Four metres under the paving of Europe's largest medieval market square lies the biggest archaeological reserve of its kind on the continent: medieval streets, merchants' stalls and cellar walls left where they were found, with some 700 objects and a heavy multimedia layer on top. That is Rynek Underground, and it is not a mine — the salt is outside the city. This page puts it next to the four other ticketed basements in and around Kraków: the Bochnia Salt Mine with its underground boat crossing and 140-metre slide, the royal crypts under Wawel Cathedral, the artists' crypt at Skałka and the small dig under St Adalbert's church on the square. It gives the operators' 2026 prices in złoty and US dollars, the days each place is shut, and the things English-language pages keep getting wrong. The Wieliczka Salt Mine has a page of its own.
- TicketsEvery Rynek Underground ticket carries a date and a time slot, booked at bilety.muzeumkrakowa.pl.
- Price45 PLN (about $11.84) – Rynek Underground, adult (standard ticket)
- OpenRynek Underground: Monday 10:00–19:00, Tuesday 10:00–15:00, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00–19:00, Friday to Sunday 10:00–20:00.
- Best timeFor Rynek Underground, take the edges of the day: 10:00 sharp, or from about 17:00 on the long Friday-to-Sunday evenings.
- ClaustrophobiaRynek Underground is wide, bright and well ventilated — the gentlest way in for anyone claustrophobic.
Six places under Krakow, compared
Rynek Underground (Podziemia Rynku)
The main site: an archaeological reserve of nearly 4,000 m² inside a 6,000 m² complex, four metres under the paving of the Main Market Square. The walkway threads between the stone and brick walls of the medieval trading halls — the Kramy Bolesławowe, the Kramy Bogate, the Great Scales and the north-eastern cellars of the Cloth Hall — over road surfaces laid in the 11th century and past some 700 finds, among them a lead ingot weighing 693 kilograms.
37 touchscreens, 27 projectors, 38 plasma and LCD screens, 98 loudspeakers, four holograms, a curtain of water vapour and 13 films; the only underground site in Kraków with a lift and step-free access.
45 PLN (about $11.84), reduced 35 PLN, family 90 PLN; free on Tuesdays (09/2026)
Bochnia Salt Mine (Kopalnia Soli Bochnia)
Poland's oldest rock-salt mine, worked from 1248 and therefore older than Wieliczka, and part of the same UNESCO World Heritage site since 2013. You go down in the cage, ride a mine train, walk through a multimedia staging of Genoese merchants and Polish kings, and end up in the Ważyn chamber 250 metres below the surface. The boat crossing along a brine-flooded gallery 230 metres down exists in no other Polish salt mine.
A 140-metre underground slide between two levels (age 9 and over), a salt sandpit and a sports pitch in Ważyn, 288 beds for overnight stays, and a free English audio guide. 700 steps on the standard route, about 1,000 with the Końska Droga.
Tourist Route from about 82 PLN (about $21.58) online, with the boat crossing from about 102 PLN, with boat and Horse Road from about 114 PLN; dearer at the window (09/2026)
Royal crypts in Wawel Cathedral (Groby Królewskie)
Poland's national necropolis sits under the cathedral. The oldest and best preserved chamber is the crypt of St Leonard from 1118, where John III Sobieski, Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki and Tadeusz Kościuszko lie; Marshal Józef Piłsudski has been in the crypt under the Silver Bells Tower since 1937. The separate vaults were only linked by new passages between 1872 and 1877, which is why you can walk through them at all.
Audio guide in eleven languages including English, 15 PLN. Photography is forbidden in the cathedral and the crypts. The Wawel Royal Castle ticket does not work here — the cathedral is a parish with its own box office.
26 PLN (about $6.84), reduced 18 PLN, groups of 10 or more 23/16 PLN — including the cathedral, the Sigismund Bell and the museums (09/2026)
Krypta Zasłużonych at Skałka (the national pantheon)
The crypt under the Pauline basilica by the Vistula was fitted out between 1876 and 1880 by Teofil Żebrawski and has taken in Poland's artists and scholars ever since. The first burial, in 1880, was the chronicler Jan Długosz; the last, in 2004, the Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz. In between lie Stanisław Wyspiański, Jacek Malczewski, Karol Szymanowski and Adam Asnyk — 13 graves in all.
Tours in English, German or Italian by prior arrangement (tel. +48 453 699 177). The archaeological park shows the foundations of the oldest, Romanesque church on the Skałka. Groups of 20 or more need headsets or a second guide.
30 PLN (about $7.90), reduced 20 PLN, headsets for groups 8 PLN; cash only (09/2026)
The Cloth Hall cellars and the Old Town's other basements
There is no separate Sukiennice cellar tour in 2026. The north-eastern run of cellars under the Cloth Hall is built into the Rynek Underground exhibition and can only be seen on that ticket, together with the Cloth Hall's own foundations. The rest of the Old Town's basements are bars, clubs and stages — the Piwnica pod Baranami, the theatre under the Cloth Hall, the cellar venues on Grodzka and Floriańska — and you go in as a customer, not as a museum visitor. What commercial operators sell as a “Krakow Underground Tour” is usually a walking tour of the square with a Rynek Underground ticket attached.
The Cloth Hall cellars are the one stretch of the route that is standing architecture rather than excavation — this is where you see how deep the trading hall actually goes.
