Wieliczka
Owner's
Manual
or how to visit Wieliczka in one day
and get the most out of it
What do you need to know before
a trip to Wieliczka?
We have prepared this Manual just for you! You will learn from it:
- what you need to know before a trip to Wieliczka,
- how you can get there,
- how you can buy a ticket to the Wieliczka Mine,
- how you should prepare for a trip into the depths of the earth,
- what you need to visit below the surface in Wieliczka,
- ...and what you should visit on the surface,
what else you can visit if you still can't get enough of the experience.
Wieliczka is a mining town proud of its history - it was granted town rights as early as 1290!
Already then, the salt mine, the true pride of Wieliczka, provided "white gold". Until the First Partition of Poland in 1772, together with the Bochnia mine, it was part of the royal, extremely profitable enterprise: The Cracow Saltworks
And what are all those "Cracow Saltworks"? That's the old-fashioned term for a salt mine!
Saltworks master’s advise
When visiting Wieliczka, be sure to visit the Saltworks Castle - a monument unique in the world, as evidenced by its entry on the UNESCO World Heritage List!
Headquarters
The headquarters of the Cracow Saltworks was located in another pride of Wieliczka - the Saltworks Castle, existing already since the end of the 13th century. Currently, the Wieliczka Salt Mines Museum presents part of its collections there - including a wonderful collection of salt cellars from all over the world. Both the Wieliczka Salt Mine and the Saltworks Castle are inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
How to get to Wieliczka?
By train (22 min)
A train runs between Krakow Główny station and Wieliczka Rynek-Kopalnia station.... Małopolska Railways…
It departs every half hour or so, and the journey on this route takes around 25 minutes.You can check the current timetable of this train on the website of Małopolska Railways.
By bus(45 min)
There are city buses between Krakow and Wieliczka - from a tourist's point of view. The most convenient line will be 304…
Line 304 starts its journey at Krakow's Dworzec Główny Zachód stop. In Wieliczka, it is best to get off at the Wieliczka Kopalnia Soli stop. The journey between these stops takes approximately 40 minutes. Take into account that buses on this route can sometimes be crowded - if you can, definitely consider a more comfortable train journey.
By car (22 min)
There are paid parking spaces in Wieliczka near the Saltworks Castle, along the streets, within the Paid Parking Zone, and large commercial car parks near the Mine…
However, if you can, use more environmentally friendly means of transport - come to Wieliczka from Krakow by city bus or (most highly recommended) by train.
By bicycle (22 min)
Travelling by bicycle will be the most demanding, but the healthiest, cheapest and most... environmentally friendly.…
ou can leave your bicycle at the Saltworks Castle. Should you encounter unexpected problems along the way, you will have free access to a range of repair tools there!
How do I buy a ticket to the Wieliczka Salt Mine?
What does it allow you to do?
The total length of the corridors of the Wieliczka mine is approximately 245 kilometres. That's about as far as from Krakow's Main Square to the Solina Lake!
Most of this underground vastness is, of course, not open to the public. As a tourist, you have the opportunity to visit only selected routes, including:
- Tourist Route,
- Museum Route - managed by the Cracow Saltworks Museum Wieliczka.
Saltworks master’s advise
You will visit both routes with one ticket - the exploration of the Museum Route does not require any surcharge.
When you have finished exploring the tourist route, you can rest for a while.
In the Wisła chamber you can decide whether you would prefer to take the lift to the surface now or still visit the Museum Route.
It is definitely worth choosing the latter!
The tour takes about 40 minutes and gives you a much better understanding of the history of this amazing place:
The largest in the mine horse-powered machine from the 17th century
Exhibition of specimens of salt crystals
Saltdiggers horn from 1534
And all this for the price of an already purchased ticket!
You can buy a ticket to visit the Tourist Route and the Museum Route:
- "on site" - at the ticket office in the Daniłowicza shaft building (10 Daniłowicza St.),
- via the Internet
How do you prepare for
expedition into the depths of the earth?
14 degrees Celsius
The temperature in the mine is consistently - around 14 degrees Celsius. Remember to dress warmer, especially in summer!
2,2 km + 1,5 km
The Tourist Trail is approx. 2.2 kilometres long, while the Museum Trail is < approx. 1.5 kilometres Be sure to wear comfortable shoes!
