lucky enough to be the only customers on that tour so we had the full attention of the guide on what felt like a private tour. We had no idea about the history of Wawel Castle, so this was a great tour as we learned a great deal and we really recommend the tour for anyone who wishes to visit!

Our guide was so knowledgeable about Wawel Castle and the surrounding area I would consider her an expert. We learned so much about Polish history as well, as we toured the castle. I highly recommend seeing the castle in this way... you won’t regret the experience!

The guide was lovely and very prepared, but from our point of view too many historical details. I think that at the beginning of a tour you should ask to the customers what are their preferences. Note: it was a private tour (2 people) PS It’s not a fault of the tour or the guide, but the cathedral had very poor COVID prevention standard. Ok in the castle and in the other locations of the visit. Krakow has a very high standard in COVID prevention, it’s really a pity that it’s not the same in the cathedral (that part of the museum it’s under the Catholic Church management)

We chose two options of the tour. First we had Wawel State Rooms and second we joined Wawel Royal Apartments tour. Each of them was with different guide. Both had a lot of knowledge and were very nice. Great overview of Krakow and Polish Monarchy! :)

Excellent guide. Friendly and prompt. Taught us a lot about Wawel Castle's history! Very enjoyable! I recommend this trip to everyone.

A great introduction to our few days in Krakow. Alexandra was very knowledgeable and interesting and we enjoyed our tour a lot. Wawel State Rooms tour in 2 hours flew by quickly. Will definitely recommend.

Exceptional tour guide who delivered insightful in-depth knowledge about Wawel Castle, Wawel Cathedral and Polish history well blending in several very funny stories. We have chosen 2 modules Wawel State Rooms and Wawel Cathedral Guided Tour. I was a good choice, we’ve got plenty of information. One of the highlights during recent Krakow visit.

We had a great guide who gave us a mountain of information, including lots of fantastic stories about Wawel Castle and even personal family history about WWII. Definitely worth the money to have skip the line Wawel Castle tour and to get a bit more information than you would just reading the boards and the guide book.

I heard that if you are in Kraków you should visit Wawel Castle and I read about it and it's recommended to have a guide. I'm so thankful that I got Magdalena guide. She led for us 2-hours guided tour around Wawel Hill and Castle from inside. She gave us big portion of fascinating knowledge about Polish Kings, Wawel and Medieval Times. Also she is very nice and friendly. I truly recommend to experience guided tour exactly with her

Magdalena was an excellent guide. Very personable and full of information. I knew little of Polish history, but in 2 hours, Magdalena had provided me a good foundation. If you're in Krakow, don't miss Wawel Castle, which is best done with a guide.

The public queue for unbooked tickets to see the Wawel Castle is extremely long. Therefore a third party is needed for a pleasant visit to Wawel. We have chosen Wawel State Rooms & Hill Tour. Our guide was an experienced mature lady who adjusted the tour entirely to our requirements. I cannot think of any improvement. The Wawel Castle site would require much more than 2- hour visit to explore fully, so you can consider a full Wawel complex tour.

Our tour guide was wonderful. She knew a lot about the art and different stories inside the wawel castle. She got to know everyone in our group of nine. She call us by name and shared stories that would relate to us and our respective countries. I would recommend this tour to everyone. I had the two-hour option of wawel castle tour but I would recommend the 3-hour option if you would like to see more in the wawel cathedral.

The whole Wawel Castle Guided Tour was excellent mostly because of the knowledge, humor and enthusiasm of our tour guide, Magda. In addition to copious amounts of Polish history and Polish cultural information, she excelled in giving personal quips, which added to the friendly spirit of the tour. She was personable and engaging, Magda was cognizant of some members physical limitations and was patient.. Both the Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral were interesting to view and learn about. The reconstructions are truly remarkable and retrieving the artifacts and restoring the Wawel Castle rooms to their original splendor further impresses on the non Pole the strength of the Poles to survive and to preserve their culture and independence.

Superb guided tour...must do, magical place coupled with cathedral and old town, beautiful architecture, romantic city