Wieliczka Salt Mine

One of the most famous attractions in Krakow is the huge Wieliczka Salt Mine located not far from the city. There is a public bus near Plac Jana Matejki which you can take directly to the Salt Mine bus station.

The salt mine is a UNESCO heritage site and definitely a place not to be missed on your bucket list.

Tours are offered pretty frequently in a variety of languages but make sure you grab some food before you go as there is just a snack bar outside before beginning the tour. There is a restaurant in the mine after you are done so don't worry about starving after finishing your visit.

The start of the tour begins with a lengthy walk down 54 flights of stairs so be prepared and certainly dont come in heels. The mine reaches a depth of over 1000 feet deep (over 300 meters) and is over 300 km long, though don't worry, you'll only be walking about 3-4 km out of that!

My first glimpse of salt on the walls as you get down to the lower levels.

A neat statue erected in one of the underground chambers and some scenes from within the tunnels of the mine.

Didn't quite catch the whole story here unfortunately. I think she may have been the saint for miners. Here we see some salt buildup on the right.

This was to illustrate the dangers faced by many miners who died when exploring the treacherous tunnels for the first time.

Some depictions of miners at work:

Next, we move on to the breathtaking Chapel of St Kinga.