The most effective plan rests on two pillars connected by a long outdoor breath: in the morning the university and literature, in the afternoon history that leads into conversations about attitudes and choices in adult life. Between the pillars allow 60–90 minutes for food, cloakroom stops and ordinary togetherness on the Planty or by the Vistula. In this rhythm students don’t rush through points; they take away concrete images and words—sentences that will come back on the exam and during talks about study choices.
The courtyard of Collegium Maius opens like a book—stone arcades, a clock with little figures, a silence that says scholarship here has its rhythm for centuries. In a few minutes you can present the Jagiellonian University as a lifestyle choice: discipline, curiosity, teamwork. A short walk to Collegium Novum across the Planty is a natural continuation—under portraits of professors it’s easy to talk about what seminars, office hours and exam sessions really look like, not just ‘passing a course’.
Wawel Cathedral is a place where textbook chapters have street addresses: the Poets’ Crypt with Mickiewicz and Slowacki lets students touch words that until now lived only in notes. In the castle courtyard you can close your eyes and summon Wyspiański’s theatrical imagination: the conflict of duty and dream, community and the individual. The local hush, patches of light on the walls and the soft echo of footsteps build a stage for talking about freedom, responsibility and courage—categories that move from the matura to adult decisions.
Krupnicza Street with the former Writers’ House and the areas where Wisława Szymborska lived are a perfect pretext to simply read a poem out loud. A bench in half shade, a view of greenery and three minutes of silence—that’s enough to ask simple questions: what here is ‘about us’, where is the humor, and where is the refusal to accept mediocrity. Add the context of Czesław Miłosz, who spent his Kraków years in intense conversations about the responsibility of the word. For students this signals that literature is not a language museum but a living tool to engage with the world.
The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the Sukiennice is like a well-edited chapter: Matejko, Malczewski, Chełmoński, Siemiradzki—names that suddenly become faces and brushstrokes. Instead of racing through rooms, choose three paintings: one historical, one landscape, and one with strong symbolism. Ask students for a short “visual summary”: what is visible at first glance, what after a minute, and what after five. This exercise in reading an image transfers directly to analyzing poetry and prose—they learn to look carefully, not only to ‘recognize the work’.
The façade of the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre attracts like an album cover—cream details, gilding, light reflected from tram windows. It’s a good place to talk about drama: how text becomes a living dialogue and why stage directions aren’t footnotes but instructions for the imagination. Even if you don’t go inside for a performance, five minutes of talk in front of the building and a short history of the stage open minds to theatre language that will return on the exam and—importantly—in adult presentations and speeches.
Kazimierz teaches how to read the signs of memory. A visit to the Old Synagogue, a short walk along Szeroka Street and a moment of reflection at the Remuh cemetery help reveal the culture that shaped this part of the city for centuries. It’s not only religious history—it’s a lesson about dialogue, difference and responsibility for words. Many students only here understand why textbooks give so much space to symbols, rituals and customs: because they are the language of community, not exotic trivia.
Schindler’s Factory is an exhibition about decisions made under pressure and the value of individual acts. After visiting it’s best to go down to the Vistula and for a few minutes say nothing—let the images settle. Then the most important questions arise: what does it mean to ‘have influence’, is courage a trait or a choice, what responsibility does a witness of history assume. These conversations stay with students and reappear at the oral exam and later when choosing fields like law, history, political science or management.
Central Square and Aleja Róż show that a city can be designed like an ideology textbook—wide axes, monumental façades, regular frontages. A walk between blocks teaches you to read space like a text: what proportions say, why there is greenery here and an arch there, why the market is placed so far away. For graduates this is a brilliant context for talks about architecture, urban planning and how authorities write their ideas into brick. It’s also a bridge to topics like economy, planning and teamwork in design projects.
Between the Market Square and Wawel count 15–20 minutes on foot; from Wawel to Kazimierz allow 15–25 minutes via Stradom or the river boulevards. The Planty offer the most comfortable shade at midday—benches, and easy access to toilets and cloakrooms. Good pause spots are also Wolnica Square (lots of space, easy to gather) and the Bernatek Footbridge (river view, great natural light for a class photo). Include two fixed moments for water and snacks—it’s easier to keep attention during tougher content that way.
Day one can belong to the university and classic literature: Collegium Maius and Collegium Novum, a walk along the Planty, Wawel Cathedral with the Poets’ Crypt, a break on the boulevards and a gentle finish in the Sukiennice with three paintings for calm analysis. Day two is worth dedicating to memory and citizenship: Kazimierz in concentration, crossing the Vistula and Schindler’s Factory, and finishing in Nowa Huta with a talk about city planning. This duet leaves not only dates and names in students’ heads but also the vocabulary useful at the exam and in first conversations about studies.
The rule of three questions after each pillar works well: what will you remember from the painting/interior in a year, which line from a poem fits this place, what field of study do you see in the background of this story. Instead of long lectures, collect short sentences from students and note them on your phone—read the list aloud at the end of the day. It sounds like a small ceremony, but such rituals turn the city into a personal map, not just a ‘completed program’.
Two pillars of the day written into the schedule and one long outdoor breath.
Conversation points about studies: UJ courtyards, river boulevards, the square by the Słowacki Theatre.
Three paintings in the Sukiennice chosen for analysis and a Szymborska poem in your pocket.
Walk times calculated: Market–Wawel 15–20 min, Wawel–Kazimierz 15–25 min.
Fixed moments for water and food and agreed meeting points.
If you want Kraków to become for your students a map of wise decisions rather than just a list of dates and names, book a guided tour with Małgorzata Kasprowicz — contact her to arrange a date.
