Speciale Krakow
Krupówki Street on a day trip from Krakow
Krupówki is 800 metres of carved timber, cheese stalls and souvenir shops, and most people walk it at the worst hour of the day. Go at a better hour, and look at what sits just off it.
Di Rhys LlewellynKraków on foot — sights, neighbourhoods and the slow city
Ulica Krupówki runs about 800 metres through the middle of Zakopane, flagstoned, closed to traffic and lined with carved wooden shopfronts under wide eaves. Cheese stalls and waiting horse carriages fill the gaps, and the grey Tatra ridge closes the view at the southern end. Walking it end to end with stops takes 30 to 45 minutes, and the hour you pick decides the walk you get.
Buses from Kraków
Buses from Kraków's MDA station take two to two and a half hours and cost 20 to 45 zł. They pull in at Zakopane's bus station, about a 10-minute walk from the bottom of the street. The coach parties start from there too, walking up behind a guide. Day trips from Kraków run every day of the week and usually bundle the street with a cable car and the thermal baths. Reserve a few days ahead if you want one.
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The quiet hours
Krupówki is quietest before 09:00, after 19:00 and out of season. Shops open at 09:00 and close at 20:00, often later in summer, with souvenir shops trading until 22:00 at the height of the season. Bars on the street serve until midnight, some until 02:00. The middle of the street is paved and fairly level, so it's easy going with children. The side streets and the climb towards Gubałówka are steep and cobbled. At 08:30 you get a quiet street with mountains at the end of it. At 14:00 in August you get a shopping crowd.
Up to Gubałówka
The lower station of the Gubałówka funicular sits at the top of Krupówki, on ul. Na Gubałówkę, so the street leads you straight into it. The climb takes three and a half minutes. A return is 37 zł booked online, or 42 zł at the window; from 4 June to 30 September it rises to 44 zł and 49 zł. At the top there's an open ridge path of about 1.5 km. The Tatra wall runs along one side, with Giewont's cross-topped summit in the middle of it. Cheese and souvenir stalls line the way. You can be up and down in 20 minutes, though an hour and a half lets you use the ridge properly. From 16:00 a light trail called Kraina Światła runs up there, within the funicular's hours. In July and August the midday wait at the station runs 30 to 60 minutes, so go before 09:00 or after 17:00. The funicular is shut for its inspection from 16 to 27 November, with a road shuttle running instead.
Carved timber and who made it
Muzeum Tatrzańskie stands on the street itself at Krupówki 10. It makes sense as a first stop, because the highland rooms explain the woodwork you walk past outside. Inside you get Tatra geology, Podhale weaving, carving and costume, and the history of Polish mountaineering in period photographs. The permanent exhibition is 26 zł, or 34 zł with the temporary show, and entry is free on Thursdays. It opens Wednesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:15, and you'll want an hour and a half to two hours.
A few minutes off the top of the street, at ul. Kościeliska 18, Willa Koliba is where the carving started. Stanisław Witkiewicz designed the house and local carpenters built it in 1892 and 1893, the first in the Zakopane Style. Five rooms are kept as they originally were, with the furniture made for them. Entry is 25 zł for the permanent rooms, free on Thursdays, and an hour is enough. It opens at 09:00 and closes at 17:00, later on Friday and Saturday, and it's closed on Tuesday.
Five minutes off the strip
Sanktuarium Najświętszej Rodziny stands at the head of the promenade, at Krupówki 1a. It is a tall stone church from the end of the 19th century, and the one indoor stop on the street that costs nothing. Masses run through the day from 06:30, so look in between services.
The stop worth more of your time is on ul. Kościeliska, where Stary Kościół i Cmentarz na Pęksowym Brzyzku puts a small shingled wooden church beside a sloping graveyard of hand-carved crosses under tall trees. Witkiewicz is buried here, along with a symbolic grave for Witkacy. There's a 3 zł admission at each, which goes towards keeping the gravestones up. Allow 30 to 45 minutes, go in the morning, keep your voice down and don't photograph people at the graves. On 1 November it's the busiest place in town.
Eating on Krupówki
Eating on the street costs more than eating a couple of streets back, so if the bill matters more than the view, have dinner off it. For a known price on Krupówki itself, Schronisko Krupówki at number 34a is a timber room with benches and windows looking up to Giewont. The breaded pork cutlet is 29 zł on its own or 37 zł with potatoes, and trout is 59 zł. Grilled oscypek, the local cheese, is served from June to October only. Tables are bookable from 10:00 to 22:00.
For the band, go to Gazdowo Kuźnia at the bottom of the street at Krupówki 1, in an 1891 building that held Zakopane's first hotel. Highland musicians play every day from 18:00. Book a table, and expect to wait, as the food is cooked to order. Skip it if you want to hear yourself talk.
Góralski Browar is on the third floor of the centre at Krupówki 40, on the corner of ul. Piłsudskiego. It's a modern hall with a stage and a dance floor. House beers include a raspberry pale called Maryna and a honey beer, 21 zł for a half litre. The XXL pork knuckle is 76 zł.
Breakfast above the street
STRH Bistro Art Cafe is on the third floor at Krupówki 4a, with floor-to-ceiling glass over the pedestrian street and the Tatras filling the far windows. It does breakfasts, a lunch menu and lighter small plates in the evening, with coffee, wine and craft beer. It opens at 08:30 (10:00 on Tuesday) and closes at 22:00, later on Friday and Saturday. It fills up at peak hours, so go early or late.
Kasprowy Wierch and the baths
The cable car to Kasprowy Wierch leaves from ul. Kuźnice 14, outside the centre, and it is not on Krupówki. It climbs to a stony saddle at 1,900 m, with the Slovak side dropping away behind. A return is 129 zł in the low season, and 99 zł to 165 zł in summer depending on the departure hour you choose. Tickets are time-slotted, so book online in advance. If the summit is in cloud, leave it, as you can't sit and wait for it to clear.
Chochołowskie Termy, at Chochołów 400, is the thermal half of the standard Zakopane day, 30 km west of town and 35 to 40 minutes by car. Buses out there are awkward, so plan on a car or a transfer. The pools are open from 09:00 to 22:00, until 23:00 on Friday and Saturday, and a three-hour ticket is 95 zł on weekdays, rising to 115 zł from Friday. Winter Saturdays fill up, so go on a weekday morning and give it a half day of its own.
Closed days and bookings
The Tatra museum is shut on Monday and Tuesday and Koliba on Tuesday, so a Tuesday in town leaves you the street, the churches and the mountain. Book your Kasprowy car and your karczma table before you travel. See the Krakow guide and the Krakow hotel search.
Prima di partire
How long do I need on Krupówki Street?
Walking the 800 metres end to end with a few stops takes 30 to 45 minutes. Add the Gubałówka funicular and you are out for about two hours.
When is the best time of day to walk it?
Go before 09:00, after 19:00, or out of season. In between, coach parties walk up from the bus station with a guide and the middle of the street is slow going.
How do I get there from Krakow?
Buses from Kraków's MDA station take two to two and a half hours and cost 20 to 45 zł. The bus station is about a 10-minute walk from the bottom of the street.
How much is the Gubałówka funicular?
A return is 37 zł online or 42 zł at the window, rising to 44 zł and 49 zł from 4 June to 30 September. It closes for inspection from 16 to 27 November 2026, when a road shuttle runs instead.
Is anything open if I come on a Monday or Tuesday?
The street, the shops and the funicular all work normally. The Tatra museum is shut on Monday and Tuesday, and Willa Koliba on Tuesday, so leave the museums for another day.
