You will get to know the Main Market Square – the icon and symbol of Krakow. Your local tour guide will take you on a fascinating journey back into the Middle Ages. You will walk above the ground, between the Cloth Hall and St. Mary’s Church, and then cover the same path underground, while going 4-7 meters down to the Underground Museum. You will travel back in time and experience what the Main Square looked like 750 years ago.

You will learn about the history of the Market Square, which was the setting for the ceremonial meetings of the kings and foreign envoys, and a place where cloth, salt, barrels, shoes, as well as coal, lead and copper were traded. It was also a place where you could meet witches, thieves and alchemists, where the martens were put around the neck of the condemned man, and public flogging was held at the pillory. Over the centuries, the level of the Krakow market has risen up significantly, thus after descending into the underground, you will go back a few hundred years, to the times before the city was founded in 1257. With a little bit of imagination and help from your guide you will discover the atmosphere of the medieval Market Square while walking along the underground route and listening to the colorful stories. You will see the exposed foundations of former commercial buildings, medieval roads, hygienic utensils, used more than 600 years ago, or authentic 11th-century tombs, which will allow you to learn about the burials of vampires and witches.

Highlights

• Visit in the Rynek Underground Museum
• Walk around the Main Market Square
• Mary’s Church, a place from which the bugle call is played every hour,
• Cloth Hall – the most prestigious commercial facility in the history of Krakow
• Adalbertus church
• Town Hall Tower with a prison and a torture chamber in the basement
• Facts, legends and anecdotes about everyday life in a medieval city

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

With your tour guide you will visit the fascinating – and according to many – the best- museum in Kraków, that is the Underground Museum and do it without queuing in a ticket line. You will feel the atmosphere of the medieval Market Square.  You will learn first-hand the history of the Main Market Square – the icon of Krakow, because your guide will be a local Krakow resident. You won’t get similar knowledge neither from books nor the internet!

Local Impact: How you will help the local community by joining this tour?

Your guide will be a local resident for whom being a guide is a regular job, not just a hobby.

Tour Itinerary

1. Meeting point

   Meeting point and time
   15:30 – Regular Tour
   10:00 – Private Tour
   At the entrance to the Rynek Underground Museum, Rynek Główny 1, 31-042 Kraków
   We kindly ask you to arrive at the meeting point 10 minutes in advance
   

2. Sightseeing part I (~ 0.5h)

   Our professional guide will take you for the first part of the walk during which you will get to know the Main Market Square and its monuments, located above the ground. You will learn where the former medieval cemeteries were located, where the martens were put around the necks of convicts, where the pillory was located and where public flogging took place.
   

3. Sightseeing part II (~ 1h)

   Your guide will take you for the second part of the walk to the Underground Museum, where you will descend 4-7 meters below the surface of the Market Square to travel back in time and discover Krakow's medieval realities.
   
   

4. End of the tour

   You will end your tour at the Main Market Square. You may then choose to go to the one of many local restaurants, recommended to you by your guide, and enjoy a delicious dinner as well as experience the magical atmosphere of the city. You can also join us on another tour, which starts at 7:30 pm.
   

Additional information

How to dress

As a part of the tour is outdoors, please bring warm, rainproof clothing (e.g. sweaters, jackets, umbrellas) and clothing to protect against excessive sun exposure (e.g. hat, cap, sunglasses).
Please wear comfortable waterproof footwear.

ID Dokument

Take your ID if you will be purchasing a discounted ticket.

Disabled people and families with children

The tour is not suitable for people with disabilities and is highly recommended for families with small children.