3. Krakow: Rynek Underground Museum Group or Private Tour
You will get to know the Main Market Square. Your local tour guide will take you on a fascinating journey back into the Middle Ages. You will walk above the ground, between the Cloth Hall and St. Mary's Church, and then cover the same path underground, while going 4-7 meters down to the Underground Museum. You will travel back in time and experience what the Main Square looked like 750 years ago.
You will learn about the history of the Market Square, which was the setting for the ceremonial meetings of the kings and foreign envoys, and a place where cloth, salt, barrels, shoes, as well as coal, lead and copper were traded. It was also a place where you could meet witches, thieves and alchemists, where the martens were put around the neck of the condemned man, and public flogging was held at the pillory. Over the centuries, the level of the Krakow market has risen up significantly, thus after descending into the underground, you will go back a few hundred years, to the times before the city was founded in 1257. With a little bit of imagination and help from your guide you will discover the atmosphere of the medieval Market Square while walking along the underground route and listening to the colorful stories. You will see the exposed foundations of former commercial buildings, medieval roads, hygienic utensils, used more than 600 years ago, or authentic 11th-century tombs, which will allow you to learn about the burials of vampires and witches.
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
With your tour guide you will visit the fascinating -and according to many - the best- museum in Kraków, that is the Underground Museum and do it without queuing in a ticket line. You will feel the atmosphere of the medieval Market Square. You will learn first-hand the history of the Main Market Square - the icon of Krakow, because your guide will be a local Krakow resident. You won't get similar knowledge neither from books nor the internet!
Meeting point
We will meet you at the entrance to the Rynek Underground Museum, Rynek Główny 1, 31-042 Kraków.
Sightseeing part I (~ 0.5h)
Our professional guide will take you for the first part of the walk during which you will get to know the Main Market Square and its monuments, located above the ground. You will learn where the former medieval cemeteries were located, where the martens were put around the necks of convicts, where the pillory was located and where public flogging took place.
Sightseeing part II (~ 1h)
Your guide will take you for the second part of the walk to the Underground Museum, where you will descend 4-7 meters below the surface of the Market Square to travel back in time and discover Krakow's medieval realities.
End of the tour
You will end your tour at the Main Market Square. You may then choose to go to the one of many local restaurants, recommended to you by your guide, and enjoy a delicious dinner. You can also join us on another tour, which starts at 7:30 pm.