Tour of Kazimierz, Ghetto, Plaszow Camp & Synagogue

This combined route reveals both the rich pre-war heritage of Kazimierz and the wartime tragedy of the ghetto, blending culture, memory, and resilience in one moving experience. Within this broader narrative, you’ll also visit the former concentration camp in Płaszów, a haunting site that bears witness to the persecution, deportations, and destruction of Kraków’s Jewish community — a place that powerfully conveys both the scale of tragedy and the enduring importance of remembrance.

Highlights:

• Explore Krakow’s Jewish heritage with an expert local guide
• Visit the Remuh Synagogue
• Take a comprehensive tour of the Plaszow Concentration Camp
• Walk through the former ghetto and hear stories of survival

Itinerary:

Old Synagogue  / 10min / Admission ticket not included
Discover Kraków’s Kazimierz, the historic Jewish quarter, on a guided walk with an expert local guide. The tour begins by the Old Synagogue, the oldest surviving synagogue in Poland, and continues to the courtyard of the Popper Synagogue. See Helena Rubinstein’s birthplace and hear about the Jewish families who shaped the district.

Popper Syngagouge / 10min / Pass By

Remuh Synagogue  / 30 min / Admission Ticket Not included
The highlight is entry to the Remuh Synagogue, an important active house of prayer in Kraków. Next door is the historic Jewish cemetery, viewed from the outside while your guide explains its history and symbols, from old headstones to traditions of remembrance.

Isaac Synagogue / 10min / Pass By
From there the walk continues past the baroque Isaac Synagogue, the Kupa Synagogue, and the elegant Tempel Synagogue, once the center of reform Jewish life. Along the way your guide points out traces of Jewish heritage and stories of everyday life before the war—markets, crafts, and community life. You will also explore lively Nowy Square, the beating heart of modern Kazimierz with its cafés and street food.  

Kupa Synagogue /10min / Pass By

Tempel Synagogue  / 10 min / Pass By

Plac Nowy / 15min / Pass By

Spielberg Passage / 15min / Pass By
The route leads through Spielberg Passage, known from the film Schindler’s List, site of the stairway scene, before reaching the Gothic Corpus Christi Basilica, a reminder of Kazimierz’s Christian heritage.

Father Bernatek Footbridge / 20 min / Pass By
Cross the Vistula River. On the opposite bank lies Podgórze, site of the wartime ghetto.  The first stop is Józefińska 14, once home to the Judenrat, the Jewish Council under Nazi rule

Ghetto Heroes Square / 15 min / Admission Ticket Free
From there, you continue to Ghetto Heroes Square, the heart of the ghetto, where deportations to extermination camps took place. Today, the square is marked by the symbolic Chair Memorial, with each chair representing a life lost.

Eagle Pharmacy / 10min / Admission Ticket Not Included
Across the square stands the Under the Eagle Pharmacy, where Tadeusz Pankiewicz and his staff courageously aided ghetto residents, preserving medicine and hope. A short walk away is Józefińska 41, a building that housed the Jewish orphanage, a welfare office, and the ghetto hospital, all central to daily survival in this confined district.

Ghetto Walls / 10 min /  Admission Ticket free
Next are the remains of the Ghetto Walls, a stark reminder of the tight enclosure that once separated ghetto residents from the rest of the city.

Restaurant / 1h30min - 2h /  Admission Ticket Included
Then, enjoy a relaxing lunch at a nearby bistro.

Plaszow Camp / 2h / Entry ticket free

Afterwards, start guided tour of Krakow’s Former Concentration Plaszow Camp was created by the Nazi German occupiers in October 1942 on the grounds of two Jewish cemeteries in Krakow. It began as a forced-labor camp for Jews from the liquidated Krakow ghetto; from July 1943 it also held Poles in a penal-labor section. In January 1944 it was redesignated a concentration camp and, later that year, it also functioned as a transit camp for Hungarian Jews being sent onward to Auschwitz. Over its existence, more than 35,000 people were imprisoned here and around 6,000 were murdered. Executions took place at several sites within the camp; today mass graves and memorials mark the landscape.

On this guided walk your expert guide pieces the camp together from what survives: the Grey House, the ruins of the pre-burial hall, traces of the Jewish cemeteries, the roll-call square, and paths where fragments of gravestones were once used to pave roads. You will reflect at major memorials, including the Monument of Torn-Out Hearts, and learn how the camp was organized into living, hospital, administrative, and industrial sections.

An essential part of Plaszow’s story is Oskar Schindler. Through his enamelware enterprise he sought work permits for Jewish prisoners registered through Plaszow, shielding them from further transports; later, he organized their transfer to his wartime plant in Brunnlitz, saving over a thousand lives. His actions, remembered worldwide, are inseparable from the history told here.   

Meeting point: Szeroka 24, 31-053 Krakow. Meet your guide on the steps of the Old Synagogue. They will hold an excursions.city sign (click to go to the Google maps).  

Endpoint: Henryka Kamieńskiego 57, 30-644 Kraków, Poland.