Included in the Rynek Underground ticket (45 PLN / about $11.84); cellar bars charge no admission (09/2026)
Undercroft of St Adalbert's church (Kościół św. Wojciecha)
The smallest and cheapest basement on the square. Inside the foundations of St Adalbert's, one of Kraków's oldest stone churches, built around the turn of the 10th and 11th centuries, the Archaeological Museum shows an exhibition on the history of the Main Market Square and the church itself — reconstructions of the wooden predecessors, the Romanesque church and the growth of the square since the city charter of 1257.
Mass is still said in the church above, and the museum asks for quiet. Out of season the stairs stay shut.
7 PLN (about $1.84), reduced 5 PLN; free on Tuesdays (09/2026, third-party source)
Tickets and prices
Every Rynek Underground ticket carries a date and a time slot, booked at bilety.muzeumkrakowa.pl. One to 15 people counts as an individual visit, 16 to 30 as a group. The operator says plainly that without a reservation or an advance purchase you may not get in. A museum guide has to be booked at least four days ahead, and a late cancellation costs a 250 PLN penalty. Bochnia prices dynamically: the earlier you buy online the less you pay, and the online window closes 60 minutes before your route starts.
Official prices
- Rynek Underground, adult (standard ticket)45 PLN (about $11.84)
- Rynek Underground, reduced (school pupils, students, over-65s, pensioners, disabled visitors and their carers, teachers)35 PLN (about $9.21)
- Rynek Underground, family ticket (2 adults + 2 children under 16, or 1 adult + 3 children)90 PLN (about $23.69)
- Rynek Underground, group rate per person (10 or more) / school group per person35 PLN (about $9.21) / 26 PLN (about $6.84)
- Rynek Underground, museum guide through the permanent exhibition (flat fee per group, on top of admission)350 PLN (about $92.11); school groups 320 PLN (about $84.21)
- Rynek Underground, Tuesday0 PLN (free admission, tickets only at the box office on the day)
- Combined ticket “Kraków Średniowieczny” (Medieval Kraków): Rynek Underground + Town Hall Tower + City Walls with the Barbican, standard / reduced / family64 PLN (about $16.84) / 56 PLN (about $14.74) / 128 PLN (about $33.69)
- Rynek Underground with the Karta Krakowska residents' card (20 per cent off), standard / reduced36 PLN (about $9.47) / 28 PLN (about $7.37)
- Bochnia Salt Mine, Tourist Route with the multimedia exhibition, standard / reduced (early online fare)from 82 PLN (about $21.58) / from 70 PLN (about $18.42)
- Bochnia Salt Mine, Tourist Route with the underground boat crossing, standard / reducedfrom 102 PLN (about $26.84) / from 90 PLN (about $23.69)
- Bochnia Salt Mine, Tourist Route with the boat crossing and the Horse Road (Końska Droga), standard / reducedfrom 114 PLN (about $30.00) / from 103 PLN (about $27.11)
- Bochnia Salt Mine, Tourist Route with the multimedia exhibition, box-office price standard / reduced (regional tourist board)105 PLN (about $27.63) / 91 PLN (about $23.95); 10 PLN per person cheaper online
- Bochnia Salt Mine, overnight stay in the Ważyn chamber (Pobyt nocny), standard / reduced, bed linen extra199 PLN (about $52.37) / 189 PLN (about $49.74) + 24 PLN (about $6.32)
- Bochnia Salt Mine, car park at the Campi shaft, per car per day15 PLN (about $3.95)
- Wawel Cathedral including the royal crypts, the Sigismund Bell and the cathedral museum, individual standard / reduced26 PLN (about $6.84) / 18 PLN (about $4.74); groups of 10 or more 23 / 16 PLN
- Wawel Cathedral, audio guide (English among eleven languages), standard / reduced / group per person15 PLN (about $3.95) / 11 PLN (about $2.89) / 9 PLN (about $2.37)
- Krypta Zasłużonych at Skałka, guided tour standard / reduced, headsets for groups30 PLN (about $7.90) / 20 PLN (about $5.26) / 8 PLN (about $2.11); cash only
- Undercroft of St Adalbert's church (Archaeological Museum), standard / reduced; free on Tuesdays7 PLN (about $1.84) / 5 PLN (about $1.32)
- Dragon's Den (Smocza Jama) under Wawel Hill, standard / reduced, under-7s free15 PLN (about $3.95) / 10 PLN (about $2.63)
- Regional train Kraków Główny – Bochnia, one wayfrom about 16 PLN (about $4.21)
- Train Kraków Airport – Kraków Główny (SKA1, Koleje Małopolskie), one way20 PLN (about $5.26)
- Minibus Kraków (ul. Wita Stwosza) – Bochnia, one way9–15 PLN (about $2.37–$3.95)
As of 09/2026, in force since 2 January 2026 · source and direct booking: muzeumkrakowa.pl/en/branches/rynek-underground
When everything is sold out
Rynek Underground is one of the most visited museums in Poland — about 4.3 million people in its first 14 years. In high season and over long weekends the slots are gone the day before. On the free Tuesdays the tickets are regularly handed out by late morning.
Tours of underground Krakow
Booking direct is cheaper and clearer: Rynek Underground is 45 PLN (about $11.84) at bilety.muzeumkrakowa.pl, and the Medieval Krakow combined ticket with the Town Hall Tower and the Barbican is 64 PLN (about $16.84). A reseller earns its keep when the museum's own time slots are gone, when you want the underground explained in English by a guide - the museum charges 350 PLN per group for its own, so a shared tour is the cheap way to get one - or when free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead matters more than the margin. Read the description before you book: a listing sold as a Krakow underground tour is often a walking tour of the square above it, and a Bochnia day trip is a different mine from Wieliczka, 40 km east, with its own ticket.
