Regular tours by Cracow Tours

Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains Travel to Zakopane, a mountain resort nestled at the foot of the Tatra mountains and boasting breathtaking views of Poland's countryside.

Zakopane is the winter capital of Poland, thanks to its splendid natural scenery, its pistes and hiking trails, and a rich folk culture. You will begin your exploration of the area by taking the funicular railway to the top of Mount Gubalowka for views over the granite and limestone peaks of the Tatra Mountains. Having returned to the oldest part of Zakopane, we will visit the charming wooden old parish church and the most unique cemetery in Poland. To complete your experience, you have a chance to visit the enormous regional market and enjoy lunch in a regional restaurant serving local specialities. If you wish to find out more about this unusual region you can visit the Tatra Museum or the village of Chocholow (famous for its 150-year-old wooden log cabins and a serene atmosphere).

This tour is a must for people visiting Krakow for the first time! It retraces the history of Krakow as the former capital of Poland.

Main Market Square ■ Cloth Hall ■ University Quarter ■ Collegium Maius ■ Grodzka Street ■ Bishop’s Palace ■ Franciscan Church ■Wawel Hill ■ Royal Castle ■ Cathedral ■ Kazimierz District ■ Jozefa Street ■ New Square ■ Ciemna Street ■ Szeroka Street ■ Remuh Synagogue ■ Old Cementary ■ Mykwah ■ Helena Rubinstein’s birth place ■ Main Market Square■ St. Mary’s Basilica

Entrance fees: St. Mary’s Basilica, Wawel Cathedral

Discover the most spectacular gorge of Europe – the Dunajec River gorge.

TOURS ONLY: APRIL – OCTOBER

This undoubtedly one of the Poland's prime tourist attractions gives you a chance to admire some of the most amazing scenery of the Polish highlands. Usually referred to as "the raft trip down the Dunajec river" this in fact a rather leisurely drift in large wooden punts. Highly experienced guides make sure you have a smooth ride and keep you informed about the sights you see and the history of the trips, which goes back to 1840s . The voyage down the winding Dunajec offers breathtaking views of mighty limestone cliffs plunging into the water as well as stunning native vegetation both protected by the second oldest international national park in the world. Also, while sailing down the river you can spot some rare bird species including the Black Stork. Another attraction of the tour is a visit to Niedzica Castle which was originally built in the 14th century by the Hungarians to protect an important trade through the Dunajec valley. Nowadays the castle towers over a large water reservoir and an impressive dam built in mid 90s. While visiting the castle you can admire the delightful view over the artificial lake and learn an amazing story of Inca refugees that found shelter there. Our trip begins at Niedzica Castle, then continues to the wharf in Sromowce Niżne and ends 15 km later in Szczawnica. The voyage lasts two to three hours, depending on the water level of the river. It is advisable to bring rainwear or a sun hat depending on the weather.

Visit Poland's spiritual heart on a tour to the town of Czestochowa. Follow in the footsteps of millions of pilgrims as you gaze upon the "Black Madonna" at the Jasna Gora Monastery.

Our tour takes you to a place which receives around 5 million visitors a year (including over 150 thousand pilgrims on foot). After arriving at the monastery we visit the chapel of the miraculous painting of the Black Madonna, which is the embodiment of the attachment to the Cult of Mary so typical of the Catholic faith in Poland. Next we visit the Basilica, which is the main church of the monastery. You can also visit the 600th-Anniversary Museum and the Treasury on your own, if you wish, or attend Mass while others on the tour have a break for lunch and a visit to a souvenir shop. On the way back we alter our route slightly to admire the most spectacular limestone rock formations typical of the Krakow-Czestochowa Uplands. This allows us to visit the only remaining castle of the so called Eagle Nest Trail at Pieskowa Skala.

The tour gives you a chance to follow in the footsteps of the man who was to become one of the greatest Popes and human beings in history.

Our tour begins with a visit to Wadowice, "the place where it all began" as the Pope referred to his hometown in 1999 during his visit here. We will see the places dearest to Karol Wojtyła during his childhood and adolescence, including the parish church where he was baptised and the house where he was born. Our journey to and from Wadowice also gives you a chance to view the peaks of the Popes beloved Beskidy mountain range where he used to hike. On return to Krakow we stop at the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki. In this developing place of pilgrimage you can pay homage to the holly relics of St. Faustyna Kowalska, who was canonised as the first saint of the Third Millennium by John Paul II, and admire the impressive modern basilica consecrated by the Pope in 2002. Then we travel to the foot of the Royal Castle to visit the Archdiocese Museum located in the most picturesque street in Krakow. In the museum you can see the flat where Karol Wojtyla lived while working as a lecturer of theology. Finally, we visit the Archbishop's Palace which is Wojtyla's last residence before leaving for the Vatican in 1978. There one can see the famous "papal window", where John Paul II used to show up to chat and chant with the youth of Kraków during all his visits and where thousands of people lit candles and prayed during his last days.

