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Krakow Card City Pass: Is it worth it? Review & Info

    The Krakow Card City Pass is the official Krakow tourist card: get free access to over 38 museums and unlimited rides on the city’s public transport. The Krakow Card City Pass is a smart choice to visit the city at its best and discover all its main attractions.

    If you are planning your trip, you may be wondering if the Krakow Card City Pass is really worth it. In this guide you will find an honest review, with a comparison on the actual convenience compared to the purchase of individual tickets for each attraction. You will also find useful information on the prices of the Krakow Card City Pass and on what is included and how and where to buy it.

    What you will find in this guide to the Krakow Card City Pass:

    What is the Krakow Card City Pass?

    The Krakow Card City Pass is the official Krakow tourist card. Similar to what happens in other European cities, tourists can buy a tourist card to save on ticket prices for museums and major attractions. The mechanism is very simple: you pay a fixed price and you can visit as many things as you can for free. It costs more than a single ticket, but much less than the sum of the different tickets you would need to visit the most popular attractions in the city.

    But is the Krakow Card really worth it? What does it include? In this review you will find the answers to all these questions. The Krakow Card City Pass is very popular with visitors to Krakow, and the reason is very simple: you have free access to virtually all of the city’s major attractions. Plus, you get unlimited public transport for free, which means unlimited bus and tram rides to make the most of Krakow’s many attractions.

    Ulica Florianska Krakow

    While many tourist cards do not include nearby attractions or airport transfers, the Krakow Card City Pass includes this for free as well. Which is great! Basically, you buy this and then you don’t have to worry about anything else: no museum tickets, no bus or tram tickets, not even expensive taxi rides.

    You can buy a Krakow Card City Pass that is valid for 1, 2 or 3 consecutive days, which is a reasonable time to visit all the main attractions in and around Krakow’s Old Town. Also, if you don’t need free public transport, you could opt for the cheap Krakow Museum & Attraction Pass. And if you are traveling with kids or teenagers, there is a very cheap student pass designed especially for them!

    What does the Krakow Card City Pass include?

    The Krakow Card City Pass includes free access to 38 museums and attractions in Krakow. Basically, to all the main museums in the city! Among these are some of the most popular attractions, such as Schindler’s Factory, the Czartoryski Museum (where you can see the very famous painting Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo Da Vinci), St. Mary’s Basilica and the defensive walls of Krakow, with its iconic Barbican.

    In detail, the Krakow Card City Pass includes:

    • FREE access to 38+ museums and attractions;
    • Unlimited FREE travel on urban public transport (Bus & Tram) day and night;
    • Unlimited FREE transfers to and from Krakow Balice Airport (bus n. 208 and 252 and night bus n.902);
    • Unlimited FREE travel on the direct bus to and from the Wieliczka Salt Mines (bus no. 304);
    • Discounts in some shops and restaurants in Krakow;

    This makes it a good option for those who want to visit Krakow with peace in mind, exploring its many interesting museums. In fact, the city offers a plethora of attractions and small museums, many of which are often skipped by many visitors because they are little known. The Krakow Card City Pass will allow you to discover several interesting little gems.

    Which Museums are free to enter with the Krakow Card City Pass?

    Among the most famous museums and attractions included in the City Pass Krakow Card are Schindler’s Factory, about the compelling story of Oskar Schindler and the Nazi occupation of Poland, the famous St. Mary’s Church, the Underground Museum of the Market Square and the iconic Sukiennice Cloth Hall, located in the heart of the Market Square, which houses one of the most important Polish art galleries. You can also visit the fabulous Tyniec Abbey, located a few kilometers from Krakow.

    You can also climb the Town Hall Tower to enjoy the best view of the city and visit some of the most important and ancient churches in Krakow. You can visit the ancient medieval defensive walls and the Barbican, the Archaeological Museum and the Ethnographic Museum, on local history and culture.

    You will be able to visit some of the most beautiful and ancient synagogues of Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter, and discover some of the most significant places in the recent history of the city, such as the Jewish Museum of Galicia, the Eagle Pharmacy and the old headquarters of the Gestapo in Pomorska Street.