Krakow: Wawel Castle & Cathedral Guided Tour
Krakow: Rynek Underground Museum Guided Tour
Krakow: UNESCO Bochnia Salt Mine & Underground Boat Ride
Krakow: Wawel Guided Tour – Cathedral and/or Castle
Show all 11 offers
Krakow: Rynek Underground Museum Skip-the-line Guided Tour
Guided Tour of the Wawel Castle & Cathedral in Cracow
Krakow: UNESCO Bochnia Salt Mine Tour & Underground Rafting
Krakow's Rynek Underground Museum Tour with Ticket and Guide
Krakow: Rynek Underground Museum Guided Tour & Stories
Krakow: Skip-the-Line Rynek Underground Museum Guided Tour
Krakow: Wawel Castle & Cathedral Guided Tour with Tickets
Booked through GetYourGuide (affiliate link, advertising). Most offers can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead. Prices as of 20 September 2026.
Opening hours and best time
Rynek Underground: Monday 10:00–19:00, Tuesday 10:00–15:00, Wednesday and Thursday 10:00–19:00, Friday to Sunday 10:00–20:00. Last admission 75 minutes before closing (the visitor regulations say 80 minutes for individuals and 90 for groups). The fixed closing day is the second Monday of each month. Additional 2026 closures: 12 October, 1, 9, 11 and 16–18 November, 14, 24 and 25 December; on 26 December 10:00–18:00 and on 31 December 10:00–15:00. — Bochnia Salt Mine: daily, the first groups go down around 9:00, departure times depend on the route and are set in the booking system. — Wawel Cathedral with the royal crypts: April to October Mon–Sat 9:00–17:00, Sunday from 12:30; November to March Mon–Sat 9:00–16:00, Sunday from 12:30; closed on Maundy Thursday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. — Krypta Zasłużonych at Skałka: individual visitors only on a guided tour and only at weekends; in the 2026 summer season (1 July to 30 September) Saturdays at 10:00, 12:00 and 15:00, Sundays at 11:30, 13:30 and 15:00. — The undercroft of St Adalbert's: May to October, Mon–Sat 10:00–17:00, last admission 16:30, closed Sundays.
When it is quietest
For Rynek Underground, take the edges of the day: 10:00 sharp, or from about 17:00 on the long Friday-to-Sunday evenings. The free Tuesday sounds like a bargain and is the worst day of the week — the museum shuts at 15:00, nothing can be reserved, and the free tickets are often gone by late morning. Avoid the second Monday of the month, when it is closed. Bochnia is a full-day trip and is best on a weekday outside Polish school-group season. The Skałka crypt is open to individual visitors only at weekends and only in the summer season, and the St Adalbert undercroft only from May to October.
Who it suits
With children
Rynek Underground is built for children: a curtain of mist, holograms, models and touchscreens, and no endless staircase. Under-7s go free. In Bochnia the route depends on the age: the basic variant has no lower limit, the boat crossing is from 3, the Horse Road from 7 and the 140-metre slide from 9. Children under 3 go down free in Bochnia.
Minimum age
Rynek Underground: none. Bochnia: boat crossing from 3, Końska Droga from 7, slide from 9. Krypta Zasłużonych, the Wawel crypts and the St Adalbert undercroft: none.
Wheelchair
Rynek Underground: level access, ramps, a lift and an accessible toilet — the only sizeable underground site in Kraków you can actually roll through. Bochnia runs a separate adapted route at fixed times for disabled visitors and their companions (the August level, St Kinga's chapel, the Mysiur chamber, the Ważyński horse whim, time in Ważyn); the ordinary routes and the boat crossing are not wheelchair accessible. Smocza Jama and the crypts are reached by steep stairs and are not accessible.
Pushchair
Workable in Rynek Underground thanks to the lift. Impractical in Bochnia (mine train, 700 to 1,000 steps) and expressly forbidden in Smocza Jama.
Dogs
Not allowed in Rynek Underground except assistance dogs. Animals are not allowed in Bochnia at all.
Claustrophobia
Rynek Underground is wide, bright and well ventilated — the gentlest way in for anyone claustrophobic. Bochnia names claustrophobia as a contraindication, along with circulatory and respiratory weakness; the boat crossing runs along a narrow gallery flooded with brine. The royal crypts and the Skałka crypt are low, tight vaults.
What to wear
It is noticeably cooler under the square than above it — a jumper or light jacket pays for itself even in August, and the floor can be damp, so closed shoes beat sandals. Bochnia holds a steady 15 to 17 °C at about 70 per cent humidity with roughly 3 km of walking: closed trainers or walking shoes and a jacket. Rucksacks over 30 litres and long umbrellas are refused at Rynek Underground, and Bochnia has neither a cloakroom nor luggage storage.
Photography
Rynek Underground: photography is allowed, flash is not; photo shoots and commercial work need the consent of the museum and the city. Eating, drinking, smoking and phone calls are banned in the exhibition, and once you are out you may not go back in. Photography is forbidden in Wawel Cathedral and in the royal crypts.
