May weekend in Krakow. What to do in the city during the long weekend?

The May holiday in 2024 will start on Wednesday, May 1 and last until May 5 (Sunday). We advise you where you can relax in Krakow during this time and what events are planned for the long weekend. The wide offer includes something for everyone, both residents and tourists.

“Majowa Jutrzenka” – this is the title of the 87th Krakow Singing Lesson, which will take place on May 3 at 5 p.m. at the Small Market Square. During the concert with the participation of artists from the Loch Camelot Theater and the singing audience, patriotic songs will be heard. The lesson will be led by Waldemar Domański – the originator of the event and director of the Polish Song Library.

Krakow Singing Lesson is a series of events that have become a permanent part of the musical landscape of Krakow. The event is usually held on the occasion of various holidays, most often national ones, but also religious ones, such as Christmas.

During the Krakow Singing Lesson, residents and tourists gathered in front of the stage receive free songbooks and sing songs related to a given holiday together with the performing actors. This year, 2,000 free songbooks were prepared.

The Home Army Museum and the Krakow Philharmonic invite you to a concert from the Patriotic Chamber Stage series. Under the slogan “Vivat Independence!” May 2 at At 6 p.m., national songs and poetry will be heard at the Home Army Museum.

Read also: Where to go for a long weekend? Polish city among the recommended “cheapest in Europe”

The songs will include well-known and popular songs, including: “Witaj majowa jutrzenko”, “Ostatni mazur”, “Ułani, ułani”, “O moja rosemary”, “Wojenko, Wojko”, “Przybyli ułani”, “Pierwsza personnel”. They will be sung by the Sei Terre female vocal sextet consisting of: Katarzyna Guran (sporan), Anna Zawisza (sporan), Joanna Stawarska (sporan), Joanna Święszek-Przeliorz (mezzosporan), Aleksandra Kalicka (alto) and Aleksandra Korzonek (alto). Monika Płachta will accompany the band on keyboards.

Tickets are available at the Krakow Philharmonic box office at ul. Zwierzyniecka 1 during its opening hours and at the Home Army Museum at ul. Wita Stwosza 12 an hour before the concert.

The 17th edition started on April 26 Mastercard Off Camera International Festival of Independent Cinema. This year's festival program includes 183 screenings and nearly 100 films, as well as meetings with actors.

The festival will include two competitions: the main one “Making the Path” and the Polish Feature Film Competition.

As part of the Main Competition, the audience will be able to see: “78 Days” (dir. Emilija Gašić), “Empty Nets” (dir. Behrooz Karamizade), “Forever-Forever” (dir. Anna Buryachkova), “Paradise is Burning” (dir. . Mika Gustafson), “Power Alley” (dir. Lillah Halla), “She Came at Night” (dir. Jan Vejnar, Tomáš Pavliček), “Silent Roar” (dir. Johnny Barrington), “The Hypnosis” (dir. Ernst De Geer), “The Quiet Maid” (dir. Miguel Faus), “Tyle co nic” (dir. Grzegorz Dębowski).

Read also: How do Poles want to spend the May weekend? “Micro expeditions are this year's hit”

As part of the Mastercard Off Camera Polish Feature Film Competition, ten Polish features: “The Jester” (dir. Gabriela Muskała), “You want peace, get ready for war” (dir. Agnieszka Elbanowska), “Doppelgänger. Doppelgänger” (dir. Jan Holoubek) , “Kos” (dir. Paweł Maślona), “Lęk” (dir.: Sławomir Fabicki), “White Courage” (dir.: Marcin Koszałka), “Znachor” (dir. Michał Gazda), “Horror Story” (dir. . Adrian Apanel), “Imago” (dir.: Olga Chajdas), “Mushrooms” (dir. Paweł Borowski).

The special guest of this year's edition is the American actor, singer, director and producer Patrick Wilson.

Festival events will last until May 5.

There is something for the little ones. Under the watchful eye of instructors, they will be able to learn how to ride roller skates, skateboards, scooters and BMX bikes. The classes are intended for children aged 7 – 14. The number of participants is limited. The next meeting will take place on May 4, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the skate park in Jordana Park.

According to the organizers, the training is an opportunity to try your hand at competitive sports performed in skate parks. Those interested can participate in four types of courses: skateboarding, roller skating, BMX bikes and scooters. There is a maximum of five participants per instructor. Functional equipment is required, i.e. a skateboard, roller skates, BMX or a scooter. The organizers provide helmets and protectors. The classes will last one and a half hours.

The classes are organized by the Skateboard Culture Foundation in cooperation with the city campaign “Kraków in form”. Workshop details here.

In turn, the Museum of Engineering and Technology (MIT) invites you from May 1 to May 5 to the depot at ul. Saint Wawrzyńca 15 and to the Garden of Experiences. Stanisław Lem at al. Pokoju 68.

The exhibition “City. Technosensitivity” will be held at the MIT headquarters. From May 1 to May 5, it can be visited from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry at 5 p.m.). The exhibition invites the viewer on a journey through time – from the first concepts of cities, through subsequent eras, including both industrial revolutions and post-war modernization, up to the present and even into the future. It introduces as many as 600 extraordinary technical monuments to the world of engineering thought, including unique exhibits. The narrative is complemented by replicas, models, mock-ups, audiovisual materials and photos.

All lovers of outdoor fun will enjoy the Garden of Experiences. Stanisław Lem, in which the new, seventeenth season has just begun. In addition to interactive devices, nature zones and additional attractions, you will be able to take part in family workshops from the “Nature Laboratory in the Garden of Experiences” series.

The Groteska Theater invites you to the first premiere of the play for adults and youth “The Martyrdom and Death of Marat” directed by Konrad Dworakowski this season. This is a new proposal prepared on the basis of Peter Weiss's drama “The Martyrdom and Death of Jean Paul Marat presented by the acting group of the Charenton almshouse under the direction of Mr. de Sade”.

“The Martyrdom and Death of Marat” is a story about the revolution and its consequences, about the power of art, about history and the present, about theater within the theater. The Marquis de Sade himself, a participant in the French Revolution, a historical figure, the author of famous controversial novels, as a resident of Chareton, together with other patients, presents his play about Marat's last moments.

The premiere will take place on May 4 at 6 p.m., with subsequent performances on May 5, 11 and 12. Detailed information and tickets on the Groteska Theater website.

According to the Krakow city hall, they will be introduced during the long May weekend (from May 1 to May 5). changes in the operation of public transport lines.

There will also be buses to the zoo and Ojców. Reaching these places throughout the long weekend – from May 1 to May 5 – will be made easier by bus lines no. 134, 434 and LR0.

Line number 134 from “Cracovia Stadion” to “Zoo” will run every 15 minutes between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Buses with bicycle trailers will be used to service selected routes, but loading and unloading of bicycles will only be possible at the starting and ending stops.

Bus number 343 on the “Baba Jaga” – “Zoo” route – will run for up to 15 minutes between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The line to Ojców no. LR0 from “Osiedle Podwawelskie” to “Ojców Zamek” will run every 35 minutes between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Here, buses with bicycle racks will also appear on selected routes, and unloading will also be possible at the initial and final stops.

The municipality also reminded that leaving a car in a paid parking zone in Krakow will be charged on May 1 and 3, even though these are holidays. The paid parking area in Krakow is valid from Monday to Saturday from: 10-20,. The fee in subzone A for an hour of parking is PLN 6, in subzone B – PLN 5, and in subzone C – PLN 4.