Day 5: What to see in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow - Jewish Ghetto (Podgorze): Bernatek Bridge, Bohaterów Square, Eagle Pharmacy, Oskar Schindler Factory - Krakow Airport - Girona Airport - Lloret de Mar
Today begins in a somewhat different way than we had planned, since initially we were going to visit the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, some of the places we did not visit yesterday, in addition to the Jewish ghetto, but as for the third consecutive time yesterday we can not climb the tower of the Basilica of Santa Maria, and we believe that it is one of the things to see in Krakow that we do not we can lose, we have decided that today we will go first thing in the morning, since at 9:15 in the morning they open the ticket offices and we understand that at that time we can finally get the tickets to enter and thus be able to get up early the morning.
And so the alarm sounds at 6 in the morning, when it is usual for this trip to Krakow, we take the opportunity to work a couple of hours and then when it is eight o'clock go down to the Logos hotel breakfast room, where after loading energized with a full breakfast, we check out, leaving our bags to pick them up at noon, when we return to the airport.
With this planning, we arrive at the box office of the Basilica of Santa Maria when there when it is 9 in the morning, 15 minutes from which they open and we find that there are only two people in front of what we understand, or want to believe, that today by Finally we will be lucky and we will be able to climb the tower, after three attempts these days ago.
At 9:15 o'clock they open the box office and we are very lucky to get tickets for the first thing in the morning, just in 10 minutes, for 15PLN per person.
Tower of the Basilica of Santa Maria in Krakow
If you want to climb the tower, you must take into account some details or recommendations:
- According to our experience, as we have been telling these days behind the trip to Krakow in 5 days, the tickets to climb the tower are quickly sold out. If you want to go up, we recommend you come early in the morning to ensure your entrance and also choose the schedule that suits you best.
- This is because they only let small groups go up every 30 minutes.
- Against other places in Krakow, where you can pay by card, here only accept cash. Despite this, they have an ATM inside the office and you can also pay in euros and even receive the change also in euros, something we have to say, we were very surprised and for good.
- The climb to the tower is done on the opposite side to the place where you should buy the tickets, so avoid getting in the queue of the tower without the tickets, since when your turn comes they will make you go to the office to acquire them
Approximately the first location is that of the entrance to the tower and the second is the place where tickets are purchased, which is just in front of the entrance of visitors to the Basilica of Santa Maria.
- The tower is 81 meters high and has no elevator, so the climb has to be done on foot, through 271 wooden steps, in the form of a spiral staircase. Although it is not excessively tired and can be done without having an exceptional physical form, it should be taken calmly, since the stairs are not very wide and on hot days, it is very overwhelming.
Stairs to the Tower of the Basilica of Santa Maria
- Once you get up, you understand the reason why they only let small groups go up and that is that the viewpoint is quite small, with several windows from which you can see Krakow at your feet, with incredible views of the Market Square.
Krakow Market Square
- Being practically a circular viewpoint, in addition to the views of the Market Square, you have views of other areas of Krakow such as Florianska Street.
Florianska Street
Views of Krakow from the tower of the Basilica of Santa Maria
Marketplace
- Formerly, this tower worked as a warning place for the closing and opening of the city gates, as well as to inform and warn of enemy attacks. Today, we can find the trumpeter at the top of the tower, singing the symbolic melody every hour, which is interrupted at any given time in memory of the trumpet player who was killed while alerting the population of an attack.
Basilica of Santa Maria
Once with the entrances in hand, we approach the entrance of the tower and in less than 10 minutes we are starting to climb the 271 steps and the more than 80 meters that separate us from what they say, are some of the best views of Krakow.
The visit will not take you more than 30 minutes, since as we mentioned previously the viewpoint area is quite small and there are only 5 windows, so you can plan this visit in a short time.
More practical information to prepare your trip to Krakow
- 10 essential places to visit in Krakow
- 50 things to see and do in Krakow
- The 5 best tours and excursions in Krakow
- 10 essential tips for traveling to Krakow
- 10 restaurants to eat in Krakow cheap
- The best free tours in Krakow for free
After enjoying these incredible views of the city, we go back down and once in the Market Square, we cannot avoid going around the area, as a farewell, since today, with the visit to the ghetto and the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, we already know that we will not be able to return.
Krakow
Route through the Jewish Quarter of Krakow
A good option to plan a route from Krakow in one day would be to combine a visit to the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, and then go to the Jewish ghetto, two of the places you cannot miss in the city.
In our case, having to visit the Salt Mines from Krakow yesterday afternoon, one of the best tours and excursions in Krakow, we decided to visit the Jewish Quarter of Krakow in the morning and thus be able to know some of its most important places with more tranquility, since today we also did not have the full day to go in the middle of the afternoon.
The tour we did yesterday through the Jewish Quarter of Krakow o Kazimierz took us to places like the Old Synagogue, the Remuh Synagogue, the Tempel Synagogue, the Isaac Synagogue, the Kupa Synagogue, the Wysoka Synagogue, the Nowy Square and the Corpus Cristi Basilica, as well as enjoying a pleasant walk through one of the most essential areas of Krakow.
We recommend that if you want to make a combination between Jewish Quarter of Krakow and the ghetto, read this article, in which we detail all the visits we make in the Jewish quarter.
