Krakow's Rynek Glowny Central Square

Krakow's Rynek Glowny Central Square

Krakow's Rynek Glowny Central Square
4.5
Points of Interest & Landmarks • Historic Walking Areas
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7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Monday
7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Tuesday
7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Wednesday
7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Thursday
7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Friday
7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Saturday
7:00 AM - 10:30 PM
Sunday
7:00 AM - 10:00 PM
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About
Huge 10-acre square, the largest in any of Europe's medieval cities, features the 16th-century Renaissance Cloth Hall and the splendid 14th-century Gothic Basilica of the Virgin Mary.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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Admission tickets
from $62.27
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  • Tony H
    Windermere, United Kingdom79 contributions
    Cinderella carriages and restaurants galore
    Rynek Glowny is the central square in Old Krakow and is a fascinating place to visit. Restaurants and shops are plentiful and the Cloth Hall in the centre of the square is a 'must do' - Another nice feature is the underground museum. Entry is by timed ticket only; these can be obtained from the tourist information office in the middle* of the Cloth Hall (*it's on the outside on the face furthest from the big church - St Mary's Basilica). The tickets are free too, which is a bonus. You can also look for and listen to the bugle call from the largest tower of the basilica, just after the hour has been struck on the church bells. The bugler can be seen in one of the windows at the very top of the tower. He uses the windows on the angle, rather than the face, of the tower, and always gives a wave to the people on the square. From 09:00 to about 23:00 the top of the square is thronged with horse drawn landaus, or Cinderella coaches if you prefer a more romantic description. Rynek Glowny is an unavoidable 'must see' - you'll enjoy it too.
    Visited March 2020
    Written March 10, 2020
  • cleorocas
    Largs, United Kingdom7 contributions
    Great people watching square
    Beautiful historic Square, with lots of see and do. The highlight seems to be the trumpeters who appear on the hour at each of the compass points at the top of St Mary's Tower. You have the Cloth Market, interesting and nice to browse. The Horse carriage rides move off from here, haggle as they do bring down their prices as there are so many. Flowers sellers have beautiful displays on sale, shame I couldn't take one home. Lots of nice places to eat and not over priced at all. You can spend hours here.
    Visited March 2020
    Written July 14, 2020
  • Lukic M
    Belgrade, Serbia17 contributions
    Wonderful Krakow
    When I was younger thinking about Eastern Europe was impossible. Everything related to the "eastern block" made me think about those dark ages of Stalin's Russia. Past few years I traveled to Moscow, St. Petersburg.....and now Krakow. These visits made me change my mind completely. I found out that east Europe countries are more friendly and cosier than western. Also, people are warm. Krakow was my destination in December 2019. I was there for business for 6 days but managed to find some free time to explore the city in the late afternoon and night. It's a modern city with old town in center and fortress that rises in the core of it. Whole city is pretty flat so this old fortress allow you to se panorama of the city. Besides that there's old cathedral with relics od Pope John Paul II and his bist in front of it. Lots of nice and cozy restaurants and pubs with cheap drinks and local food allows you to enjoy it even more. As for the public transport, you can use trams, busses or Uber. I didn't have time to visit Aushwits and salt mine Wieliczka (wintwe working hours are shorter and I didn't have time to get there)so I'll definitely have to come back.
    Visited December 2019
    Traveled on business
    Written January 19, 2020
  • Tigerqueen01
    London, United Kingdom48 contributions
    Nice Square very busy and restaurants with inflated prices
    Visit the underground city below the market, great history there from the past recreated. Go early though it gets very busy. All the restaurants and shops obviously charge inflated tourist prices so beware a beer costs twice as much as a restaurant outside the area. Beware also of the CC scam where they charge you in the card currency with a markup and a poor exchange rate, it all adds up and could have cost us over £70 during the week we were there.
    Visited February 2020
    Written February 25, 2020
  • TeeGee62
    409 contributions
    Awesome on Weekends
