What's on in Kraków (Cracow), Poland through the year

Busy — Christmas market, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)), Christmas market (27 Nov – 1 Jan)

Busy — Ferie zimowe (winter) holidays in Poland, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Busy — Easter break in Poland, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Lajkonik parade

  25 May – 30 Jun · usuallyMajor festival

  A man in a Tatar costume on a hobby horse works his way from Zwierzyniec to the market square, touching people with a mace for luck. Eight days after Corpus Christi, so the date moves. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Wianki midsummer, Jewish Culture Festival

• Festival

  Wianki midsummer

  19–21 JunMajor festivalCrowded

  Wreaths on the Vistula, concerts under Wawel and fireworks off the river on the midsummer weekend. The embankments are the venue and they are free. Source ↗

• Festival

  Jewish Culture Festival

  25 Jun – 8 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Nine days of concerts, workshops and walks in Kazimierz, ending with an open-air night on Szeroka Street. It has run since 1988 and is the reason the quarter fills that week. Source ↗

Still on: Lajkonik parade (25 May – 30 Jun (usually))

Peak crowds — Jewish Culture Festival, Summer holidays in Poland

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Jewish Culture Festival (25 Jun – 8 Jul (usually))

Busy — Summer holidays in Poland, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Busy — All Saints, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Holiday

  All Saints

  30 Oct – 2 NovNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  The country travels home on 1 November and the cemeteries burn with candles after dark; Rakowicki is the one to walk. Trains and roads out of the city are the worst of the year. Source ↗

Peak crowds — All Saints, Independence Day

• Hazard

  Winter smog

  1 Nov – 15 Mar · usually

  Coal heating in the valley towns around the city and a cold inversion put the worst air of the year over Krakow between November and March. It is a matter of days, not the whole season. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Independence Day

  11 NovNational holidayClosuresCrowded

  A public holiday: shops shut, Wawel closes to ordinary sightseeing around the morning mass, and the procession down the Royal Route to Matejki Square takes the Old Town streets out of use for the middle of the day. Source ↗

• Festival

  Christmas market

  27 Nov – 1 JanChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Stalls fill the main square for five weeks and stay up past New Year, selling smoked oscypek and grilled sausage rather than trinkets. Dark by four, which suits it. Source ↗

Still on: All Saints (30 Oct – 2 Nov)

Peak crowds — Christmas market, Christmas break in Poland

• Festival

  Nativity crib competition

  1–8 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New Year

  On the first Thursday of December the makers carry their glittering, tower-shaped cribs to the Mickiewicz monument at ten in the morning, then move to Krzysztofory Palace for judging and exhibition. Source ↗

Still on: Winter smog (1 Nov – 15 Mar (usually)), Christmas market (27 Nov – 1 Jan)