Photography
Both on the Museum Route and on the Tourist Route it is possible to take photos without the use of flash.
10 Daniłowicza St
The entrance to the salt mine, through which you will visit the Tourist Route and the Museum Route, is located at 10 Daniłowicza St. If you have a ticket bought online, you will pick up the correct entrance pass at the ticket office in front of the mine building.
Then queue up - a guide will soon approach to collect the group and together you will go deep underground!
In the castle you will also see
Strongbox
the mining safe, weighing 1.5 tonnes, was purchased in Lviv in 1910. Interestingly, its rich ornamentation had been hidden for years under layers of grey oil paint - and was discovered during a recent restoration.
Archaeology
the archaeological exhibition - where you will learn what salt extraction in Wieliczka looked like over 4,000 years ago
Gothic
the Gothic Hall - a representative chamber with portraits of the mine's miners - administrators
Saltworks master’s advise
Please note that the Saltworks Castle is closed on Mondays and on certain holidays. But on Saturdays you can visit it for free!
It will take you about an hour
It will take you about an hour to visit the exhibition in the Castle. You will find information about the current opening hours of the Saltworks Castle and about the tickets on the website
After visiting the exhibitions at
Saltworks Castle you can:
Climb the medieval tower - the only surviving defence tower in Wieliczka
Of Wieliczka's 19 defensive towers, erected during the reign of Casimir the Great, only this one has survived. From 1661 it served as the residence of the Żupny chaplain, and in the 18th century it served as a prison and later as a salt warehouse. The tower is open to the public during the tourist season.
Relax in the Saltworks Garden and take a walk around the Castle
The Saltworks Garden is one of the most beautiful green places in Wieliczka. While strolling through its alleys and around the Castle, you can admire the lush vegetation. It is the perfect place to relax and listen to the singing of birds. The garden was created as early as 1564 and was meant to separate the Castle from the houses and thus protect them from fires. A special section was also used to grow vegetables used by the Saltworks Kitchen - serving meals to the miners. Interestingly, the orchards and gardens were a great attraction of Wieliczka. The distinctively garden-like character of the town was compared by visitors to Venice, saying that the only thing missing was Venetian canals with gondolas. The horticultural industry, instigated by the Benedictines, flourished in Wieliczka as early as the 14th century. It was also developed by German colonists, and later, thanks to the Italians and especially Queen Bona, fruit tree and vegetable growing improved.
Visit Wieliczka's cafés and restaurants
"Słodko czy Słono" is a café and bistro offering simple and tasty dishes. It is the ideal place for both a quick meal and a sweet treat over coffee.
"Sztolnia" is a restaurant specialising in regional cuisine. On the menu you will find such delicacies as cream of roast beetroot with bryndza or sirloin steaks.
"Pierogarnia Dzień Dobry" is an unpretentious restaurant where you will eat delicious dumplings and potato pancakes.
"Zajadalnia" is a quiet pub with a children's corner, serving Polish and Italian cuisine.
"Creperie" is an unusual pancake house offering pancakes in both sweet and savoury versions.
"Kazoku Sushi" is a family-run sushi bar offering a wide selection of Japanese dishes, including sushi, ramen and miso.
Saltworks Castle complex visited?
Take a walk around Wieliczka - you will be enchanted by the atmosphere of a of a historic town in the Małopolska region!
Visit:
Upper Market
The Upper Market owes its layout to the second location of the town in 1361. Two market halls - where food, as well as shoemaking, tanning and carpentry products were sold - rose in the central part of the square. Adjacent to these were two buildings, one of which probably housed the town weighing scales. In 1835, the former wooden market stalls were ordered to be demolished and the market square paved. The market square functioned as a market place until the 1960s.
The square below the Saltworks Castle, known as the Lower Market, was famous for its salt trade. Salt was sold in the immediate vicinity of the shafts in booths called salt slaughterhouses. In the 17th century there were six salt sheds in the Wieliczka market. Brewed salt was poured into sacks and rock salt was sold in lumps.