    Always bustling with people both day and night, a great meeting place. The Rynek is a large square surrounded by colorful old architecture, churches, towers, and buildings of which are restaurants,cafes and bars. Always bustling with people both day and night, great meeting place. In the square you will see a bronze monument of "Adam Mickiewicz" (poet, writer, dramatist), another unique bronze sculpture is "Eros Bendato" a giant face mask. There are beautifully decorated horse and carriages all along the square , which are available for a ride through Krakow's streets. This is the place to be on the weekends, as the square becomes an awesome giant market with an assortment of food kiosks, beer huts, flowers souvenirs and entertainment. Great place to sample local food and beer, meet locals and tourists, there is something for everyone to enjoy.
    Visited May 2019
    Written February 21, 2020
  • Rachel G
    Leicester, United Kingdom33 contributions
    Brilliant centre of culture
    The square itself is in the middle of everything you could want to see in krakow. I recommend downloading the HIVE app to experience it on electric scooters for an amazing experience. The centre has a range of bars and restaurants, all of which is priced very reasonably compared to its European cohtner parts. If you can go into the market in the centre of the square for souvenirs and unique gifts
    Visited February 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written February 29, 2020
  • James19941
    Bargoed, United Kingdom133 contributions
    Focal point of krakow
    Largest Medieval square in Europe and you can see why. Beautiful St Mary's Church, Cloth Hall (with souvenir stalls) and the Town Hall Tower dominate the square. There are numerous bars and restaurants in the area. They are inevitably more expensive on the square, but we found one called Vis a Vis which was very small but reasonably priced for drinks. I recommend Krakow free walking tours for a comprehensive and detailed tour of the square and Old Town of Krakow.
    Visited February 2020
    Written February 23, 2020
  • bavbino1989
    Kent, United Kingdom53 contributions
    Couples visit
    I visited here with my partner for a short break as we are very interested in the history, Auschwitz etc. I also proposed in this beautiful city so will always be a place to remember. The restaurants in the main square are beautiful, reasonably priced and great food, the bugler that sounds every hour due to a historical event hundreds of years ago is great to keep the history alive. The horse drawn carriages are great but a little over priced but great to venture around the city. Would return here
    Visited January 2020
    Traveled as a couple
    Written January 10, 2020
  • 797dennisp
    Montrose, United Kingdom30,230 contributions
    Great place to sit people watching
    Plenty to do around the Square as there are plenty of cafes, restaurants and bars and therefore a lot of choice of great food and drinks. Loved to watch the carriages with their beautiful horses clippity clopping past ! There was a cycle race while we were there on our second day but the rain spoiled that a bit unlike the day before when the weather was warm and dry. The Cloth Hall is a large indoor market with many traditional crafts for sale and loads of wonderful Polish meats and delicacies.
    Visited August 2019
    Written March 29, 2020
  • William G L Corlett
    Liverpool, United Kingdom190 contributions
    Ambience
    Krakow is a stunning city with one of the largest if not the largest medieval squares in Europe. The centrepiece of the city, buzzing day and night with a fantastic atmosphere often complemented by live performers. Nice eateries and colorful style buildings line the square. Enjoy the ambience
    Visited August 2019
    Written April 4, 2020
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
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goesawayalot
Liverpool, UK488 contributions
Feb 2020 • Friends
This is a fantastic square, one of the best I have ever seen in a city. It is beautifully lit up in the evening and the amount of restaurants there mean there is something for everyones tastes. The horse drawn carriages are elaborately decorated and parade around the square and off into the nearby streets before returning to the square again. A nice way to travel. The mall in the middle is a wonderful building and if you look up at the church there you will see and hear a trumpeter out of one of the very top windows who plays on the hour, every hour. Even though it was cold there, all the restaurants have covered outside seating with large gas flames to keep you warm. Would highly recommend visiting here.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dewayne Wolf
Kaiserslautern, Germany15 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
The square is a fun place to walk at night. The Main Street leads straight to the Castle. At night everything is lit up and crowds of people are walking, eating, visiting shops. It not London crowded, there is plenty of room, but the atmosphere changes. Shops are open until 8pm, some until 1000. It’s almost magical. The trumpeter plays from the tower every hour, horse drawn carriages are everywhere. It’s a must if you are in Kraków.
Written February 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

