Green Kraków: Parks, Mounds and Nature

Kraków is an easy city to slow down in. A green ring wraps the Old Town, meadows and riverbanks open up a short walk from the centre, and four grassy mounds give long views over the rooftops. If you want a break from museums and churches — or are travelling with children — this guide covers the best of green Kraków. For the wider picture, see our Kraków travel guide and things to do in Kraków.

The Planty

The Planty is a leafy park that rings the entire Old Town, laid out in the 19th century where the medieval city walls once stood. It makes a shaded, roughly four-kilometre loop past monuments, fountains and benches, and it is the simplest green escape in the city — you are never more than a few minutes from it anywhere in the centre. A short stretch of the old walls survives at the Barbican and Floriańska Gate.

Błonia and Jordan Park

West of the centre, the Błonia is a vast open meadow — some 48 hectares of grass almost in the middle of the city, used for festivals, concerts and papal masses. Beside it, Jordan Park is a classic family park with playgrounds and a pond, and the whole area flows into the paths along the Rudawa stream. It is the city’s favourite spot for a run, a picnic or a lazy afternoon.

The mounds

Kraków is one of very few cities with its own man-made hills. Four mounds rise around it, two of them ancient and mysterious:

• Kościuszko Mound — the best known, raised in the 1820s to honour Tadeusz Kościuszko, with a fort around its base and a sweeping panorama of the city and, on clear days, the Tatra Mountains.
• Krakus Mound — the oldest, of uncertain prehistoric origin, on the Podgórze side; free to climb and a local favourite for sunsets.
• Piłsudski Mound — the largest, in the Wolski Forest, and Wanda Mound out by Nowa Huta complete the set.

Forests, water and the river

For bigger green spaces, the Wolski Forest (Las Wolski) on the western edge of the city holds walking trails, the Piłsudski Mound, the Camaldolese monastery at Bielany and Kraków ZOO. Closer in, the Zakrzówek lagoon — a flooded former quarry with turquoise water and limestone cliffs — has been turned into a city bathing and recreation area. And the Vistula Boulevards (Bulwary Wiślane) below Wawel are made for a riverside walk, a drink on a moored barge or a short cruise.

The Botanical Garden

The Jagiellonian University Botanical Garden, east of the Old Town, is the oldest in Poland, founded in 1783 — a quiet enclosure of old trees, glasshouses and ponds that most visitors never find. It is a lovely, low-key hour, best from spring to autumn; check current opening on the university’s site.

Practical tips

• Getting around. The Planty, Błonia and the Boulevards are walkable from the centre; Kościuszko Mound, Zakrzówek and the Wolski Forest are a short tram or bus ride out.
• Cost. The parks, meadows, boulevards and Krakus Mound are free; Kościuszko Mound, the ZOO and the Botanical Garden charge modest entry.
• When to go. Green Kraków is at its best from late spring to early autumn; the mounds are worth timing for sunset.
• Combine it. Krakus Mound pairs naturally with Kazimierz and Podgórze, and the Boulevards with a visit to Wawel.

Frequently asked questions