Must-SeeCzęstochowa
About 54 miles away
The Black Madonna of Jasna Góra, Poland's holiest icon, drawing millions of pilgrims, many on foot.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau
The Nazi death camp where about 1.1 million people were murdered, most of them Jews, now a memorial and museum.
- Open
- Every day except January 1, December 25 and Easter Sunday
- Price
- Free with a timed pass booked online; paid for guided tours
- Time Needed
- A day
- Address
- Więźniów Oświęcimia 20, 32-603 OświęcimDirections
- Getting There
- Bus or train from Kraków to Oświęcim, about 1½ hours.
Why Go
Germany built the camp in occupied Poland in 1940, and from 1942 it became the largest center of the Holocaust. Auschwitz I, the original camp, holds exhibitions in its brick barracks; at Birkenau, three kilometers away, the railway ran through the gate to the gas chambers, whose ruins remain.
A free shuttle bus links the two sites. A guided visit takes about three and a half hours, and the museum doesn't recommend it for children under 14.
Tips
- Book on the memorial's own website as early as you can: passes aren't sold at the entrance.
Go Next
1–3 of 6
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Worth a DetourZakopane and the Tatras
About 62 miles away
Poland's mountain town, with wooden houses.
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Worth a DetourWrocław
About 120 miles away
A bright market square, and hundreds of tiny dwarf statues.
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