Getting there
By public transport
From Kraków Airport (Balice, KRK) the SKA1 train run by Koleje Małopolskie reaches Kraków Główny in about 20 minutes for 20 PLN (about $5.26); trains run through the day and tickets are sold at machines in the terminal and on board. From Kraków Główny, Rynek Underground is a ten-minute walk through the Galeria Krakowska and the Floriańska Gate — cars cannot enter the square anyway. For Bochnia, Koleje Małopolskie timetables more than 20 trains a day from Kraków Główny, 32 to 52 minutes depending on the service, first departure early morning and the last return late in the evening; the mine says it is about a ten-minute walk from Bochnia station to the Campi shaft. Minibuses (SK-Bus, D-bus and others) leave from ul. Wita Stwosza in Kraków and take about an hour for 9 to 15 PLN. For Skałka take the tram to Plac Wolnica; Wawel is a 15-minute walk down ul. Grodzka from the square.
By car
There is effectively no visitor parking in Kraków's Old Town; use the park-and-ride sites on the edge of the city and the tram. Bochnia has an unguarded car park at the Campi shaft for 15 PLN (about $3.95) per car per day. One catch: from Monday to Friday the route with the Końska Droga starts not at Campi but at the Sutoris shaft in the middle of town (ul. Solna 2), about ten minutes' walk from the car park.
From the nearest city
Bochnia is about 40 km east of Kraków, Wieliczka about 14 km south-east — the same direction, two entirely separate mines. Doing both salt mines in one day means 3 to 4 hours at each plus travel, which is realistic only by car and only with a tight plan. Bochnia also works as a day out from Kraków on its own, and that is how most people who have already done Wieliczka use it.
Tips for your visit
- Book Rynek Underground online with a time slot before you fly. The operator itself says that without a reservation admission is not guaranteed, and the slots go the day before in high season.
- If the Town Hall Tower and the City Walls with the Barbican are on your list anyway, the “Kraków Średniowieczny” combined ticket at 64 PLN (about $16.84) beats three separate tickets.
- Cross the second Monday of the month off your plan, along with 12 October, 1, 9, 11 and 16–18 November and 14, 24 and 25 December 2026 — the exhibition is shut.
- On the free Tuesday be at the box office early: there is no online reservation, a maximum of five tickets per person, the start time is printed on the ticket, and the museum closes at 15:00.
- Pick your Bochnia route before you pay — boat from 3, Horse Road from 7, slide from 9. With small children, the straight stay in the Ważyn chamber often beats four hours of walking.
- Ask for the English audio guide at the Bochnia ticket office before you step into the cage. The live guiding underground is in Polish and there is no way to get a device once you are down.
- If you book the Końska Droga route, note that Monday to Friday it starts at the Sutoris shaft in the town centre, and at weekends at the Campi shaft by the car park.
- Finish your coffee before you go down at Rynek Underground: eating, drinking, phone calls and flash are all banned, and once you leave the exhibition you cannot go back in.
- Rucksacks over 30 litres and long umbrellas are turned away at the entrance, and Bochnia has no cloakroom and no lockers at all.
- Take cash to Skałka — cards are not accepted — and call or e-mail several days ahead if you want the tour in English.
- Coming from the airport, take the SKA1 train to Kraków Główny for 20 PLN rather than a taxi; the same operator runs the Bochnia line from the same station.
What the internet gets wrong
Or 32, or 40, or 21: all of those are dead prices. visitkrakow.com has “full-price tickets are 36zł, and reduced tickets for children over 7 and students under 26 are 32zł”; thebettervacation.com prints “Adult 36 zł | Reduced 32 zł | Family (up to 4 people) 72 zł”; travel-mates.pl lists “Normal ticket – PLN 36. Reduced ticket – PLN 32. Family ticket (4 people, up to 2 are adults) – PLN 72”; polandtraveltours.com has “Adult: 36 PLN”; introducingkrakow.com and whichmuseum.com both carry “zł 40 / zł 35 / zł 80”; holidify.com still says “Regular: PLN 32”; and rachelsruminations.com is a decade out with “Admission 21 zł (€5 or $6)”. Since 2 January 2026 the Museum of Krakow's own page gives 45 PLN standard (about $11.84), 35 PLN reduced, 90 PLN family, 35 PLN per head in a group of ten or more and 26 PLN for school groups, with a museum guide 350 PLN per group on top.
It is not, and the day it is closed is a Monday. rachelsruminations.com states it plainly — “closed the first Tuesday of the month” — and pairs it with hours that no longer exist, “Wednesday-Sunday from 10-22:00” in summer. The operator's fixed closing day is the second Monday of each month; Tuesday is open, shortened to 15:00, and free. The first Tuesday of the month is the day off at Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory, a different branch of the same museum, which is where the confusion comes from. polandtraveltours.com gets it wrong the other way round with “Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last admission 7:30 PM); closed Mondays” — Monday is a normal 10:00–19:00 day except for that second Monday, and last admission is 75 minutes before closing, not 30.
The free day runs to 15:00, not 14:00, which in practice is a whole extra ticket slot. visitkrakow.com has “Tue: 10am-2pm”, thebettervacation.com “Tuesday: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm — Free admission”, travel-mates.pl “Tuesday: 10:00 – 14:00”, and holidify.com goes further with “10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (last entry at 12:45 PM)”. The museum's page gives Tuesday 10:00–15:00 with last admission 75 minutes before closing, so 13:45. Everything else about that day is stricter than these pages say: no reservation of any kind, tickets only at the box office on the day, five per person maximum, a start time printed on each one, and your place is gone if you are more than 15 minutes late.
