Yes, entrance to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum is free of charge, but a booked entrance card is mandatory. To secure a spot, you must reserve a free entry pass on the official booking site in advance. While general admission is free, guided tours, which are highly recommended, require payment.
How much does it cost to visit Auschwitz from Krakow?
An all-inclusive guided tour to Auschwitz from Krakow costs around €39 if you book with Hellotickets. On this tour, you will be accompanied by an expert guide and will arrive at the gates of the concentration camp in just over an hour, without unnecessary waiting or queuing at the Auschwitz ticket office.
Only a limited number of guided tour entry cards for the given day will be available at the entrance to the Museum. Due to the huge interest, visitors suggest booking in advance at the website visit.auschwitz.org, as well as to arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of the tour.
Traveling from Krakow to Auschwitz takes roughly 1 to 1.5 hours by car/taxi, while public transport (bus/train) takes 1.5 to 2 hours, often requiring a local bus or walk from the Oświęcim station; organized tours usually bundle the journey and site visit, making the whole experience around 7 hours.
A cynical lie: the inscription above the main gate of Auschwitz I concentration camp: “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” (work makes you free). When the SS ordered them to make this sign, the prisoners placed their hidden message in the word “ARBEIT”: they turned the letter “B” upside down.
Material may be used only in undertakings and projects that do not violate the good name of the Victims of Auschwitz. Photography and filming on the Museum grounds for commercial purposes, at spaces closed to visitors or with a drone, require prior approval by the Museum.
Auschwitz wait times vary wildly: pre-booked, skip-the-line tickets mean short security waits (10-30 mins), but arriving without tickets, especially in peak season, can mean 1-2+ hour queues just for entry, even with online booking confirmation, as many third-party sites don't secure immediate entry. For the best experience, book direct via visit.auschwitz.org and arrive 30 mins early for security; otherwise, expect significant waits, especially if you need to pick up tickets or buy them on the day.
Two hours is generally not enough time for a meaningful visit to both Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, as official tours take around 3.5 hours, with most visitors needing 3-5 hours total to experience both sites properly, considering walking and transport between them. While you might rush through key parts of Auschwitz I in 2 hours, you'd barely see Birkenau, the larger extermination camp, making it a very superficial experience, and official guided tours, which are recommended, last much longer.
How much is a taxi from Krakow Old Town to Auschwitz?
There is also a taxi rank outside the museum entrance, for when you return, though this will probably cost more than booking in advance. Times: The fastest route takes 70 minutes from Kraków Old Town to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Prices: Expect to pay 175-200zł (35-40€) each way, though prices are higher before 6am.
Entry to the premises of the Auschwitz Memorial is free. A fee is only charged for visits with a Museum educator, i.e., a person authorized and prepared to conduct guided tours on the premises.
Was Schindler's List actually filmed in Auschwitz?
To avoid filming inside the actual death camp, the film crew constructed a replica of a portion of the camp just outside the entrance of Birkenau. There were some antisemitic incidents. A woman who encountered Fiennes in his Nazi uniform told him: "The Germans were charming people.
How many Auschwitz survivors are still alive in 2025?
As of 2025, there are around 220,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide, though the specific number of Auschwitz survivors isn't detailed separately, with their median age being 87, and numbers rapidly declining as 70% are projected to pass within the next decade. Organizations like the Claims Conference https://www.claimscon.org/demographics2025/ track these demographics, highlighting the urgent need for testimony as these witnesses, many of whom were at Auschwitz (like the 99-year-old Leon Weintraub at the 2025 liberation anniversary), are the last generation to share their direct experiences.
The tattoo was the prisoner's camp entry number, sometimes with a special symbol added: some Jews had a triangle, and Romani had the letter "Z" (from German Zigeuner for "Gypsy").
Use mobile phones for telephone conversations in the exhibition buildings included in the tour and the silence zone in the courtyard of Block 11. j. Record and take photographs in buildings using flash and tripods. Recording and taking photographs is completely forbidden in Block 4 Room 5 and underground Block 11.
Mala Zimetbaum, the first woman and the first Jewish woman to escape from Auschwitz-Birkenau, was born on January 26, 1918, in Brzesko, Poland, the fifth and youngest daughter of Pinhas and Chaya Zimetbaum.
The Auschwitz exhibition shop is open Monday to Sunday and offers visitors a wide range of books, audiovisual material and other stationery and arts materials related to the study of the Holocaust and the different groups of victims persecuted by Nazi Germany.
The closest town to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial is Oświęcim, Poland, where the camp is located, but the closest major city that most visitors use as a base is Krakow, about 70 km (43 miles) away, with Katowice also being a nearby large city.