Streets of the Jewish Quarter in Krakow
Route through the Jewish Ghetto in Krakow
Today's route through the Jewish ghetto or Podgorze will take us to places like the Bernatek Bridge, the Bohaterów Square, the Eagle Pharmacy, the pieces of wall that are still preserved in the streets Lwowska, 25 and Limanowskiego, 62 and the Oskar Schindler's factory.
The first stop on this route through the Jewish ghetto, which, as we mentioned, could be perfectly combined in one day with the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, we do it in Bohaterów Square, one of the most symbolic places in this area of the city.
A good option to visit this area is to book this free tour through the ghetto and the Podgórze neighborhood in Spanish. Free!
Bohaterów Square
This chilling place, at the time, was the main square of Podgorze, the Jewish ghetto, and where Jews were selected who would later be taken to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
The best tours and excursions in Krakow in Spanish
If you prefer to forget about preparations or have little time, you can book the following tours in SPANISH
- Excursion to Auschwitz-Birkenau
- Wieliczka Salt Mine Tour
- Offer: Auschwitz + Salt Mines in one day
- Free tour of Krakow Free!
- Free tour of the Jewish quarter Free!
- Excursion to Zakopane and the Tatras Mountains
- Many more excursions and tours in / from Krakow here
It is in this square where we can also see the impressive Chairs monument, performed by Roman Polanski as a tribute to the Jews who were taken to the concentration camps, with all their belongings.
Chairs monument
In the same Bohaterów Square, in one of the corners, is the Eagle Pharmacy, the only one that remained in the ghetto and in which many Jews ended up taking refuge and being helped. Today you can visit.
Eagle Pharmacy
From here we follow the route through the ghetto, combined with the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, to two of the fragments of the wall that are still preserved, in the streets Lwowska, 25 and in Limanowskiego, 62.
Although these two visits are not too touristy, we believe given their location, very close to Bohaterów Square, it is worth not discarding them, in addition to being able to know one of the first-hand symbols of the Jewish ghetto, from which you can see images and explanations at the Oskar Schindler Factory.
A good option to get to know the history better is to book this guided tour in Spanish by the Schindler factory or this tour through the scenarios of Schindler's List.
Fragment of the wall in Lwowska, 25.
Fragment of the wall in Limanowskiego, 62.
After these brief stops, we continue the route, approaching the Oskar Schindler Factory, another essential visit in the city and a perfect complement to the route through the Jewish quarter of Krakow and to the ghetto, getting lost in some adjacent streets of the Jewish ghetto, from which we find it hard to say goodbye.
Jewish Ghetto
Oskar Schindler's factory
Known worldwide for the famous film, the Oskar Schindler Factory, it ended up saving the video of hundreds of Jews, even though it was initially created to take advantage of the cheap pbra hand.
Today, the factory is a museum where you can discover the history and what the Jews lived in Krakow.
Oskar Schindler's factory
The price of the entrance to the Oskar Schindler Factory is 21PLN per person, and we find that we, although we arrive early in the morning there is already a fairly long queue, in addition to finding an information sign where it says that There are only 721 tickets available, so we understand that also in high season as it happens in other places in Krakow, you have to come early in the morning or book tickets online, whenever possible, to be able to ensure your visit.
Oskar Schindler's factory
Details that can be seen at the Oskar Schindler Factory
The visit to the Oskar Schindler Factory lasts about a little over an hour, going quite fast and although there are many explanations in English and Polish in most rooms, after our experience, we believe that a guided tour can be very interesting. Something that of course we write down and we will do the next time we come to Krakow.
Details that can be seen at the Oskar Schindler Factory
It is after 12 noon when we end the visit to the Oskar Schindler Factory, now heading to the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, but not before going through the famous Bernatek Bridge, another symbol of this area of the city.
Bernatek Bridge
Being already in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, we cannot miss the opportunity to eat at the Starka restaurant, an entire institution in Krakow, where we ordered a sirloin and a duck, more water, soft drinks, dessert and two coffees for 141PLN.
Starka restaurant in the Jewish Quarter
A good option to learn more about the history of this neighborhood is to book this free tour of the Jewish quarter in Spanish. Free!
And so, with this meal in the Jewish Quarter, we end our trip to Krakow, starting back home.
What we did not count yesterday was that after the excursion to the Salt Mines, we realized that our flight did not leave at 9 at night as we thought, but leaves practically at 6 in the afternoon, so that last night we made a new approach to the route and decided that although we had planned to go to the airport from Krakow by public transport, taking into account the departure time of the flight, we have chosen to book the transfer from Krakow to the airport, as we did the day we arrived and went from the airport to Krakow, but the other way around, and so for only 22 euros, to earn much more time than we would have had if we had opted for public transport.
Book your Airport⇆Cracovia transfer here
That is why we have eaten with a little more tranquility, since we have met the driver who will come to look for us at the hotel at 3 in the afternoon and so, knowing that we still have a few minutes left, we take the opportunity to take a walk again through the streets of Krakow, when it's 2:30 in the afternoon, arrive at the Logos hotel where, surprisingly, we already met the driver at the door, who tells us that there is no hurry and that he is already aware that he has Arrived much earlier, we took a few minutes to download the latest photos on the laptop so that we could work for a while at the airport, and when it is 2:45 p.m., leave for Krakow airport where we arrived in approximately 20 minutes.
Krakow airport
We pass the security and punctual controls, when a few minutes pass by 5 in the afternoon, we start boarding the flight that will take us back to Girona and from where, 2 hours and a half later, we take our car again in 30 minutes to get home and start planning what will be our next trip, in less than a week.
