Holidays and non-working days
Under Polish Law, there are 13 days in the year legally considered non-working days. These are:
- 1st January: the New Year
- 6th January: Epiphany
- First Day of Easter (Sunday in spring)
- Second Day of Easter (Monday in spring)
- 1st May: State Holiday
- 3rd May: National Holiday (Constitution Day)
- Pentecost Sunday (7th Sunday after Easter)
- Corpus Christi (9th Thursday after Easter)
- 15th August: Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- 1st November: All Saints’ Day
- 11th November: Independence Day
- 25th December: First Day of Christmas
- 26th December: Second Day of Christmas
Most shops and pharmacies close for these days except for those shops where the owner himself or herself decides to man the counter. In practice this happens in small local shops, 24/7 pharmacies, and petrol stations.
Similar principles apply to museums. You will definitely not be able to enter any on New Year’s Day (1st January), Easter Sunday, 1st November, and Christmas Day (25th December), as they are all going to be closed. On the other days listed above, it is up to the museum to decide. The sites visited by the largest numbers of tourists in Kraków and its vicinity including Wawel Castle, Wawel Cathedral, the National Museum in Krakow, Historical Museum of Kraków, Wieliczka Salt Mine, and the Auschwitz–Birkenau Concentration Camp provide information about their operation on these days on their websites. To avoid unpleasant surprises, it is a good idea to consult them before arriving in Kraków.