Where to stay in Kraków

The Old Town is the medieval city around the Main Market Square, laid out with the charter of 1257 and listed by UNESCO in 1978. Everything inside the first ring road, plus the area around Wawel, lies in a restricted traffic zone, so a stay here means walking from wherever the car is parked.

Kazimierz, founded in the 14th century south of Wawel, was for centuries a Christian and Jewish town around Szeroka Street. Since 1989 its galleries, restaurants, pubs, small hotels, B&Bs and hostels have filled the old streets, and the flea market still runs on Plac Nowy. Across the Vistula, Podgórze has its own market square and the Krakus Mound, and Zabłocie the Schindler factory museum on ulica Lipowa. Nowa Huta, the model city of the 1950s, lies about 7 km east of the Main Market Square in a straight line.

The clean transport zone, the SCT, has applied since 1 January 2026 and covers about 60 per cent of the city. Petrol cars may enter if they meet Euro 4 or were built in 2005 or later; diesel cars up to 3.5 t need Euro 6 or a 2014 build year. Compliant cars registered in Poland are in the system automatically. A car registered abroad must be entered by its user, even when it meets the standard, with a copy of the registration document, the make, model, year and emission standard. Cameras read number plates at entry, so register before the first drive in; the city warns that its SCT system has been running unstably.

Cars that fail the standard and belong to non-residents may still enter during a transition to the end of 2028 by paying PLN 2.50 an hour; in 2026 two consecutive hours admit the car for the rest of the day. Payment works online, at the city road authority's cash desks or at machines at BP stations on the roads into the city.

The zone's legal footing is contested in one respect. On 14 January 2026 the regional administrative court struck out the rules that tied residents' exemptions to registration; the ruling is not final and the Małopolska voivode has appealed, so the zone applies under resolution XXXII/619/25 while the appeal runs.

Street parking in subzone A costs PLN 9 for the first hour, PLN 10 for the second, PLN 11 for the third and PLN 9 after that, every day from 09:00 to 22:00; subzones B and C start at PLN 8 and PLN 7 and are free on Sundays. An unpaid stay costs PLN 400, or PLN 200 within 7 days. GetCar's car rental page for Kraków compares local and international rental companies. Driving in from Katowice on the A4, the toll is PLN 18 at each of the Mysłowice and Balice plazas from 1 April 2026.

Kraków charges no visitor levy. It collected the opłata miejscowa from 2004 to 2015 and then abolished it, and the city says it will act on a tourist fee once national short-let rules are settled. That national bill, which would give every short-let flat an ID number for its listings, passed committee on 17 September 2026 and awaits its second reading in the Sejm.

A foreigner staying in Poland for up to 30 days needs no residence registration.

Subzone A charges every day, Sundays included except shopping Sundays, so a weekend in the Old Town pays as much as a weekday; subzones B and C are free on Sundays and all three are free on public holidays such as 15 August and 1 November. Non-EU travellers arriving from outside the Schengen area pass through the Entry/Exit System, fully operational since 10 April 2026. Compare prices on this page before booking.

A first visit on foot: the Old Town.

Restaurants, bars and the Jewish heritage: Kazimierz.

Across the river, with the Schindler factory nearby: Podgórze and Zabłocie.

Post-war architecture and a longer stay: Nowa Huta.