Is Kraków Safe? Everything You Should Know for 2024

Millions of people each year visit the charming city of Kraków, Poland’s most visited city. With this in mind, is Kraków safe? Other cities around the world that see the tourism numbers Kraków does are known for also having pick-pockets, scams, and other issues that tourists and locals must navigate. However, Kraków at the current point in time does not suffer from many issues related to safety, so Kraków is indeed safe. This may change in the future as Kraków gets more and more popular, but for now, it is true. 

However, there are a few places in Kraków that at certain times might be better to avoid. This depends on the time of the year, the event happening, and some other characteristics. I will describe these, and a few scams to watch out for. I will also provide general information on crime and safety information, especially for persons from diverse backgrounds. Read on to learn more!

Crime and Safety Information in Kraków

Statistically, Kraków is one of the safest cities in all of Poland. Kraków ranks low in all crime metrics, except for a slight uptick in crime recently (which likely matches with the increase in tourism in the past 5 years). Violent crime rates are low, and so is theft, so you should not have to worry about pickpockets on your trip to Kraków (although they still exist). This all matches the general trend of Poland being one of the safest places to visit in all of Europe, with its cities ranking as some of the safest cities anywhere in the world. 

One area that can be dangerous is related to pedestrian safety. Most tourists in Kraków spend their time in the city center. This area is mostly closed to cars. But, as many tourists stay outside of the city center (which is cheaper and quieter), you will likely walk to the Market Square in the Old Town at some point. While doing this, you will encounter crosswalks without signals that you are just supposed to cross. This can be daunting if you are new to Poland. Polish traffic laws state that all traffic must stop for pedestrians. So, if you start walking, they should stop but do not take this for granted. 

More dangerous as a pedestrian are the trams. At these same crosswalks, there are also tram tracks that are next to the road that you must also cross. The issue here is the trams do not have the same obligation to stop for pedestrians, although they often will. So, while crossing these streets, you need to sometimes wait to cross after the trams have passed, and then start as the cars should stop for you. This rule for the trams follows anywhere else in the city, so be extra cautious. 

However, while Kraków is generally safe, for some groups of people, it can be less safe. Poland is a very homogenous country, with most of its residents white and catholic, and ethnically Poles. There has been an uptick in immigration from all around the year in recent years and of course a large group of Ukrainians. But, some Poles still unfortunately have a backward mindset about people from different countries. 

While in Kraków, you are still unlikely to face such issues. In fact, some claim Kraków is the most liberal city in all of Poland. However, Kraków is also a regional capital, and many people from the surrounding region of Małopolskie come to Kraków to do business each day. The region around Kraków tends to be more right-leaning and has the potential to be xenophobic. And some people in the region are especially resistant to the uptick in tourists from the Middle East in the region, who are also visiting the winter capital of Zakopane. In my opinion, most of these people will keep their opinions online, and should not actually do anything harmful in real life.

One group of people that might face more scrutiny are members of the LGBT+ community. In general, Poland ranks as one of the least tolerant countries to LGBT+ individuals in Europe. This is mostly due to a lack of legal protections related to LGBT+ rights, and also the Polish rule of law does not define any hate crimes against LGBT+ persons. While I would say that many Poles, especially young Poles, are very tolerant and open, especially in major cities like Warsaw and Kraków, I would still be cautious.

5 Areas to Avoid in Kraków

Since Kraków is so safe in general, there are not many parts of Kraków to avoid. In fact, most places to avoid are places to avoid only situationally. But, I will cover why you should avoid these areas at certain times in the following sections. 

1. Old Town (at some points)

The beautiful Old Town of Kraków is one of the landmarks of Poland, and where a majority of tourists in Kraków spend most of their time. Last time I was in Kraków, there were probably thousands of people in just the Market Square at any given time, with many more walking through the rest of the streets, or on the path to Wawel Castle. I am not suggesting that you should not visit the Old Town. You should, but you might need to be careful. With so many large crowds throughout the year, this is a place where you could get pickpocketed if there was anywhere in Kraków where this could happen. 

The Old Town is also where you might need to watch out for any scams (more on those later). You should not have to worry about any sort of violent crime, as there are so many people even until 6 in the morning, as well as ample police presence, that nothing like this ever happens. But, the danger is also in the crowd sizes. It is easy to get trapped here amongst the crowds of people, especially at the Christmas Market in the Market Square, so be cautious while visiting. As a major party center, this might also be where you encounter drunks as well. 

How can you avoid the issues of the Old Town? In my opinion, it is worth getting an early start to your day. Go to the Old Town in the morning before the rest of your fellow tourists wake up, or as other tourists are going home from the parties. This is probably the only time you can walk around with very few people if you are visiting during peak tourist season. Then visit the museums or sites you are interested in, such as St. Mary’s Church or the Rynek Underground Museum, and leave for another part of the city for the rest of your day. 

