Make a Stop at the Wieliczka Salt Mine

If you’re visiting the Krakow Christmas Market in Poland, you may want to take a break from the holiday festivities to visit one of the first Unesco World Heritage Sites in Europe – the Wieliczka Salt Mine.  This fascinating mine has been in operation for over 700 years, and is popular with visitors not only for it’s amazing serpentine tunnels, massive chambers and chapels, and underground lakes, but also for the health benefits of the salt mined there. An underground sanatorium treats a variety of health issues ranging from allergies to rheumatism. The mine is so gigantic that only 2% of it is open to visitors, and a typical tour takes 3-4 hours.  Your guide will explain the history of the mine and explain the various artifacts related to salt mining in general. You’ll want to bring walking shoes and jackets as the temperature in the mine is an almost constant 60 degrees.