Kraków for New Year’s Eve: Rynek, Wawel and Kazimierz – ten winter days before Zakopane

Kraków for New Year’s Eve was how we saw in 2025/26: ten days of old town, Wawel and Kazimierz.

Over New Year 2025/26 we spent ten days in Kraków – from 30 December to 9 January – and then went on to the mountains for another ten days in Zakopane. Kraków in winter is cold, often snowy and beautiful: Christmas lights until early January, mulled wine on the Main Square and far fewer tour groups than in summer.

New Year’s Eve on the Main Square

The Rynek Główny is one of the largest medieval squares in Europe and the city’s meeting point on New Year’s Eve. At midnight the square is packed; access is controlled during big events, and glass bottles are not allowed then. If you want to be right in the middle of it, come early. Restaurants around the square often have special menus on New Year’s Eve – book ahead.

Old town: Cloth Hall and St Mary’s Basilica

In the middle of the square stands the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) with stalls selling amber, wooden toys and souvenirs. Opposite is St Mary’s Basilica: every hour on the hour a trumpeter plays the Hejnał from the tower – and breaks off in the middle of the melody, in memory of a watchman who, according to legend, was hit by an arrow. The Veit Stoss altarpiece inside is one of the largest Gothic altarpieces in the world.

Wawel

On the hill above the Vistula stand the Royal Castle and the Cathedral. The courtyard with its Renaissance arcades is free to enter; for the state rooms, the cathedral and the treasury you need timed tickets – in winter usually available at short notice. Down by the river the Wawel Dragon breathes fire every few minutes (children love it).

Kazimierz

The former Jewish quarter is now Kraków’s nightlife district: synagogues, small galleries, cafés in old workshops. At Plac Nowy the round pavilion sells the famous zapiekanki – long baguette toasts, perfect after a long evening. Across the bridge you are in Podgórze, where Oskar Schindler’s Factory tells the story of the occupation as a museum (book tickets in advance).

Two day trips

• Wieliczka Salt Mine – half an hour outside the city, chapels and sculptures made entirely of salt, more than 100 metres underground. Guided tours only.
• Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial – about an hour and a half away. Entry is free, but you have to reserve a time slot online, and these are often booked out weeks in advance. Not an excursion, but a visit that stays with you for a long time.

Practical tips for winter

• Cold: Sub-zero temperatures are normal at the end of December. Good shoes, a hat, gloves.
• Money: Poland uses the złoty. Cards work almost everywhere; at the terminal always pay in złoty. We pay with Wise – why is explained in Money abroad. Compare exchange offices (kantor) in the old town, the rates vary a lot.
• On to Zakopane: about two hours by car or bus. The “Zakopianka” gets badly jammed at weekends and when it snows – leave early.

Would we go again?

Yes. Kraków is one of the most beautiful cities in Central Europe, easy to reach, not expensive and especially atmospheric in winter. Combining it with a few days of mountains and thermal baths in Zakopane is, for us, the perfect New Year.

Photo credits

The photos in this post are not ours but freely licensed (Wikimedia Commons / Openverse): Main Square Rynek Główny in Kraków – Scotch Mist, CC BY-SA 4.0; Cloth Hall on the Main Square in Kraków – Jorge Lascar, CC BY 2.0; Wawel Castle in Kraków – FotoCavallo, CC BY 3.0; Renaissance courtyard of Wawel Castle – Jorge Láscar from Australia, CC BY 2.0. Our own photos from this trip will follow.

Kraków for New Year’s Eve: our conclusion

Our conclusion on Kraków for New Year’s Eve: the city is atmospheric in winter and much quieter than in summer. It is also worth continuing to the mountains afterwards, because Zakopane is only two hours away. How things continued there is told in Zakopane glamping; background on the city is on Wikipedia.