2. Kraków Strip Clubs

This is perhaps the most dangerous part of Kraków. Take that statement with a grain of salt, however. It is only dangerous if you are not informed and aware of what can happen (and the worst is not guaranteed to happen). Kraków undoubtedly has a reputation as a party town, and many people come to Kraków for pre-wedding trips, birthday parties, or gals or guys trips. This warning goes out mostly to the guys’ trips and pre-wedding trips for the husband-to-be. Kraków has both bars and some strip clubs that these trips have been known to visit. In my opinion, you should not ever visit a Kraków strip club, no matter how reputable it seems. 

Here’s why: there have been some situations in the past where people in strip clubs have been drugged, and robbed by the owners and security of the bars. Here is how the story will go:

• An attractive girl will approach you on the street inviting you to have some drinks with her. If you are in a large group, she will target only a few of you, maybe the ones who are already really drunk. Alternatively, a friendly guy will offer to show you around the city and be friends, and entice you with the offer of “attractive ladies”  and “free drinks” at a strip club he knows. 
• You will show up at the strip club. Some drinks will immediately be brought to you, maybe even “on the house.” At this point, the girl or guy might ask you to buy drinks in return. You might protest “but you said there will be free drinks!” This does not matter to your new “friend” and the bulky bouncer lurking in the background. 
• At this point, maybe you agree to buy a drink. At this point, the drink you end up being forced to buy might end up being really expensive. Or, they might ask you to buy a round for the girls. You disagree. The bouncer tells you not to disagree. If you continue to disagree, the bouncer does not care less, and either forces you to pay through intimidation or beats you up. Saying you only have cash does not work either, you will get hauled to an ATM and forced to use the card you lied about not having to get out more cash. You will then leave, bruised and out up to a few hundred dollars.
• In the worst-case scenario, at some point, that welcoming drink was drugged. The rest of the night will unfortunately not be remembered, and in some people’s cases, you will wake up with no phone, a mostly empty wallet, and your bank accounts potentially drained. 

Other variations of this can simply happen at any bar. If you are drunk enough, you can get overcharged for any drink when paying by car. So my advice always is to drink responsibly, and if you can manage, only bring cash on your night out to pay. If you do not have bank cards, you will avoid any problems with them. Alternatively, make sure your bank has super air-tight security, requiring confirmation for every payment. In addition, make sure to leave your important documents at home, such as your passport. It is better to use an ID card or driver’s license for an ID at the bars (although I doubt you will ever be asked to show ID).

If, despite these warnings, you really want to go to a strip club, go at your own risk. Unfortunately, for most people who became victims of these scams, the local police do not really care about tourists getting scammed in the city. You will notice that this never happens to locals because they both know better and can make a fuss. So, the safest thing to do is avoid the potential situation. Go enjoy the many amazing bars of Kraków, and go to another city if you really want to go to strip clubs. 

3. Central Train and Bus Stations

Almost every single person arriving in Kraków is likely to arrive at either the Kraków Główny train station or the Kraków central bus station. Both are located right next to each other near the city center. Even if you are arriving by plane, you will likely take the convenient 20-minute airport train into Kraków Główny. Unfortunately, like other transport centers across the world, this area is not always the best place to hang out. Not only is this perhaps the busiest and most-crowded transport center in all of Poland, but some more unsavory people can hang about here. Although 99% of these people will do you no harm, it is still not the safest place to hang around. 

My advice is that if you are waiting for a train or a bus, do not get to the station any earlier than you need to. It is not a pleasant place to hang out anyway. If you do want to arrive early because you prefer to always be early (something I can relate to), hang out in one of the many coffee shops or restaurants within the train station, or if the adjacent mall is open, do some window shopping. 

4. Nowa Huta (potentially)

 Nowa Huta is a really cool part of Kraków. It was originally built to be a master-planned socialist community during Poland’s communist era. The wide streets, many parks, and interesting architecture all make it interesting. I visited it, and found it a very quiet part of town, although it is one of the most populated neighborhoods of the city. However, it seems that Nowa Huta has a reputation I was not aware of. However, this reputation may be overstated. 

Many opinions of Nowa Huta say it is unsafe to go there at night due to the people who live there. It seems in the past this may have been the case. Today, this district is akin to the Praga District of Warsaw, with a reputation due to a stigma remaining from the 90s, when in reality this district is quiet, a bit hipster, and full of families rather than drunks or gangs. 

However, Nowa Huta might still be unsafe for minorities or those in the LGBT+ community at night. Nowa Huta is far away from the city center with all the tourists, and the wide dark streets of concrete buildings can feel imposing and maze-like at night. At night, some locals advise avoiding Nowa Huta because of this, as the lack of familiarity can be unsafe if something bad were to happen. But, certainly visit Nowa Huta during the day, not many tourists do so you can enjoy it mostly by yourself!

5. Kraków Football Derbies

If you are into European football, you might be aware that Poland ultras are known for being extremely passionate. However, this passion can sometimes turn into aggression, especially for two specific derbies. Thus, if you happen to be in town during these derbies, it is best to avoid the areas around the stadiums before, during, and after the game, and also potentially the Old Town after the game depending on what happens. 

