Magiczny Kraków - Good to know

Kraków is one of Poland’s key road, railway, and air hubs. The international Kraków Airport is the country’s second in terms of both size and number of passengers. Two major routes run through or in the close vicinity of Kraków: the north-south national road no. 7, and a section of the European route E40 (the A4 motorway). The city has a convenient train link to Warsaw, and is close to other significant cities in this part of Europe: Lviv, Prague, Budapest, and Vienna.

International Airport Kraków-Balice

ul. kpt. M. Medweckiego 1

24h airport information: tel. 12 295 58 00, 0801 055 000

Accessing Kraków city centre using public transport:

– railbus: journey time approx. 20 minutes; trains run every 30-45 minutes from the Main Railway Station; the train stops approx. 200 m from the T1 terminal; tickets: PLN 10; free bus between the stop and the T1 (international) and T2 (domestic)

– city bus: lines no. 208, 292, night bus no. 902; tickets: PLN 3,20

www.krakowairport.pl

Main Railway Station

pl. im. Jana Nowaka-Jeziorańskiego 3

www.pkp.pl

Regional Bus Station

ul. Bosacka 18

enquiries: tel. 703 40 33 40

international ticket office: tel. 12 393 52 55

www.rda.krakow.pl

Kraków Public Transport

Kraków tram and bus lines make moving around the city (and the neighboring Wieliczka) fairly easy. It is quite a good idea to leave your car outside the city centre and use public transport.

The timetables are available on the website of the Municipal Transport Enterprise (www.mpk.krakow.pl) and at the bus stops. A single ticket for one ride – or with changes within 30 minutes – costs PLN 2,80. Same tickets apply for buses and trams. All tickets must be punched in a ticket machine immediately on boarding a bus or a tram. The validity of timed and daily tickets is specified by the four last digits stamped on your tickets, which show the exact time when you first punched the ticket.

Within the city, all trams and the buses numbered 100 to 194, 405 to 451 and 501 to 522, use the city fare. In the buses numbered 201 to 304, the same tickets are used to travel within the city and PLN 3 fare is paid to travel in the city agglomeration. No luggage fares are required.

The tickets can be purchased in:

– local kiosks,

– ticket machines at bus stops (in the city centre they can be found at almost all the bus stops; the machines take both banknotes and most coins),

– ticket selling booths by Teatr Bagatela (Bagatela Theatre at ul. Podwale) and by the Main Railway Station at ul. Basztowa,

– in the seasonal tickets sales office (in the city centre – ul. Podwale 3/5),

– on buses and trams in ticket machines (available in the new tram or bus models; they take coins only) or with a driver (you must be sure to hand in the correct change and additional charge is added onto the regular price of the ticket),

– using your mobile phone, using the moBILET (www.mobilet.pl) and mpay (www.mpay.pl) systems. Both require registration; however, they are a convenient way of buying tickets anytime and anywhere.

www.mpk.krakow.pl

The Royal Route for Tourists with Disabilities

Thanks to the scale models of buildings which arrived in the city centre in autumn 2010, Kraków can now be enjoyed by people with visual impairment or motor disabilities. The first such model is located by the walls on the Barbican side, with the trail leading all the way along the Royal Route as far as Wawel, which is home to the last model presenting the current layout of the castle hill.

The models have been designed and created by the Cracovian artist Karol Badyna. The bronze sculptures are accompanied by captions using the Latin alphabet (in Polish and in English) and in Braille (again, in Polish and in English). The plinths have been set at a height allowing people with disabilities easy access using wheelchairs.

The project is complemented by the Ariadna Royal Route application, allowing the users to use their mobile phones to listen to descriptions of the models and instructions on how to reach the next one along the route. The application and the descriptions are available on City Municipality’s website: http://ue.krakow.pl/projekty/4597,190,ue_projekt.html.

Krakow Tourist Card

The two- or three-day card (valid on consecutive days) entitles the holder to free travel on city buses and trams during the day and at night (including buses no. 208 and 292 to the Balice Airport and 304 to Wieliczka), as well as free entry to 30 museums (including the Gallery of the 19th-century Polish Art in the Cloth Hall, the underground route below the Main Market Square, the Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory, the Polish Aviation Museum, and the St Mary’s Church). Card holders also get a range of discounts in selected restaurants and shops, and on local trips. The card is available among others in InfoKraków points, selected travel agencies and hotels.

www.krakowcard.com

Prepared by Barbara Skowrońska, Karnet