MAR 2026 – 15 MILES – KRAKOW MAIN SQUARE TO BENEDICTINE ABBEY IN TYNIEC (KRAKOW, POLAND)

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My best mate from school and I decided to go to Krakow for three nights, as neither of our partners fancied the idea of this particular city break. Instead of missing out, we thought we would just go for it. Once we had made the decision, we booked it for March — and before we knew it, the trip had arrived.

We did a lot of walking while we were there, visiting different sites around the city. One of the highlights was a trail we found that runs from Krakow’s main square all the way to the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec, following the Vistula River. It was a beautiful route, but it involved quite a lot of walking.

Total Distance: 15 Miles
Steps: ~31,700 Steps
Total Realistic Time: ~6 Hours

Tyniec is a historic village in Poland on the Vistula river, since 1973 a part of the city of Kraków (currently in the district of Dębniki). Tyniec is notable for its Benedictine abbey founded by King Casimir the Restorer in 1044.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyniec

We got up and headed down for breakfast, which was really lovely. There was a great selection of different options, so we were able to have a good meal to set us up for the day ahead. After taking our time and enjoying breakfast, we got ourselves ready to start the walk to the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec. According to Google Maps, the walk would take around 2 hours and 45 minutes, so we knew we had quite a journey ahead of us.

The walk itself turned out to be really enjoyable. There was a proper path the whole way, which made it easy to follow, and a good part of the route ran alongside the river. It was really peaceful walking along there, with some lovely views and a calm atmosphere away from the busy parts of the city. Every now and then we would stop for a moment, take in the surroundings, and enjoy the scenery.

Here are a few of the views we enjoyed along the way.

Almost to the abbey.

When we finally arrived at the abbey, it felt good to have completed the walk. We decided to stop at the café there and have a coffee, which was a great way to relax and rest our legs after the long walk. Sitting there with a warm drink and taking in the surroundings was a nice reward after making the journey on foot. Then we headed to the museum.

We started walking back along a different trail, but it wasn’t nearly as nice as the one we came on. Instead of scenic paths, much of it was along roads, so we decided to catch a bus to get past the less interesting stretch.

Working out how to pay for the bus was a bit of a challenge, involving some confused button-pressing and trying to look like we knew what we were doing. Once we got past that section, we started walking again along the river, this time on the opposite side, which was much more enjoyable.

We took a different trail back but the scenery wasn’t as nice

Not quite as picturesque along this alternate route

Back in Krakow.

We definitely earned the chocolate, good food, and a refreshing drink after that 🤤

Conclusion:

After the trail, we made our way straight to the Rynek Underground Museum in the main square. The museum was quite large and we spent some time exploring and taking everything in, it was fascinating to see the history beneath the city.

By the end of the day, we had clocked 31,700 steps, and my knees were definitely starting to complain. Thankfully, the iBuprofen kicked in, letting me manage the walk to grab some food.

We really enjoyed the trail walk — it was the perfect way to fit in a longer stroll during our holiday. Walking along the Vistula River offered amazing views and the short bus ride through the less scenic part made it all manageable. Reaching the Benedictine Abbey was truly awe-inspiring, its scale and presence make the walk more than worthwhile, even if our knees weren’t entirely on board!

Additional highlights — Krakow main square, Wawel Royal Castle, Salt Mine