The two particular derbies to keep an eye out for are the “Holy War” and the “Polish Derby.” The Holy War is between the two largest football teams of Kraków, Wisła Kraków and MKS Cracovia. The rivalry runs deep and has its roots in prior rivalries between former Jewish football teams of Kraków. The two stadiums are also less than a kilometer apart, which does not help matters. In addition, one of the main hooligan groups of MKS Cracovia is the “Anti-Wisła” group. A comparable rivalry in the world of football in terms of hatred is Manchester United and Liverpool. 

The Polish Derby between Legia Warsaw and Wisła Kraków can also be quite intense, as these are two of the most successful teams in Polish history. However, this rivalry has not had the chance to form as much in recent years, as Wisła Kraków has been in a league one below Legia. However, if this rivalry reignites, you definitely want to avoid the Kraków stadiums during it. A comparable rivalry is between Arsenal and Tottenham. 

Thus, when visiting Kraków, it might be a good idea to check the football schedules of the Cracovian teams before arriving. The results of the matches have led to violent behavior in the past, not unlike other fierce football rivalries. Or, if you see a bunch of football fans wearing scarves in never-ending numbers, it might also be worth checking if something is going on.

2 Scams to Avoid in Kraków

As with most Polish cities, Kraków has only a few scams to watch out for. However, compared to Warsaw, Kraków’s scams have the danger of hurting you more financially, and potentially physically, so follow my advice below. 

1. Bar Price Scams

Let’s face it, many people who visit Kraków are doing so solely for the cheap alcohol that has been advertised in many publications and blogs alike. As mentioned earlier, Poles do not like to hear that you’ve come to their country to drink inexpensively. Some more entrepreneurial Poles have taken advantage of such situations in different ways. While there are many dozens of bars in just the Old Town, some of these bars might not offer you alcohol at the prices you were advertised (although full disclosure: alcohol in Kraków is actually quite expensive compared to other Polish cities). 

Similar to the strip club safety issue, you may see people inviting you to a bar for free drinks that may not turn out to be free after all. In addition, some bars may not have a menu or prices listed. When this is the case, if you are not Polish, you will most certainly be charged a foreigner’s price. Alternatively, if you do not specify which brand of vodka you want in your drink, the bartender may give you a little shot from the most expensive bottle in the bar, tripling the price of your drink.

Fortunately, it is very easy to avoid this scam. Do not go into bars suggested by random strangers on the street. There are so many bars that do not try to scam you that you should have no trouble finding a good one. If you walk into a bar and do not see clear prices, or the bartender will not tell you the prices, leave and find a different bar! If you still feel uneasy about this, there are many locally-led pub crawls for tourists throughout the year that you can take part in, with a guarantee that the bars you will go to will be safe, and a guarantee on price beforehand. Otherwise, drink responsibly!

2. Attraction “Scams”

As with the bars, it is never good news if anyone is trying to entice your interest in what they are selling. There is certainly a difference between an intrepid salesman and a con man. In a sense, these people I will be describing are not conmen, but rather people who will ultimately waste your money at a terrible attraction. The people to which I refer are people standing on the streets of the Old Town, advertising various tourist traps to visit, such as wax museums, animal houses, or other tours of the city. 

In my opinion, you should have no need to visit these attractions! Some may be advertised as kid-friendly if you are with your kids, but there are plenty of other kid-friendly activities in the city (such as the fire-breathing dragon statue, or some of the many great parks of the city). Kraków has so much to offer, that you should not be visiting such tourist traps. In fact, for less money, you can see an authentic DaVinci painting at the Princes Czartoryski Museum instead of a low-quality wax figure of Queen Elizabeth II or Shrek. At that point, it is pure economics to visit the actual cultural sites of the city over tourist traps that are a dime a dozen.

My Personal Experiences with Safety in Kraków

I have visited Kraków more times than any other city in Poland (other than Warsaw, where I reside). Every time I have visited Kraków, I have never once felt unsafe. However, there have been many times that I have felt cramped, especially during the Kraków Christmas Market. But, as Kraków gets more and more crowded as more European tourists seek cheaper holiday destinations, more unsafe situations are likely to arise. 

What can you do to help make sure this does not happen? Visit other cities in Poland too! Kraków is a great city to visit, and you should not skip it. But, try to visit in the off-season, in October and November, as well as January until April. Spreading out the impact of tourism makes Kraków a safer city both for tourists and for residents. Also, take advantage of many of the great sites around the city, and take a day trip to help reduce the load! For inspiration, check out this previous blog. 

Is Kraków Safe? In most cases, yes

Kraków is undoubtedly safe. The only issues to watch out for are if you are on a night out and are invited to a strip club or bar, and during any major football derbies. Otherwise, Kraków is a great city to explore for all ages. Consider visiting in the offseason to also avoid some of the crowds where danger can also happen. The month of October still has nice weather, but 10 times fewer people than the spring and summer. Otherwise, safe travels as you arrive in Kraków!