Things to do in Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
The Auschwitz-Birkenau complex has left its inglorious mark on human history. A symbol of the Holocaust, during its five years of operation over a million Jews, along with Poles, Romani and other groups, were systematically killed by German Occupiers in WWII. Confronting and emotionally charged, a visit to the complex is an essential part of the human experience.
Composed of two sections, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II-Birkenau, together they convey the magnitude of the compound. Auschwitz I was the main site opened in 1940 with the now infamous sign on its gate Arbeit macht frei (‘Work sets you free’). It held the first camps, the offices of the SS and was where criminal medical experiments and the first gassings using Zyklon B took place. Auschwitz II-Birkenau came later and for all intents and purposes became an extermination camp. The remains of its gas chambers and crematorium, along with primitive barracks, can still be seen.
Since 1947 this site has become a memorial and museum dedicated to the many victims of Auschwitz. Both camps require at least 90 minutes each to gain a comprehensive understanding of the events that took place here. With over two million visitors per year, it’s well advised to book in advance.
Our recommendations in Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour or private transfer from Krakow
Join a poignant guided tour or an independent private transfer to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest concentration camp in Poland, and learn about its dark history.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau French Guided Tour with Hotel Pick-Up
Visit the former concentration camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau with a fully organized day tour from Krakow with a professional French-speaking educator.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau Spanish Guided Tour with Hotel Pick-Up
Visit the former concentration camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau with a fully organized day tour from Krakow with a professional German-speaking educator.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine Guided Tour with Pickup
Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day from Krakow.
en
Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour or private transfer from Krakow
Join a poignant guided tour or an independent private transfer to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest concentration camp in Poland, and learn about its dark history.
en
Auschwitz-Birkenau French Guided Tour with Hotel Pick-Up
Visit the former concentration camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau with a fully organized day tour from Krakow with a professional French-speaking educator.
fr
Auschwitz-Birkenau Spanish Guided Tour with Hotel Pick-Up
Visit the former concentration camps in Auschwitz and Birkenau with a fully organized day tour from Krakow with a professional German-speaking educator.
es
Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine Guided Tour with Pickup
Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day from Krakow.
en
Guided tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow
Book your guided tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau from Krakow to visit one of the most important Memorials of the Holocaust!
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All-inclusive Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour with lunch from Lodz
Learn about the tragic events and history of the Holocaust, pay your respects in the Unesco-listed memorial and museum and enjoy a lunch at a local restaurant.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Wieliczka Salt Mine full-day tour
Book a full-day tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and the Wieliczka Salt Mine, with transportation from Krakow included. Tour the concentration camp and visit the museum crematoria ruins, gas chambers and railway platform.
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Auschwitz and Wieliczka Salt Mine full-day trip from Krakow
Take a full-day trip from Krakow to visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum and travel 135 meters underground at the Wieliczka Salt Mine.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau guided tour with fast track ticket
Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial with a fast-track ticket. Listen to your guide in your preferred language to better understand the horror of the Holocaust.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau self-guided or guided tour from Krakow
Visit the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum and follow a guided or self-guided audio tour through the camp.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine Guided Tour from selected Meeting Point
Visit Auschwitz-Birkenau and Wieliczka Salt Mine in one day from Krakow.
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Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial guided tour from Krakow
Book a guided tour to Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial from Krakow. Follow a licensed guide and visit the concentration camp.
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How to get there
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
Krakow
Poland
Reviews Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum
“The tour itself was great and we did have a memorable experience. However pick up time was 12 but we wasn't informed of the 2.5 hour delay I had to call Tui to find this out myself. Our guide Ollie was amazing and very welcoming and informative. Poor planning with communication though we stood outside in the cold for almost an hour before finding out about the delay.”
“We did not get picked up or dropped off at the hotel. Had an email to say "pick up and drop off cant be done from your hotel" Had to walk across town. What if we couldnt walk that far????”
“We had booked the tour with a 6am collection time, which got changed the day before to 4am. We didn't realise that booking with the tour group meant we wouldn't actually have tickets, so we got to aushwitz at 545am to get to the ticket office at 9am to be given a 1230 tour time. The tour itself was brilliant and the guide was very knowledgeable, but the experience and waiting and tiredness made it hard to fully appreciate. We would have been better booking directly through the aushwitz website”
“When we arrived at auchvitz we're told that if we wanted a English guide then we had to wait 5 hours so we had to go round with a polish guide who we didn't understand and rushed round then we had the same guide at the second place. The place was amazing but the experience for the cost was very disappointing”
