If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what’s open in Krakow on Sundays, you’re not alone! We get a lot of questions from curious tourists about this very topic. Whether you’re hoping to shop, grab a bite, or explore the city’s sights, Sundays can feel a bit different in Krakow, especially with some places closing or having limited hours. To help you navigate your weekend plans, we’ve put together this handy guide to let you know what’s open, what’s closed, and how to make the most of your Sunday in our beautiful city of Krakow!
Shops, supermarkets and shopping malls
Since 2018, Poland has strict laws on Sunday trading, which means that most shops and supermarkets are closed on Sundays, with a few exceptions.
Let’s have a look at the list of shops that can open on Sundays without any problems:
- Pharmacies – some of them are open 24 hours a day in Krakow – please see the full list
- Petrol stations – in Poland, most of them are not only places to fill up your car, but also small grocery stores and cafeterias. It’s possible to do some basic shopping, get a sandwich and coffee or even hot food like soups or pierogi. Most of them work 24/7, so this is an option for you if you’re arriving early on a Sunday morning, for example.
- Florist’s shops – any time is a good time to buy some flowers for your loved one
- Kiosks with newspapers, public transport tickets, lottery tickets, and tobacco products – lots of them also offer simple food options (drinks and snacks)
- Post offices
- Small grocery stores where the owner works – the most popular Polish chain of shops allowed to open on Sundays under this exception to the law is called ‘Żabka‘ (literally ‘little frog’). You can buy everything you need there, including fast food takeaways such as hot dogs, paninis or pizza and coffee. Some ‘Carrefour Express‘ or ‘Kocyk’ stores may also be opened on the same basis and with a similar offer to customers.
Zabka stores are literally everywhere in Krakow, you don’t have to walk more than 5 minutes to find the nearest one. They are usually open from 6am to 11pm, but on Sundays the opening hours are usually reduced to 11am to 8pm.
- Currency exchange offices – it’s possible to exchange currency on Sundays, but it’s never recommended due to ForEx inactivity. You’ll always get a less profitable exchange rate during the weekend. According to our observations, roughly 50% of the exchange offices in the centre of Krakow are open.
- Shops located in the railway/bus stations, at the airports – this is a real game changer for Sunday shopping. There is a shopping passage that is formally part of the main railway station in Krakow (Krakow Glowny). While the shops inside Galeria Krakowska (the main shopping centre next to the station) are closed, the shops along the passage between the platforms are open on Sundays.
The most popular of these is the ‘Biedronka‘ supermarket. It’s more or less a normal-sized supermarket where you can buy everything except alcohol. The prices there are much lower than in any Zabka/Carrefour Express shop, while the range is definitely much wider. - Food markets can be open, but traditionally they are closed. You won’t find many stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables at Krakow’s main food markets, such as Stary or Nowy Kleparz.
- Souvenir stalls are not limited. You can buy amber, pottery or wooden handicrafts even on Sunday.
As for shopping malls, the larger ones such as Galeria Krakowska, Bonarka City Center or M1 are generally open per se, but most of the shops inside will still be closed. This means that food courts, small newsagents or pharmacies (see list above) may be open even it they’re inside a shopping mall. However, you won’t be able to shop in e.g. clothing stores.
The Trading Sundays in Poland
Although we have fairly strict laws prohibiting most forms of trading on most Sundays, there are a few Sundays in the year when regular trading is allowed without restrictions in Poland. We call these days ‘niedziele handlowe‘ (translated as ‘trading/shopping Sundays’). They occur once a quarter, plus a few extra before Easter and Christmas.
Here is the list of all trading Sundays in Poland for 2025:
– 26 January
– 13 April (extra one before Easter)
– 27 April
– 29 June
– 31 August
– 7 December
– 14 December (extra one before Christmas)
– 21 December (extra one before Christmas)
Restaurants and bars
There are no restrictions here. All bars, restaurants and cafés are open on Sundays, and it’s up to the managers of each establishment whether they open or not.
The only exception might be some of the traditional milk bars (bar mleczny), which usually open with reduced hours on Saturday and close completely on Sunday. We’re talking about real milk bars, like the Bar Mleczny Południowy or the ones in Nowa Huta – not the touristy ones like the Tomasza Milk Bar, which isn’t really a milk bar at all.
Museums and tourist attractions
Krakow is the most popular tourist destination in Poland, so naturally all museums and tourist attractions operate normally on Sundays, whether it’s a ‘shopping Sunday’ or not.
Attractions such as cinemas, theatres, spas and swimming pools also have no restrictions.
The only exception is churches. On Sundays they are often visited by local Catholics and are not fully accessible to tourists. For example, while Wawel Cathedral is normally open to visitors from 9.30am to 4.00/5.00pm (depending on the season), on Sundays it’s only open in the afternoon from 12.30pm. Similar restrictions apply to some of Krakow’s other famous churches, such as St Mary’s Church or the Franciscan Basilica.
Public transportation
All trams and buses in Krakow operate according to the Sunday timetable. For most city buses and trains, the interval is usually twice as long as on weekdays. However, you’ll never have to wait more than 20 minutes for the main tram and bus lines that run through the city centre.
Most trains to popular tourist destinations such as the Wieliczka Salt Mine, Oświęcim (Auschwitz) or Zakopane run on the same timetable every day of the week.
Sunday is also a great day for a tour. We run all our walking and food tours without interruption on this day! Check out what we have to offer and plan your day in Krakow with us!