Thematic in Kraków
Krakow with Kids: Family Days Out, Prices and Free Days
Krakow is easy with children once you know which museums close on Mondays, which are free on Tuesdays and where the zoo, the aircraft and the water slides are.
By ViewPoland Editorial
6 min read
Updated October 2026
The short answer
With children, build a Krakow trip around the zoo in Las Wolski, the Polish Aviation Museum, where kids can step inside some aircraft, the Museum of Engineering and Technology and the aquapark. Both museums close on Mondays; on Tuesdays the aviation museum and the engineering museum's main exhibition are free.
Krakow's best-known sights were not designed for children, but the city has a set of places that are, spread around the city. This guide covers those, with the prices and opening days published by each venue, and then the classic sights that also work for a family. Prices and hours below are as listed in October 2026.
Where can children see animals in Krakow?
Kraków Zoo sits in Las Wolski, the city forest. The zoo says it covers 20 hectares and is home to about 270 species, and advises giving it more than an hour. The main ticket office is open from 9 am to 4 pm, and you can stay until 5 pm.
From 1 November to 31 March a regular ticket costs 40 PLN, a reduced ticket 34 PLN and a family ticket for two adults and two children 132 PLN. From 1 April to 31 October the prices rise to 48 PLN, 40 PLN and 160 PLN. The reduced ticket applies to children from the age of three, among others.
Leave the car behind if you can. The zoo recommends bus 134, which leaves from the Cracovia Stadion stop and ends at the zoo gate, and notes that on weekends and public holidays cars cannot drive to the zoo gate, except vehicles marked for people with disabilities. The Łysa Góra car park on ul. Kukułcza, about 1 km from the zoo, is open every day. The forest itself, with its mound and walking paths, is covered in our page on Las Wolski.
Is the Polish Aviation Museum in Krakow good for kids?
Here children can climb inside some of the exhibits. Under an autumn 2026 offer, the museum has opened the interior of the Amiot AAC.1 Toucan, a French-built version of the Junkers Ju 52 nicknamed Auntie Ju, from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm and from 3:30 to 4:30 pm (since 6 October), and visitors can step into the PZL-105L Flamingo in the main building from Tuesday to Sunday during opening hours; check that both are still running. The Mi-8S papal helicopter is closed inside from November to April to protect it from damp.
In October 2026 the museum listed opening hours of Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 5 pm, with Mondays closed; hours are set month by month, so check before you go. Ticket sales and last entry end 45 minutes before closing, and the museum is closed on 1 and 11 November and from 24 to 26 December 2026. A regular ticket costs 35 PLN and a reduced one 21 PLN, children under seven go free, and a family ticket for two adults and two children, or one adult and three children, costs 92 PLN. Admission is free on Tuesdays. More on the collection is on our Polish Aviation Museum page.
What is the Museum of Engineering and Technology in Krakow?
The museum's Depot, at ul. św. Wawrzyńca 15 in Kazimierz, houses the permanent exhibition, called The City. Technosensitivity. The museum suggests allowing at least an hour and a half.
The depot is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm, with last entry at 5 pm, and closed on Mondays. Tickets to the permanent exhibition cost 35 PLN, 28 PLN concessionary and 10 PLN for preschool children, and a family ticket costs 95 PLN. Every Tuesday the permanent exhibition is free, but places are limited, so the museum asks visitors to collect a free pass in advance at the ticket office or on its ticket website. The temporary exhibition and other paid areas are not part of the free Tuesday.
Where can kids swim in Krakow?
Park Wodny, Krakow's aquapark at ul. Dobrego Pasterza 126, lists opening hours of 8 am to 10 pm. It lists eight slides with a total length of 800 metres and a paddling pool with a pirate island for small children. Check the current price list on its website before you go.
In summer there is an outdoor option too: Zakrzówek, a flooded quarry turned into a swimming park. For the warm months as a whole, see Krakow in summer.
Which classic Krakow sights work for children?
The dragon is the obvious one. The Wawel Dragon statue and Dragon's Den sit at the foot of Wawel Hill, but note that Wawel lists the Dragon's Den as open only until 31 October, so in winter you get the statue without the cave. The Rynek Underground museum under the Main Market Square suits curious older children.
For running about, the Błonia meadow and the green ring of the Planty are free, and the Kościuszko Mound gives children a climb with a view. The Wieliczka Salt Mine can be a family day out too, but read our Wieliczka practical guide about the stairs before you take small children.
Which days are best for Krakow museums with children?
Tuesday. Both the Polish Aviation Museum and the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Engineering and Technology are free that day, at the engineering museum with a limited number of free passes, and both close on Mondays. So keep Monday for the zoo, a walk or the aquapark, and do the museums on Tuesday. The wider pattern of Sunday and Monday closures is explained in what is open in Krakow on Sundays and Mondays.
Energylandia, the amusement park in Zator, opens its 2027 main season on 3 April 2027; in winter it runs a separate Winter Kingdom event, listed for 28 November to 31 January, so check its website for dates and what is open. For a family trip across the country, our family trip to Poland plan and the best family attractions in Poland pick up where this guide stops, and Krakow trams and buses explains the tickets for getting between them. Arriving by air? Krakow Airport to city centre compares the train, buses and taxis.
Sources
Kraków Zoo, prices, with its pages on opening hours and access, for the zoo. Polish Aviation Museum, visit and its October 2026 notice on aircraft interiors. Museum of Engineering and Technology, depot hours and prices. Park Wodny Kraków for the aquapark. Wawel Royal Castle, what to see for the Dragon's Den season. Energylandia's season dates come from the park's own website. Cover photo: The Wawel Dragon statue, Kraków, J Doll / CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Written by ViewPoland Editorial for ViewPoland, an independent English-language guide to Poland. Published 25 October 2026. Last updated 25 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
A family ticket for two adults and two children costs 132 PLN from November to March and 160 PLN from April to October, according to the zoo's price list.
The Polish Aviation Museum and the permanent exhibition of the Museum of Engineering and Technology. At the engineering museum, free places are limited, so collect a free pass in advance.
Children under seven get in free. Older children pay the reduced price of 21 PLN, or the family ticket covers two adults and two children for 92 PLN.
Yes, in some of them. Under an autumn 2026 offer the Ju 52 Auntie Ju is open inside at set times, as is the PZL-105L Flamingo from Tuesday to Sunday; check that both are still running. The papal helicopter's interior is closed from November to April.
No. Wawel lists it as open until 31 October. The dragon statue outside can be seen all year.
Take bus 134 from the Cracovia Stadion stop; it ends at the zoo gate. On weekends and public holidays private cars cannot drive to the zoo gate, but the Łysa Góra car park about 1 km away is open every day.