Discover the secrets of the communist paradise.

Can you imagine sharing your bathroom with a fish for a week? Or standing ten hours in a cue to buy a toilet paper? Or simply waiting in front of a closed shop till 1 p.m., with a terrible hangover, before you could buy a beer? We don’t think you can…. But this is our experience. Poland after the Second World War was one of the communist countries, where terror and sorrow was mixed with the comic and the absurd situation. We invite you to Nowa Huta, the city which was as a communist paradise, and at the same time a fortress, prepared to defend its citizens in case of an attack on the Soviet Bloc from the West. And it is here where you have a unique chance to see modern houses and squares created according to Leonardo da Vinci plans, experience the taste of vodka and herring, admire the size of the Steelworks Complex or visit the church which is the symbol of freedom. During the tour we will tell you about the realties of everyday life in communist Poland, while showing you the most significant places connected with our recent past, now history.

We invite you to follow the route that will take you where the scent of ancient logs, inside a church or a cottage, will help you find the spirit and serenity of the past.

"Kazimierz the Great received a Poland made of wood but gave it back built of stone" – as the saying goes. However, as it was the case in towns mostly, in most rural areas local carpenters continued to build of wood. This seemingly inferior material was cheaper, more available and enabled people to be self-reliant. As a result wooden architecture still prevailed in the countryside where buildings were erected in perfect harmony with the landscape. The unmatched number of preserved objects in Małopolska led to the creation of The Wooden Architecture Route which stretches for about 1500 km comprising over 200 churches, belfries, granaries, cottages and manor houses. The trip takes you to the most attractive places which are within a relatively short distance from Kraków and also gives you a chance to see the countryside off the main tourist routes.

Discover the taste of Jewish cuisine and the charm of klezmer music.

We invite you to a Jewish style dinner complete with traditional Jewish music at ARIEL – a very special place in the old Jewish district of Kazimierz. The Ariel gallery was transformed into an artistic café several years ago and is decorated with many paintings, drawings and ceramics. The place has enchanted numerous visitors such as Steven Spielberg who was fascinated by its unique atmosphere while living in Kraków and working on his Oscar-winning "Schindler’s List". Today, Ariel is actually a three-in-one establishment housing a restaurant, café and a gallery all with delightful ambience. The restaurant's culinary delights feature splendid traditional dishes including various roasts. The specialities of the house are: the "Berdyczowska soup", "Sepharadine carp" and other delicacies. As Jewish music concerts and performances are held here every night, you can dine and listen to klezmer music – traditional Jewish folk melodies and songs in Yiddish – or to a performance of a musical theatre drawing on Jewish, Polish, Russian and Ukrainian culture.

Get to know Warsaw – a city of contrasts.

Warsaw is located in the centre of the country and has been the national capital since 1586. After having been completely ruined by the Nazis during World War II, the city has been meticulously rebuilt according to old documents and drawings and it is a bustling European centre of culture, commerce, industry and politics. Our tour includes the most interesting sights of Warsaw: the Old Town with the Old Town Market Square, St. John’s Cathedral, the Barbican, the Royal Castle and the Castle Square, and the Royal Route which leads from the Royal Castle along famous streets of Warsaw, to Lazienki, the summer residence of the last Polish King, Stanislaw August Poniatowski.

Visit the historical centre for Poland's Jews on a tour of Kazimierz, the district where "Schindler's List" was filmed.

Named after the king who invited the Jews to Poland in the 14th century, Kazimierz became a flourishing centre of Jewish religion and culture. Due to the policy of religious tolerance that prevailed in Poland from the 15th century, Kazimierz became a safe heaven for diverse groups of Jewish refugees from all over Europe. The tour aims to retrace this diversity which resulted in the construction of numerous synagogues (including the oldest of the preserved synagogue in Poland) and the absolutely unique atmosphere which is still present there. Also, you might recognise some of the sights that appeared in the Oscar winning "Schindler's List", which was shot in this area. The tour ends with a visit to the monument commemorating the victims of the former Nazi concentration camp in Plaszow.