    Art lovers can visit one of the most important Polish museums, the Czartoryski Museum, famous for its Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo Da Vinci, as well as dozens of interesting museums on local art and culture, such as the Stanisław Wyspiański Museum, the Józef Mehoffer House, the Szołayski House, the Erazm Ciołek Episcopal Palace, the National Museum of Polish Modernism, the Jan Matejko House and many others. Do not miss the famous MOCAK, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Krakow.

    Among the most interesting thematic museums you can visit the Polish Aviation Museum, the Museum of the History of Photography, the Museum of the Academy of Mines and Metallurgy, the Municipal Engineering Museum of Krakow and its fabulous collection of old trams, the National Army Museum and the very interesting Nowa Huta Museum with its underground Cold War anti-nuclear bunkers.

    The list of museums and attractions that you can access for free with the Krakow Card City Pass is subject to change. You can check the updated list here.

    Is the Krakow Card City Pass really worth it?

    The Krakow Card City Pass is definitely worth it if you want to make the most of your visit to Krakow by visiting its interesting attractions and museums. If you just want to wander the streets of the old town and just take a look at the buildings and monuments, then this is not for you.

    While if you would like to visit some museums and get the most out of local history and culture, then the Krakow Card City Pass is definitely a good choice. This is because Krakow boasts a plethora of very interesting small museums. To better appreciate the visit to the city you should visit at least a dozen of these, depending on your interests.

    Would you like to discover Polish culture and art? Would you like to discover the history of the Krakow Ghetto, the Holocaust and the Nazi occupation during WWII? Would you like to find out more about Communism, the Cold War and the working-class neighborhood of Nowa Huta? And so on, there are dozens of attractions to see whatever your main interest is.

    Krakow Card City Pass Tourist Card

    But, is the Krakow Card City Pass really worth it? Let’s try to find out by doing some math:

    For each museum you visit in Krakow you will spend on average 25-60 PLN. Krakow’s museums are not so big, most of them can be visited in less than an hour. This means that you can comfortably visit at least 5 in just one day.

    To give a practical example: you will visit the famous Krakow Market Square, here you can visit the St. Mary’s Church, the Sukiennice, the Town Hall Tower, the Underground Museum of the Market Square, the Barbican, the Medieval Defensive Walls and the famous Jan Matejko House. In the afternoon you could visit the Czartoryski Museum and Schindler’s Factory. This means that in less than a day you will have already visited at least 9 museums and attractions. This means that you will spend 250-300 PLN, which means 57-70 €.

    The prices of the 1-day Krakow Card City Pass start from 151 PLN, or 34 €, which means you will save a lot! It is half the price! Plus, you’ll get free unlimited public transport, which could be a good plus for sightseeing. And the 3-day card costs just PLN 66 per day, which means around €15.

    The tourist card does not include access to the Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral, as well as the Wieliczka Salt Mines. The guided tour of these attractions can be booked online in advance.

    How to buy the Krakow Card City Pass?

    The City Pass Krakow Card can easily be purchased online on GetYourGuide. You will immediately receive your digital voucher, which you can view directly on your smartphone.

    Once in Krakow you can collect your physical card at one of the many kiosks and tourist offices around the city. In the confirmation email you will be given the updated list of all offices with addresses and opening hours. There are at least 10 around the Main Market Square and one in Krakow Airport as well. If you want to take the free bus from the Airport to the City Center, you can collect your card upon your arrival at the InfoKrakow office located inside the airport.

    Along with the card you will also be given a booklet with a map of all the activities to do and see in Krakow, so it will be easy to find the attractions included in your tourist card.

    Krakow Card City Pass Prices and Discounts

    You can choose a 1, 2 or 3 day Krakow Card City Pass, depending on your needs:

    • Krakow Card City Pass 1 Day – Prices from: 151 PLN or 34 €;
    • Krakow Card City Pass 2 Day – Prices from: 177 PLN or 40 €;
    • Krakow Card City Pass 3 Day – Prices from: 200 PLN or 45 €;
    • Krakow Museum & Attraction Pass 3 Days (without public transport) – Prices from: 126 PLN or 28 €;
    • Krakow Museum & Attraction Pass 3 Days for Students (without public transport) – Prices from: 112 PLN or 25 €.