Not any more, and it never made it free. headout.com still sells the Kraków Card with the line “Visit iconic spots like the Polish Aviation Museum, the Rynek Underground Museum beneath Kraków's Main Square”, and reseller pages advertise the same card as “Access to 23 Museums & Unlimited Public Transportation”. visitkrakow.com, which maintains the pass's museum list, states the opposite: “Please note that Rynek Underground and Schindler's Factory are no longer included with the pass.” What the Museum of Krakow does grant on its own discounts page is “20% discount on the purchase of regular and reduced-price tickets to all branches of the MHK” to holders of the Karta Krakowska — a card for Kraków residents, not a visitor pass. That is where the 36 PLN figure comes from: 45 PLN less 20 per cent, reduced 35 down to 28.
And never mentions Bochnia at all.
Bochnia is older and it is a separate mine. Bochnia struck rock salt in 1248; its operator's English page calls it “the oldest salt mine in Poland, dating back to 1248”, while Wieliczka's first shafts date from around 1280. meanderingwild.com writes that “Wieliczka Salt Mine is the world's oldest salt mine that is still in operation” and then backdates the joint listing — “Since 1978 Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites”. Wieliczka alone was inscribed in 1978; Bochnia was added on 23 June 2013. English pages that call Bochnia “the less touristy sister of Wieliczka”, as discovercracow.com does, or say it “sits in the shadows of its much popular sister”, as krakow.wiki does, are describing a family resemblance, not a shared ticket: the two mines are about 30 km apart, run by different companies, and nothing you buy for one is valid at the other.
Those numbers appear to have been invented. lookatpoland.com prints “The mine reaches 320 meters depth with 5 kilometers of accessible tourist routes”, “The 100-meter boat journey through darkness”, “Wooden slides connect different mining levels, plunging 12-15 meters at steep angles”, and — the giveaway — “The Ważyn shaft sunk in 1252 served as main extraction point for five centuries, reaching eventually 320 metres depth.” Ważyn is not a shaft. It is the chamber at the end of the tourist route, about 2,500 m² at roughly 250 metres, with a sports pitch, a salt sandpit and 288 beds. There is one slide, it is 140 metres long, it runs between two levels and the minimum age is 9. The Polish Wikipedia entry gives the mine a maximum depth of 468 m over 16 levels, nine of them accessible. The same page halves the crowd, claiming Bochnia “attracts 100,000+ annual visitors”, where the operator says nearly 190,000 a year.
Both halves mislead. krakow.wiki has “A single ticket costs 95 PLN (80 PLN reduced) with an option to book an English tour guide service for 304 PLN” and adds “For English speaking tourists, the salt mine tour must be reserved in advance”; polandtraveltours.com rounds to “Approximately 95 PLN for adults”; the concierge site bochniasaltmine.com quotes “€48 per person” and tells readers that Polish-marked departures come “with no audio guide”. The mine's own visitor page says the opposite about language: “Free audio guides are available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, Slovak”, collected at the ticket office before the tour at no extra cost, on any standard departure — a live English guide is the thing that needs arranging with the Tourist Service Office. On price, Bochnia sells dynamically: online fares start around 82 PLN (about $21.58) for the basic route, 102 PLN with the boat and 114 PLN with the Horse Road, while the regional tourist board publishes a box-office price of 105/91 PLN with online tickets 10 PLN cheaper. The mine's own price page cannot be read from outside Poland, so treat every figure on this page, ours included, as an order of magnitude and check at the moment of booking.
History in brief
- From the 10th century the ground that is now the Main Market Square held first a cemetery and then an open settlement of craftsmen; both are visible in the soil profile inside Rynek Underground.
- The Mongol raid of 1241 ended that settlement — the burnt layers in the ground are part of the core of the exhibition.
- In 1257 the city charter under Magdeburg law laid out the present Rynek Główny, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe; the trading halls on it grew together over centuries into the Cloth Hall.
- Excavation under the eastern part of the square began in mid-2005 and turned into the museum; the installation cost close to 38 million złoty.
- The Rynek Underground branch opened on 24 September 2010 and its permanent exhibition three days later. By October 2024 about 4.3 million people had been through it.
- Forty kilometres east, rock salt was struck at Bochnia in 1248, long after brine from wells had been worked there. That makes Bochnia the oldest rock-salt mine in Poland.
- In 1368 Casimir the Great's saltworks statute regulated the royal salt operations, which covered Bochnia and Wieliczka together; industrial mining at Bochnia ended in 1990.
- On 23 June 2013 UNESCO extended the Wieliczka World Heritage site, listed since 1978, to take in Bochnia — since then the inscription has been “Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines”.
Frequent questions
How much are Rynek Underground tickets in 2026?
Adults pay 45 PLN, about $11.84; reduced tickets are 35 PLN and the family ticket for two adults and two children under 16 is 90 PLN. Children under 7 go free. These prices have applied since 2 January 2026, which is why the 21, 32, 36 and 40 złoty figures still on English travel pages are all wrong.
Do you need to book Rynek Underground in advance, or can you just turn up?
Book ahead. Every ticket carries a date and a time slot, and the visitor regulations say in as many words that without a reservation or an advance purchase you may not get in. Booking is at bilety.muzeumkrakowa.pl, split between individual visits of 1 to 15 people and groups of 16 to 30. In high season the slots go the day before.
Is Rynek Underground really free on Tuesdays?
Yes, and it comes with strings. There is no online reservation on free days: tickets are handed out at the box office on the day, five per person at most, each with a printed start time, and you lose your place if you are more than 15 minutes late. The museum also closes at 15:00 on Tuesdays, so the last admission is about 13:45. If you want to be sure, be there just after ten.