SophieB
Manchester, UK11 contributions
Mar 2020 • Friends
This square was beautiful! Around the radius there were coffee shops,bakeries,hotels but mostly restaurants. In the centre there was an open market which sold goods such as tourist souvenirs,jewellery (handmade) dolls, clothes and lots more! The buildings and the basilica church were beautiful! On Sunday we attended to community mass and there were hundreds of local people and tourists inside the basilica it was extraordinary! A lot of the restaurants sold the same food, breakfast specials, lunch specials which were a really reasonable price, great value for money as was the alcohol, alcohol being cheaper than some soft drinks and juices. In the square there are horse and carriages that take you around the square and round abit of the town, we paid 250 zloty (£50) for a 30 minute ride around, it was a beautiful day so didn’t barter with the kind lady. Although people did barter there - your choice! There’s plenty to do, definitely a must see, there’s something for everyone.
Written March 11, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

robbycox
Welwyn Garden City, UK1,334 contributions
Feb 2020
We went to Krakow as part of a stag weekend and were all very impressed with the city indeed. The Square is stunning lots to see and do including horse drawn carriage rides. In the evening the square is beautifully lit and it really is a charming place to walk around, so many nice restaurants to choose from and all competitively priced.
Written February 24, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

David B
Belfast, UK73 contributions
Sep 2020
The town square in the old town is full of life, especially at night time. Lots of gifts shops, most are selling the same thing others are selling.

Some restaurants in the town square were very cheap and the food was excellent, back in UK/Ireland I would have easily paid £50 for that meal, I only paid £18.

Warning: You will likely get approached and made aware about a 'special promotion' - I could write a book, I'd advise you to google "Approached by Krakow Night Club"
Written September 27, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Franii
Wolverhampton, UK132 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
My Wife and I and our young daughter came here for a birthday trip recently.

We were only about a ten minute walk from the main square, where there is lots to do and see and also lots of places to eat and drink and really reasonable prices.

The architecture of the buildings is quite stunning and there are lots of good photo opportunities to take.

There are also horse and carriage rides in the main square that go to some local landmarks and back to the square again. A 25 minute there and back ride costs about 200PLN or around £39 in GBP. Worth it for the experience.

A lovely city in general and lots to do and see. Not entirely ideal for families with young babies but definitely worth the trip for couples who want to experience lots of different food and drinks.
Written February 7, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

nimbledolphin
Birmingham, UK1,079 contributions
Sep 2020 • Couples
This square is particularly picturesque at night, with restaurant all the way round the perimeter with gas heaters and lights it looks so welcoming. It doesn’t quite have the grandeur and scale of some other European cities, partly because most of the original town hall is no longer standing, but the tower remains and then there is St Mary’s Basilica too. It is very large and central to the old town, and a short walk to the palace, and so is full of tourists in the daytime.
Written September 22, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Joanna M
Kedzierzyn Kozle, Poland23 contributions
Dec 2019 • Couples
The market square in Kraków has its unique atmosphere. It is always crowded and busy with visitors from many countries. While walking at night you can rarely hear Polish. There are a lot of restaurants and cafes with tables outside so you can have something traditional to eat admiring the marvellous architecture of Kraków. It you want to spend an entertainig evening you can go the clubs with live music.
Written March 14, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Michael C
5 contributions
Aug 2021 • Friends
The journey is nearly over and as I sit here outside with a beer I am reflecting on a fantastic week that totally took me by surprise.
From karaoke on Monday night, a first, to Zakapone Alpine resort, a first to Michelin restaurants.
Krakow is truly amazing and spectacular, from its historic building to its beautiful parks, its Cobble stone Street, its food , its night life, the list could go on.
For the last three nights I have been paddling solo and what stricks me the most is just how safe I feel walking at night albeit my accommodation is 2mins from the main square. No matter what time be it early evening or the wee hrs I have felt so safe and relaxed one of the few cities which affords that.
Krakow is just simply amazing, I have totally fallen in love with it and am planning my next visit already.
I would really really encourage everyone to visit here , guaranteed you will not be disappointed and with easy access from Shannon & easy access from the airport here to the city it would be fool hardy , I believe not to get excited, get booking & get traveling.
Krakow awaits to embrace you , her gems wait to embrace you & her heart waits to embrace you.
It's yours for the taking.
Written August 15, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

mrskrun
Larvik, Norway2,839 contributions
Dec 2019 • Family
Rynek Glowny is the main square in the Old Town of Krakow. It has a festive atmosphere filled with people, food stalls, and horse carriages. It’s surrounded with restaurants, definitely a lot to choose from. It was chilly cold when we went and didn’t enjoy much. I’m sure it would be better to visit this place when the weather is much warmer.
Written January 3, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Krakow's Rynek Glowny Central Square - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go

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