Free museums in Krakow on Tuesday
If your trip allows one day for free museums in Krakow, make it a Tuesday. The permanent exhibitions of every open branch of the National Museum in Krakow are free, from the Sukiennice gallery on the Main Square to the Main Building . So are venues run by seven other institutions: the Museum of Krakow, the Archaeological Museum , Manggha , MuFo , the Ethnographic Museum , the Museum of Engineering and Technology and the Polish Aviation Museum . The catch is that each hands out its free entry differently.
Museums with free admission on Tuesday
Czartoryski Museum
Czartoryski Museum in Krakow - Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine. Open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, tickets 65/50 PLN, free entry on Tuesdays.
Regular: 65 PLN | Reduced: 50 PLN
Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology
Manggha Museum Krakow - Japanese art on the Vistula, facing Wawel Castle. Opening hours Tue-Sun 10-18, tickets 30/20 PLN, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 30 PLN | Reduced: 20 PLN
National Museum in Krakow - Main Building
National Museum in Krakow, Main Building - 20th-century Polish art, design and major temporary shows. Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, tickets 45/35 PLN, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 45 PLN | Reduced: 35 PLN
Rynek Underground
Rynek Underground Krakow - archaeological route beneath the Main Square. Opening hours, tickets 45/35 PLN, free Tuesdays, booking advice.
Regular: 45 PLN | Reduced: 35 PLN
Sukiennice - Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art
Sukiennice Gallery of 19th-century Polish art above Krakow's Cloth Hall. Open Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, tickets 35/25 PLN, free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 35 PLN | Reduced: 25 PLN
Archaeological Museum of Krakow
Archaeological Museum Krakow: during the rebuild only the prehistory of Ma艂opolska is open. Tue-Sat 9-17, Sun 11-16, tickets PLN 15/10, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 15 PLN | Reduced: 10 PLN
Czapski Museum in Krakow
The Czapski Museum in Krakow - the National Museum's numismatic cabinet of 100,000+ objects and the Jozef Czapski Pavilion. Permanent galleries free Tuesdays.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
Jan Matejko House
Jan Matejko House Krakow - the painter's home and studio on Floria艅ska. Hours (Tue-Sun), tickets 18/14 PLN, free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
Krzysztofory Palace - Museum of Krakow
Krzysztofory Palace on the Main Square - main seat of the Museum of Krakow and its city-history exhibition. Hours, tickets 34 PLN, free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 34 PLN | Reduced: 29 PLN
MNK Arsenal - Gallery of Ancient Art
The MNK Arsenal in Krakow - the Zrodla ancient art and Arms and Colours galleries at Pijarska 8. Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, tickets 18 PLN, free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
MuFo Rakowicka (Museum of Photography in Krakow)
MuFo Rakowicka, the main site of the Museum of Photography in Krakow at ul. Rakowicka 22A - hours (Tue-Sun), tickets 30/20 PLN, free Tuesdays, how to get there.
Regular: 30 PLN | Reduced: 20 PLN
Museum of Engineering and Technology
Museum of Engineering and Technology Krakow in a historic tram depot. Hours Tue-Sun 10-18, tickets PLN 35/28, free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 35 PLN | Reduced: 28 PLN
Polish Aviation Museum
Polish Aviation Museum Krakow on the historic Rakowice-Czy偶yny airfield. Tickets PLN 35/21, free Tuesdays; opening hours vary monthly - check ahead.
Regular: 35 PLN | Reduced: 21 PLN
Rydl贸wka - Young Poland Museum
Rydl贸wka in Krakow's Bronowice - the manor house of Wyspia艅ski's 'The Wedding', now a Young Poland museum. Tickets 22 PLN, free entry on Tuesdays.
Regular: 22 PLN | Reduced: 16 PLN
Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum
The Ethnographic Museum Krakow shows Polish folk culture in Kazimierz's old town hall. Hours Tue-Sun 10-18, tickets PLN 20/15, free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 20 PLN | Reduced: 15 PLN
Stanis艂aw Wyspia艅ski Museum
Wyspia艅ski Museum Krakow - the world's largest collection of his art. Hours (Tue, Thu-Sun), tickets 18/14 PLN, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
Szolayski House (MNK)
Szolayski House in Krakow - a National Museum branch on plac Szczepa艅ski showing 20th-21st century Polish design. Tickets 18 PLN, galleries free on Tuesdays.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
Bishop Erazm Cio艂ek Palace
Bishop Erazm Ciolek Palace - medieval Polish art and icons near Wawel. Hours, tickets 18/14 PLN, free Tuesdays, directions.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
Europe - Far East Gallery (Manggha)
The Europe - Far East Gallery in Krakow - the Manggha Museum's annexe for art of Asia and the Pacific. Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, tickets 30/20 PLN, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 30 PLN | Reduced: 20 PLN
J贸zef Mehoffer House
Jozef Mehoffer House in Krakow - the artist's home, garden and Wyspianski's birthplace. Hours, tickets 18/14 PLN, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 18 PLN | Reduced: 14 PLN
St Adalbert's Church Archaeological Reserve
The crypt of St Adalbert's Church on Krakow's Main Market Square - an Archaeological Museum exhibition. May-October, Mon-Sat 10:00-17:00, 10 PLN, free Tuesdays.
Regular: 10 PLN | Reduced: 6 PLN
Tips for Tuesday
- Know which queue you are in. Desk on the day only: the Czartoryski Museum and Rynek Underground. The Archaeological Museum hands out its passes at the desk on ul. Senacka. Reserve online: Krzysztofory Palace and Rydl贸wka through bilety.muzeumkrakowa.pl. The Museum of Engineering and Technology guarantees a place only with a pass collected in advance.
- Czartoryski Museum: for Leonardo, arrive at 10:00. The Czartoryski Museum issues free Tuesday tickets for a set time, in limited numbers, at its own desk on the day. If your schedule is tight, pay 65 PLN on another day and book a slot on bilety.mnk.pl. The audio guide is available in English.
- Rynek Underground closes at 15:00 on Tuesdays. Rynek Underground takes no reservations on the free day and shuts earlier than usual, so put it first. The entrance is inside the Cloth Hall, on the side facing St Mary’s Basilica; the Sukiennice gallery is one floor up in the same building.
- The small National Museum houses stay open until 18:00. Jan Matejko House , J贸zef Mehoffer House , Bishop Erazm Cio艂ek Palace , the Szolayski House and the Czapski Museum close at 16:00 on other days. The exception is the Stanis艂aw Wyspia艅ski Museum , which closes at 16:00 on Tuesday too.
- Kazimierz pairs two free museums. The Museum of Engineering and Technology is five to seven minutes on foot from plac Wolnica, home of the Ethnographic Museum. At the Ethnographic Museum only the permanent exhibition is free; its temporary show costs 15 PLN (reduced 10) on Tuesdays.
- Manggha reverses the usual rule. With no permanent display, Manggha opens all its current temporary exhibitions for free on Tuesdays, as does its Europe - Far East Gallery . It is ten minutes on foot from Wawel across the Grunwaldzki bridge, and Tuesday is its busiest day.
- Main Building: fifteen minutes west of the square. Trams 1 and 20 stop right outside, and the English audio guide costs 7 PLN (5 PLN reduced). Free admission covers the permanent galleries.
- Polish Aviation Museum: better on a Thursday. The museum in Czy偶yny is a little over ten minutes by tram from Rondo Mogilskie. It publishes no cap and no timed slots for free Tuesday, while Thursday is its own quiet day. Labels are patchy in English, so buy the 25 PLN English audio guide card.