When is the museum under Kraków's main square closed?
The fixed closing day is the second Monday of each month — not the first Tuesday, whatever some English pages say. On top of that, 2026 closures are 12 October, 1, 9, 11 and 16 to 18 November, and 14, 24 and 25 December. On 26 December it opens 10:00–18:00 and on 31 December 10:00–15:00.
How long does Rynek Underground take?
An hour covers the walk itself; with the films and the multimedia stations it easily becomes ninety minutes. A booked museum guide takes about 75 minutes and costs 350 PLN per group on top of admission. Plan to be inside at least 75 minutes before closing, because that is when the last admission is.
Can you visit Rynek Underground without a guided tour?
Yes, and most people do. The exhibition is designed to be walked alone: the touchscreens, films and holograms run in several languages, English included, and no guide is included in the standard ticket. The guided versions sold by resellers exist because the museum charges 350 PLN per group for its own guide, which only makes sense split between a lot of people.
Is Bochnia worth it if you have already done Wieliczka?
Yes, if you have a whole day. Bochnia is the older mine, worked since 1248, and it shows you different things: a mine train, a boat crossing along a brine-flooded gallery 230 metres down, and a 140-metre slide between two levels. Wieliczka has St Kinga's Chapel and live English guiding. The two are 30 km apart, separately run and separately ticketed.
How do you get from Kraków to Bochnia without a car?
By train from Kraków Główny. Koleje Małopolskie runs more than 20 services a day and the journey takes 32 to 52 minutes depending on the train, with regional fares from about 16 PLN. The mine says it is roughly ten minutes on foot from Bochnia station to the Campi shaft, where the tourist routes start. Minibuses from ul. Wita Stwosza take about an hour for 9 to 15 PLN.
Are there English tours underground in Kraków?
English works everywhere on this page but rarely as a live guide. Bochnia gives you a free English audio guide at the ticket office and a live English guide only by prior arrangement. Wawel Cathedral has an English audio guide for 15 PLN. Skałka guides in English by appointment. Rynek Underground runs no scheduled English tour, but its multimedia stations are multilingual, so you do not need one.
How do you get to Kraków's underground sites from the airport?
The SKA1 train from Kraków Airport reaches Kraków Główny in about 20 minutes for 20 PLN, with tickets from machines in the terminal or on board. From the station it is a ten-minute walk to the Main Market Square. The same station is where the Bochnia trains leave, so the mine is reachable on the day you land if you arrive in the morning.
Is underground Kraków doable with a wheelchair or a pushchair?
Rynek Underground, yes: level access, ramps, a lift and an accessible toilet. Bochnia runs a separate adapted route at fixed times that avoids the steps and the narrow passages, though not the ordinary routes or the boat. The royal crypts, the Skałka crypt and the Dragon's Den are reached by steep stairs and are not accessible; pushchairs are expressly banned in the Dragon's Den.
How many steps are there, and how cold is it down there?
Bochnia holds a steady 15 to 17 °C at about 70 per cent humidity, with 700 steps on the standard route, about 1,000 with the Horse Road, and roughly 3 km of walking — a jacket and closed shoes are not optional. For Rynek Underground the operator publishes neither a temperature nor a step count; it is noticeably cooler than the square above and the floor can be damp, so a jumper and firm shoes are enough.
Can you photograph Rynek Underground?
Yes, for private use, but without flash. Photo shoots and commercial work need permission from both the museum and the city. Eating, drinking, smoking and phone calls are banned inside the exhibition, and there is no re-entry once you leave. Photography is forbidden outright in Wawel Cathedral and the royal crypts.
Can you visit the Cloth Hall cellars on their own?
No. The north-eastern run of Sukiennice cellars is built into the Rynek Underground exhibition and can only be seen on that ticket. The other Old Town cellars — the Piwnica pod Baranami and the rest — are bars and stages rather than museums, so you go in as a customer. A tour advertised as “Krakow Underground” is usually a walk around the square with a Rynek Underground ticket attached.
Can you visit Kraków's wartime air-raid shelters?
Not on a normal day. The two restored trench shelters, numbers 7 and 8, under Plac Inwalidów and Park Krakowski are looked after by the Rawelin association and open only occasionally — for Museum Night, say, or for groups who have arranged a visit by phone. There is no electric light in them.