The graduation tower
The salt spray created in the graduation tower is considered one of the best natural cures for people with respiratory diseases and one of the ways to strengthen immunity. A visit to the graduation tower is also recommended for healthy people who are particularly exposed to air pollution. An additional attraction of the graduation tower is the viewing terrace and the observation tower, from which you can admire the panorama of Wieliczka and its surroundings. The optimal time to spend in the graduation tower is 30 minutes.
Monastery
Situated on the escarpment towering over Wieliczka, the church and monastery of the Franciscan-Reformed Fathers is a very interesting building. The friars were brought to Wieliczka at the request of the town councillors, with the support of the mine management, the bishops of Cracow and King Sigismund III Vasa. The brick monastery was built between 1650 and 1655 and was partly financed by Sebastian Koszucki, the shaft foreman of the Seraf shaft. Today, in the church you can admire, among other things, an antique picture of Our Lady of Grace from the 17th century painted on a stone panel, which is held in great veneration by miners and the local population. Meanwhile, in the monastery gardens there is a copy of the chapel of Assisi built by St Francis.
Saltworks master’s advise
At the Information Point in Wieliczka you can borrow an audio guide: tel. 573 336 950. There is also a local guide, Ewa Kupiec, who offers themed tours of the town every Sunday: tel. 695 026 798
How does it all look
on a map?
- Railway station and
tourist information point - Daniłowicza shaft - the main
descent to the salt mine - Cracow Saltworks Castle - Exhibitions of the Saltworks Museum
Cracow Wieliczka - Upper Market Square in Wieliczka
- Brine graduation tower
- Monastery of the Franciscans -
reformati monastery - St Sebastian's Church
What to bring back from Wieliczka?
Wieliczka is a town where it is easy to find souvenir shops - both underground and above ground. We encourage you to buy such souvenirs, which are really connected with Wieliczka!
You can find such trinkets, among others, in the shop of the Cracow Saltworks Museum Wieliczka, located in the Saltworks Castle. You can buy there, for example:
Saltworks master’s advise
In the frenzy of sightseeing, did you forget to buy souvenirs? Not to worry - some of them can also be purchased online.
What to visit if you still
not enough excitement?
Malopolska is full of attractions. There are too many to even roughly list them in such a concise guide. That is why we subjectively recommend three of them - located in the neighbourhood or connected with Wieliczka by a common history:
Niepołomice
(approx. 14 kilometres from Wieliczka) - a town with a magnificent 14th century Royal Castle and a small planetarium
Salt Mine in Bochnia
(approx. 30 kilometres from Wieliczka) - a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the mine was part of the Cracow Saltworks until 1772.
Dobczyce
(approx. 16 kilometres from Wieliczka) - a town with a fortified castle picturesquely located on Lake Dobczyckie and an open-air museum of wooden architecture
In conclusion
Who said salt cellars are ordinary and boring?
With its exhibition, Saltworks Castle proves that this is not true. Beautiful exhibits from all over the world - a salt cellar made of gold, the only porcelain condiment tableware in Poland, Meissen porcelain salt cellars. In short: delightful porcelain wonders. I recommend, it's really worth seeing these wonders.
Lena Sew, local guide
A beautiful, not very large castle in the centre of Wieliczka
Interesting surroundings, nice interiors in which a period porcelain exhibition is currently on display: tableware, coffee tableware, tea tableware and porcelain figurines with a mining-salt theme. The castle is located near the Wieliczka market square, close to the mining shafts: Regis and Daniłowicz.
Janusz Bujak, local guide
The exhibits placed there will interest everyone - I am sure of it :)
Although you may be exhausted after a 3-hour tour of the tourist route, I can't imagine not going to the museum!
Beata S, Trip Advisor
The above instructions have provided you with the most important information in a nutshell.
We also encourage you to explore the website of the Cracow Saltworks Museum Wieliczka (https://muzeum.wieliczka.pl), where you will learn much more.
We are very keen that your visit to Wieliczka should be marked by an informed sightseeing. That is why we encourage you to:
Spend one whole day in Wieliczka - so that you can feel the atmosphere of this place with its extraordinary history, prepare yourself - so that you don't miss anything you can't miss!
See you in the Salt City - Wieliczka! And when you visit us, be sure to leave a message on your Instagram with hashtag
#WieliczkaVisit.
