Krakow

Lonely PlanetSep 2

A guide to touring Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland

Get more from touring the moving and educational memorial and museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau with this guide.

18 things in this story

Oskar Schindler’s Enamel FactoryMuseum
Elsewhere
Museum of the Second World WarMuseumGdańsk, PolandIts exhibits opened in 2017.
Auschwitz II-BirkenauSightOświęcim, PolandVast camp with railroad entrance and Selektion ramp.
Block 27SightOświęcim, PolandExhibits include reproductions of children's drawings.
Block 6SightOświęcim, PolandChronicles abuses faced by prisoners.
Block 18SightOświęcim, PolandDetails the extermination of Hungarian Jews.
Block 21SightOświęcim, PolandExplores the Dutch role in the Holocaust.
Block 20SightOświęcim, PolandCovers French involvement in the Holocaust.
Main Camp BathhouseSightOświęcim, PolandDisplays family photos found among victims' belongings.
Auschwitz III-MonowitzSightOświęcim, PolandIndustrial complex operated using slave labor.
Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot SynagogueSightOświęcim, PolandOnly one of Oświęcim's original 20 synagogues to survive.
Café BergsonCaféOświęcim, PolandCafe at Auschwitz Jewish Center for coffee and books.
Great Synagogue Memorial ParkSightOświęcim, PolandRecalls the place of worship destroyed by German soldiers.
Jewish CemeterySightOświęcim, PolandFounded in 1784, restored after being ransacked.
Center for Roma History and CultureMuseumOświęcim, PolandDedicated to Roma people killed in the camps.
Arbeit Mach FreiSightOświęcim, PolandSinister sign at the entrance to Auschwitz I.
Block 4SightOświęcim, PolandProvides a haunting overview of the Holocaust.
Auschwitz Jewish CenterMuseumOświęcim, Poland

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National GeographicJul 20

Love books? This Polish city should be your next break

Poland’s cultural capital is a joy for book-loving visitors, with links to big literary names from the 20th century and a thriving independent bookshop scene.

20 things in this story

Joseph ConradSightgrew up on Poselska, in Kraków’s medieval Old Town
Grand HotelHotelJoseph Conrad stayed here; setting for a 1936 novel
Jama MichalikaCafébohemian circles gathered; Poland’s first literary cabaret
Old TownNeighborhoodmedieval area where Joseph Conrad grew up
Rynek GłównyMarketmain market square; one of Europe’s first bookshops opened here
EmpikPlacebookshop with ornate wooden shelves, archway of authors
Rara AvisPlaceantiquarian bookshop with a basement full of maps
KazimierzNeighborhoodJewish quarter just south of the Old Town
Księgarnia AusteriaPlacebookshop in former synagogue, courtyard with cherry trees
Oskar Schindler’s Enamel FactoryMuseumchronicles Nazi occupation; features names of Jewish people
De Revolutionibus BooksRestaurantcafe with speciality lattes, seating in bookshelf alcoves
Massolit Books & CaféRestaurantoffers red velvet cake and Polish literature translations
Planty ParkParkloops around historic centre, benches honour authors
Wisława SzymborskaSight1996 Nobel Prize-winner, voice heard online via QR code
Wawel DragonPublic artworkstatue breathes fire every few minutes
Wawel Royal CastleSightRenaissance structure dates from the 16th century
Cloth HallMarketcovered walkway selling shawls and amber jewellery
Jagiellonian University Museum Collegium MaiusMuseumlibrary hall with late-Gothic vaulted ceiling
Tawerna Wilczy DółRestaurantfantasy fiction tavern with mulled wine and skewered meat
The Prancing PonyRestaurantfantasy fiction tavern mentioned for comparison

Read the full piece at National Geographic →

10 Top Hotels in Central and Southern Europe 2026: Readers’ Choice Awards

A guide to touring Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland

Love books? This Polish city should be your next break