Sources
Show 46 sources – every figure on this page is sourced
- muzeumkrakowa.pl/en/branches/rynek-underground – Rynek Underground, official English page: opening hours by weekday, closed on the second Monday of the month, 2026 closing dates, last admission 75 min, free Tuesday without booking, prices 45/35/90/35/26 PLN, guide 350 PLN, address
- www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/en/discounts-and-free-admission – Who gets reduced or free admission, family ticket definition, group sizes 10 and 15, under-7s free, “Krakow Card – 20% discount ... to all branches of the MHK”
- www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/oddzialy/regulamin-zwiedzania-9 – Visitor regulations for Rynek Underground: individual visit 1–15, groups 16–30, guided tour 75 min, booking at least 4 days ahead, 250 PLN cancellation penalty, bans on flash, food, rucksacks over 30 l and long umbrellas, no re-entry, last admission 80/90 min
- www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/zasady-zwiedzania-w-dni-nieodplatnego-wstepu – Rules on free-admission days: no reservation, tickets only at the box office, max 5 per person, printed start time, place forfeited after 15 minutes, daily limits per branch
- www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/godziny-otwarcia-i-ceny-biletow – Opening hours and prices of all Museum of Krakow branches, Krzysztofory visitor centre 10:00–19:00, Schindler's Factory free day on Monday and its day off on the first Tuesday
- www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/trasy-muzealne/krakow-sredniowieczny – Combined ticket 64/56/128 PLN and its scope, multimedia inventory (37 touchscreens, 27 projectors, 38 plasma/LCD screens, 98 loudspeakers, 4 holograms), square laid out 1257, Mongol raid 1241, lead ingot of nearly 700 kg
- www.muzeumkrakowa.pl/oddzialy/muzeum-bez-barier-1 – Accessibility of Rynek Underground: level access, ramps, lift, accessible toilet
- pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podziemia_Rynku_w_Krakowie – Over 6,000 m² total area, nearly 4,000 m² reserve, excavation from mid-2005, 11th-century road surfaces, opened 24.09.2010, exhibition from 27.09.2010, cost nearly 38 m PLN, about 700 objects, 600 3D reconstructions, 500 electronic images, 13 films, 693 kg lead ingot
- lovekrakow.pl/ponad-4-mln-turystow-odwiedzilo-krakowski-rynek-p… – About 4.3 million visitors in 14 years, “four metres underground”, over 6,000 m², opened 24.09.2010, cost almost 38 m PLN (article of 15.10.2024)
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/en/ – Official English page: “the oldest salt mine in Poland, dating back to 1248”, about 40 km east of Kraków, train about 45 minutes, routes of 3 or 4 hours, the slide, the boat crossing, overnight stays 250 m down
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/en/aktualnosci/planning-your-visit-bochnia-… – Official visitor advice: book ahead, “Free audio guides are available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Czech, Slovak” collected at the ticket office, 15–17 °C, 3 to 4 hours of walking, paid parking, train 40–50 minutes from Kraków
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/wycieczki/trasa-turystyczna-z-ekspozycja-mu… – Bochnia basic route: four variants, 15–17 °C, 70 % humidity, 700 steps, 3 hours, about 3 km on foot, cage descent and ascent, audio guide languages, car park 15 PLN, age limits, adapted route for disabled visitors
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/wycieczki/trasa-turystyczna-z-ekspozycja-mu… – Boat route: 4 hours, 700 steps, boat crossing through a brine-flooded chamber 230 m down, from age 3, 30 minutes in Ważyn, no cloakroom
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/wycieczki/trasa-turystyczna-z-ekspozycja-mu… – Końska Droga route: about 1,000 steps, 4 hours, from age 7, starts Mon–Fri at the Sutoris shaft (ul. Solna 2) and at weekends at Campi
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/wycieczki/pobyt-w-komorze-wazyn/ – Ważyn chamber: 250 m down, about 300 steps, 15–17 °C, 3-hour stay, 140-metre slide, salt sandpit, playground, sports pitch, catering, Wi-Fi
- kopalnia-bochnia.pl/o-kopalni/historia/ – Operations from 1248, Casimir the Great's saltworks statute of 1368, the Sutoris, Gazaris, Regis, Bochneris and Campi shafts, UNESCO 2013, almost 190,000 visitors a year
- pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopalnia_soli_Bochnia – Maximum depth 468 m, 16 levels (9 accessible), Podłużnia August gallery nearly 3 km, Ważyn chamber 2,500 m² at about 250 m, worked from 1697 into the 1950s, mining ended 1990, UNESCO 23.06.2013, mine train about 1,000 m
- visitmalopolska.pl/en_GB/obiekt/-/poi/kopalnia-soli-w-boch-1 – Regional tourist board: Bochnia tourist route 105/91 PLN, family tickets 236–396 PLN, 10 PLN cheaper online, overnight stay 199/189 PLN, bed linen 24 PLN, 140-metre slide, boat from age 3, 1248, UNESCO 2013
- plannawypad.pl/kopalnia-soli-bochnia/ – Bochnia online ticket prices 2026: basic route 82/70 PLN, with boat crossing 102/90 PLN, with boat and Końska Droga 114/103 PLN
- kolejemalopolskie.com.pl/pl/rozklad-jazdy-kml/krakow-glowny/bochnia – Timetable Kraków Główny – Bochnia: more than 20 services a day, journey 32 to 52 minutes, first and last departure
- krakowairport.pl/en/train-en – Kraków Airport train: operator Koleje Małopolskie, ticket PLN 20.00 to Kraków Główny
- www.busy-krk.pl/en/bochnia-krakow/ – Minibus timetables Kraków – Bochnia (SK-Bus, D-bus, Wolant Bus, Glo-Bus Travel): fares usually 9–15 zł, about an hour, departures from ul. Wita Stwosza
