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The Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow

No. 32 Top 100 Most Visited Art Museums 2025 · 2,224,936 visitors in 2025

National Museum in Krakow

Kraków, Poland · City guide: Kraków

Poland's oldest national museum, with Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine and branches across Krakow.

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Photo: Zygmunt Put, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Overview

The National Museum in Krakow is No. 32 in The Art Newspaper's survey of the world's most visited art museums, with 2,224,936 visitors in 2025, up 20% on 2024. Founded in 1879, it is Poland's oldest national museum, and its visitor figure covers a network of branches across the city.

The best known is the Czartoryski Museum, home of Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine. The Main Building on 3 Maja Avenue shows 20th-century Polish art and decorative arts, and the Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art fills the upper floor of the Cloth Hall in the Main Market Square.

The Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow on 3 Maja Avenue
The Main Building of the National Museum in Krakow on 3 Maja Avenue. Photo: Zygmunt Put, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Best time to visit

Weekday mornings are the quietest. Branches have different opening days, so check the official website.

Highlights & collections

  • 1

    Lady with an Ermine

    Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, painted around 1489–91, at the Czartoryski Museum.

  • 2

    Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art

    Paintings by Jan Matejko, Józef Chełmoński and others in the Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), with a terrace over the square.

  • 3

    Stanisław Wyspiański

    Works by the Krakow artist and designer, shown at the Main Building.

  • 4

    Józef Mehoffer House

    The artist's home, with period interiors and a garden café.

Getting there

The Czartoryski Museum is on Pijarska Street in the Old Town, and the Sukiennice gallery is in the Main Market Square. The Main Building is at 1 3 Maja Avenue, about a 15-minute walk west of the square.

Visiting tips

Tickets & hours
Each branch has its own ticket; the Czartoryski Museum uses timed entry, so book ahead. Check the official website for prices and hours.
Time needed
One to two hours per branch.
Currency
Polish złoty (PLN). Cards are accepted almost everywhere.
Visa & entry
Poland is in the Schengen Area. Many visitors, including citizens of the US, Canada, the UK and Australia, can stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) now records non-EU travellers' entries and exits at the border, and the ETIAS travel authorisation is due to follow. Check the official EU site travel-europe.europa.eu and your own government's travel advice before you go.

Official information: National Museum in Krakow (official website). Check opening hours, prices and entry rules there before you go.

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