St Mary’s Basilica Krakow Tickets: The Square Door Is the Wrong Door

The queue at the great west door on the Main Market Square is not the ticket queue. That entrance is for worshippers only — it leads to the area kept for prayer, confession and adoration, and tourists are asked not to use it. Every visitor who joins it is in the wrong line.

Three doors, three things

• Prayer entrance — the west door on the square. Free, and not for sightseeing.
• Tourist entrance — the south side, tickets at Plac Mariacki 7. 20 PLN, reduced 10 PLN.
• Tower entrance — a third door, on ulica Floriańska. Separate ticket, 20 PLN, reduced 15 PLN. Note the reduced rate is 15, not 10.

You cannot book any of it

The basilica states plainly that advance reservation is not possible. Tower tickets are sold only at the visitor centre, on the day, in limited numbers. Anything sold online as a bookable St Mary’s ticket is not coming from the parish.

Time your arrival for the altarpiece

The Veit Stoss altarpiece — the reason to come — is opened at 11:50 Monday to Saturday and 14:10 on Sundays and holidays, and closed at 18:00. Arrive before it opens and you are looking at shut wings.

Tourist hours: Monday to Saturday 11:30–18:00, Sundays and holidays 14:00–18:00. The tower runs Tuesday to Saturday 11:00–17:30 and Sundays from 13:00, closed Mondays, with ascents every 25 minutes.

Tower restrictions

Fifteen people per group, two groups an hour, and no children under 7. It closes at short notice in bad weather. There is no lift and the parish publishes no accessibility information.

The photography permit is gone — no fee, no permit, though tripods and added lighting still need authorisation. One caution: the basilica’s own summary page for tourists is stale and contradicts its dedicated tower page on hours and the age limit. The dedicated tower pages agree with each other and are the ones to trust.

Source: mariacki.com, checked 26 August 2026.

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