- www.katedra-wawelska.pl/katedra-wawelska/zaplanuj-wizyte/ – Wawel Cathedral: summer and winter hours, ticket 26/18 PLN (groups 23/16) including the royal crypts, the Sigismund Bell and the museums, audio guide in eleven languages for 15/11/9 PLN, box-office closing, closed days
- skalka.paulini.pl/dla-turystow/ – Krypta Zasłużonych: summer season 1.7.–30.9.2026, Saturday and Sunday tour times, 30/20 PLN, headsets 8 PLN, cash only, tours in German/English/Italian by arrangement, 1.5–2 hours, route with library, treasury and archaeological park, group rules
- pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krypta_Zas%C5%82u%C5%BConych_na_Ska%C5%82ce – Fitted out 1876–1880 by Teofil Żebrawski, first burial Jan Długosz 1880, last Czesław Miłosz 2004, 13 burials including Wyspiański, Malczewski, Szymanowski
- ma.krakow.pl/en/opening-hours/ – St Adalbert undercroft: season May to October, Mon–Sat 10:00–17:00, closed Sundays, last admission 16:30, free on Tuesdays
- wawel.krakow.pl/wystawa-stala/smocza-jama – Smocza Jama: season 24.04.–31.10.2026, 15/10 PLN, under-7s free, 270 m cave, 81 m visitor route, 135 steps, no wheelchair or pushchair access, exit by the Vistula
- www.rawelin.org/rawelin/schrony – Shelters 7 and 8 under Plac Inwalidów and Park Krakowski, opened only sporadically (Museum Night, booked groups)
- api.nbp.pl/api/exchangerates/rates/a/usd/ – National Bank of Poland mid rate: 1 USD = 3.7998 PLN, table 182/A/NBP/2026 of 18.09.2026
- visitkrakow.com/rynek-underground-museum/ – Evidence of outdated English prices: “full-price tickets are 36zł, and reduced tickets ... are 32zł”, “Tue: 10am-2pm”, “three recommended routes of 45, 60, and 120 minutes each”
- thebettervacation.com/krakow/rynek-underground-museum/ – Evidence of outdated English prices and hours: “Adult 36 zł | Reduced 32 zł | Family (up to 4 people) 72 zł”, “Tuesday: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm — Free admission”, “The guided tour lasts approximately 2 hours”
- travel-mates.pl/en/poland/krakow-en/rynek-underground-museum-of… – Evidence of outdated English prices and Tuesday hours: “Normal ticket – PLN 36. Reduced ticket – PLN 32. Family ticket (4 people, up to 2 are adults) – PLN 72”, “Tuesday: 10:00 – 14:00”
- www.polandtraveltours.com/en/what-to-see/visiting-the-rynek-und… – Evidence of wrong English hours and prices: “Adult: 36 PLN”, “Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (last admission 7:30 PM); closed Mondays”
- www.introducingkrakow.com/rynek-underground – Evidence of outdated English prices and stale closing dates: “Adults: zł 40 (€ 9.21) Reduced admission: zł 35 (€ 8.06) Families: zł 80 (€ 18.42)”, “Closed: April 14, April 20, May 3, May 12, June 9, June 19”
- whichmuseum.com/museum/rynek-underground-krakow-6895/tickets-prices – Evidence of outdated English prices: “Normal rate: PLN 40.00”, “Reduced: PLN 35.00”, “Family: PLN 80.00”
- www.holidify.com/places/krakow/rynek-underground-sightseeing-12… – Evidence of outdated English prices, wrong Tuesday hours and a garbled figure: “Regular: PLN 32”, “10:00 AM to 2:00 PM (last entry at 12:45 PM)”, the lead ingot “weighs 693 karats”
- rachelsruminations.com/rynek-underground-museum-krakow-main-square/ – Evidence of the English “first Tuesday” error and a decade-old price: “closed the first Tuesday of the month”, “Wednesday-Sunday from 10-22:00”, “Admission 21 zł (€5 or $6); free on Tuesdays”
- www.headout.com/city-cards/krakow-card-e-13715/ – Evidence that the Kraków Card is still advertised as covering the site: “Visit iconic spots like the Polish Aviation Museum, the Rynek Underground Museum beneath Kraków's Main Square”, “23 museums and attractions”
- visitkrakow.com/krakowcard-museum-and-travel-pass/ – Correction to the card claim: “Please note that Rynek Underground and Schindler's Factory are no longer included with the pass.”
- www.travelodeal.co.uk/blog/krakow-salt-mines-complete-guide/ – Evidence that English guides collapse the two mines into one: a guide headed “Krakow Salt Mines” that opens “The Salt Mines Krakow (widely recognised as the Wieliczka Salt Mine)” and never mentions Bochnia
- meanderingwild.com/wieliczka-salt-mine-poland/ – Evidence of the “oldest mine” and UNESCO-date errors: “Wieliczka Salt Mine is the world's oldest salt mine that is still in operation”, “Since 1978 Wieliczka and Bochnia Royal Salt Mines have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites”
- lookatpoland.com/place/bochnia-salt-mine-guide/ – Evidence of invented Bochnia figures: “The mine reaches 320 meters depth”, “The 100-meter boat journey through darkness”, “Wooden slides connect different mining levels, plunging 12-15 meters at steep angles”, “The Ważyn shaft sunk in 1252”, “attracts 100,000+ annual visitors”
- krakow.wiki/bochnia-salt-mine-tour-the-oldest-mine-in-poland/ – Evidence of wrong Bochnia prices and guiding claims: “A single ticket costs 95 PLN (80 PLN reduced) with an option to book an English tour guide service for 304 PLN”, “For English speaking tourists, the salt mine tour must be reserved in advance”, Bochnia “sits in the shadows of its much popular sister”
- bochniasaltmine.com/ – Evidence of reseller pricing and a wrong audio-guide claim: “€48per person”, “Times marked Polish are guided in Polish with no audio guide”
- discovercracow.com/bochnia-salt-mine/ – Evidence of the “sister mine” framing in English: “Bochnia Salt Mine – Less Touristy Sister of Wieliczka”, “Bochnia became an excavating plant in 1248”
- www.mywanderlust.pl/bochnia-salt-mine-poland/ – English figures for the boat crossing and the walk from the station: “only 120 meters”, “the salt mine is a bit away from the train station, a bit over 1,5 km”