Day trip: what to visit around Krakow

Ojcowski National Park

Ojcowski Park Narodowy is a luxurious natural park located 20 km from Krakow. Its landscape is decorated with bizarre rock formations, numerous caves and a winding river.

The park's calling card is the "Krakowski Gate". These are two rocks 15-20 meters high, formed as a result of thousands of years of natural processes. Earlier, the Silesia — Krakow trade route ran through these stone gates, hence the name. Every year the distance between the two rocks is shrinking and, according to legend, when they close, the world will end. That's why people prop up these rocks with sticks — they try to "postpone" Armageddon.

In addition to the Krakow Gate, the park is decorated with numerous gorges, caves and rock formations of amazing shape — the most famous of which is the "Machuga of Hercules". In total, there are more than 400 caves in the park, the largest of which are: Loketka, Temnaya, Razbyshatskaya. A large part of the park is occupied by forests.

On the territory of Ojcovský Park are the ruins of the castle of the same name, which was once built here on a rock. Unfortunately, not much has survived of the former castle: only the remains of the defense walls, the tower and the entrance gate. The tower is open to the public. Inside you can see a model of the castle and try to imagine how it used to look like. There is also an exhibition "History of Ojców Castle", which allows you to learn about the past of the castle and its owners. Entrance costs 10 zlotys.

There are several other viewing platforms in the park. After walking enough, you can stop at a restaurant serving trout. It is raised on a fish farm nearby and smoked on beech wood or grilled.

How to get there: You can reach the park by car or by bus 310 from Krakow.

Location: Ojcovsky National Park, Poland

Tiniec Village

The main attraction of the village of Tiniec, located 15 km from Krakow, is the ancient Benedictine Abbey. The abbey was founded in 1044 to support the restoration of the state, the strengthening of the church and the development of culture.

Despite numerous trials, the territory of the abbey is very well preserved. It combines elements of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque architecture — it looks harmonious and strikingly beautiful.

The monastery is like hanging on a rock — a powerful fortress protected by hills. Today, part of the facade of the monastery is under restoration, but you can go inside and visit the territory of the abbey. Entrance to the territory is free of charge.

You can visit the church, bookstore and museum. In the museum and bookstore there are sometimes interesting meetings and workshops (e.g. calligraphy or herbarium making). It is also possible to book a tour.

In the courtyard of the monastery there is a huge old, very deep (about 40 meters) well, with which one of the local legends is connected.

How to get there: You can get to Tiniec by car or bus 112 from the stop "Salwator".

Location: Tiniec, Poland.

Dobczyce

Another option to take a break from the noise of Krakow's streets is to drive 25 km to the small town of Dobczyce. The main attraction here is the ruins of a medieval castle on a hilltop with a magnificent view of the lake and mountains.

It is still unknown when exactly the castle was built — historians say that it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style as early as the 16th century. At that time it had about 70 large and smaller rooms, and later it was used as an "academy" — a place for the education of the king's sons.

During the following centuries the castle was repeatedly destroyed, but until the beginning of the XIX century people still lived there until the locals started to dismantle it in search of treasures. Whether these searches were successful is unknown. Today, the reconstructed part of the castle belongs to the Regional Museum.

Skansen, located just below the castle, is dedicated to wooden architecture. Here you can see ancient houses built from wood. There are only six of them, but each one represents a specific function that such buildings fulfilled in ancient times. A burial house, a tavern, a blacksmith's shop and dwelling houses are all represented here.

There is a general ticket to the skansen and the castle: a full ticket costs 10 PLN and a discounted ticket costs 8 PLN.

How to get there: You can get to Dobczyce by car.

Location: Dobczyce, Poland.

Have a nice trip!