Explore Kraków

The KL Plaszow Memorial Site covers the grounds of the German Nazi camp in Kraków's Podgórze, built in 1942 on two Jewish cemeteries; about 35,000 prisoners, most of them Jews, passed through it until 1945. Visitors walk the marked camp roads past an outdoor exhibition, the Grey House and Witold Cęckiewicz's 1964 monument to the victims.

The Polish Aviation Museum opened in 1964 on the former Rakowice-Czyżyny airfield in Kraków, established in 1912 and closed to flying in 1963. Aircraft, helicopters and engines are shown in the old hangars, in a main building opened in 2010 and on the open-air field, ranging from early aviation through the Second World War to Cold War jets.

The Divine Mercy Sanctuary in Łagiewniki is a Roman Catholic shrine that holds the relics of Saint Faustina Kowalska. Beside the 19th-century convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy stands an elliptical basilica built from 1999 to 2002; its 77-metre tower, reached by lift or 315 steps, has a viewing platform at 46 metres.

Kraków Zoo lies in the Wolski Forest on the western edge of the city and opened on 6 July 1929. Run by a city foundation, it covers about 20 hectares of wooded hillside with around 270 species in enclosures and aviaries, a Mini ZOO with domestic animals and scheduled public feedings.

Wieliczka Salt Mine, near Kraków, was worked for rock salt from the 13th century until 1996 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitors go underground only on guided tours; the Tourist Route covers about 3.5 km at depths down to 135 m, past chambers, salt lakes, statues carved in salt by miners and the Chapel of St. Kinga, with 800-plus steps.