Memorial and Museum Auschwitz I

Moving, educational, thought provoking. I have wanted to visit as long as I can remember. I actually mean to go back a second time without a guide to take my time and just be. The guides did a great job and the place has been well maintained and the experience will be your own. Wish I had some better words for it. Haunting and unbelievable.

What a place. You get struck by the history, size and stories. Unbelievable experience that makes you think and wonder. Everyone should visit this place sometimes.
The guide was excellent and informative both for adults and children. Got a private tour of some of the buildings.

A very harrowing and solemn visit to the memorial and museum,this is a must see if visiting Krakow. It is a huge part of history and although we have all read about it in history books, seeing the place in person highlights the real stories of what happened at Auschwitz.
I recommend booking with a tour company, where a mini van collects you. Don't forget some ID for your ticket for example your passport and no backpacks, although you can leave this in the mini van. We got the early morning pick up at 530am for a 730am tour. The first tour into Auschwitz. When you arrive you have an opportunity after a 90minute drive to the memorial, to use the toilets, get a coffee or food from a vending machine. You then meet your guide who walks you through the Memorial with a head set to hear the audio. It is clearly marked out where you can take pictures. My tour group were very respectful and the tour guide was very informative. It is a real eye opener and I didn't know what to expect. The first memorial tour takes about 90minutes to walk through. A mix of indoor and outdoor parts. We visited in January so wrap up warm. You are then given another opportunity to use the toilet and get a warm drink. It is then a 10 minute drive to the second part, which is all outside in a big open outside space, this takes about an hour and is quite a bit of walking (about 3km) there is another toilet and a gift shop nearby. You are with the same guide. After our allotted time you meet back at your mini van and are given an opportunity to go into the gift shop and go to the toilet before your tour takes you back to the city or onto a second tour which was the salt mines for us. Definitely recommend appropriate footwear, clothing, snacks and your ID. I would suggest not suitable for young children under 12.

Unbelievable place so much history was an extremely sad experience but so well run and definitely worth a visit.

This is a must visit museum. I have visited it twice and both times it was incredible. The last visit was prior to the new reception area. The new reception area is still a work in progress but it has some nice facilities. I highly recommend that you book reservations for your language well in advance as some languages sell out quickly. I also recommend that you use the facilities prior to entering as there is limited WC inside the camp. Some helpful information.
You need to have an ID card with your name in order to enter. You then go through a security check. Then you will get your headphones 🎧 for your visit. Then you will be paired with your guide in the language you selected. We started the tour andwalked to the entrance of the camp. You will be given a tour of various parts of the camp with Alot of information about what took place. Note there are some places that the guide will ask you not to photograph. Once done with Camp I you will head to camp II via shuttle bus and there you will tour the rail platform and walk the same path as many who walked to the gas chambers. You will see the remains of the gas chambers and then visit one of the buildings. Then you will get back on shuttle bus to where you started. It takes about 3 hours or so. Again this tour is amazing and in my case very humbling.

Great place to visit and very informative guided tour booked prior on line ,a humbling place based on the history of the camp and becoming more knowledgeable about what took place there in the early 1940s a must visit if in Poland

If you go, you know why. It is worth it. Went with a tour guide which made it worthwhile. The story is sobering and reminds us that we must remember what happened so we never let this type of thing happen again

A must for everyone at some time in their life. Whilst we've all seen the films, heard the stories, read the books I don't think you can appreciate the magnitude of what happened until you see this place for yourself. The height of the electrified fences topped with barbed wire; the size of the huts that held 700 people; the tracks leading to the gas chambers; the pile of shoes that is a fraction of what was gathered; the pain in the voices of those that narrate the story.

Bloodcurdling. A must see place. It is possible to reach it from Krakow in an hour and a half by bus. Be sure to buy your ticket before you arrive or come with a tour, otherwise you will have to wait a long time. You can visit it in about 2-3 hours.

Definitely an experience you shouldn't miss when in the area, imagine the feelings the victims of the 1930s socialist party of DE would have felt, not knowing, losing children, siblings, parents.. eerie and haunting. Important we never forget, especially right now.

Amazing visit, tour guide was brilliant.so sad what happened here all those years ago. It's heart breaking

Very sobering, guide was great, knew a lot of information and presented it well. Probably a bit rushed but we were in A 1 for two hours, not sure how long you could actually spend there and still not take it all in

Before visiting this Museum cum concentration camp, I just heard about it and felt sad. But real sadness and anger you’ll feel once you’ll visit this place and will constantly ask yourself… why? Why they did it?

It’s much more than a place now.. You’ll feel once you’ll visit it.

Please book a tour guide.

Such a moving place. Everyone should visit once in their life to learn from it so something like this should never happen again. Well curated and interesting exhibitions

Must see place so that for generations to come they can understand what went on

very haunting, I believe that most people who come here take their own memories .But for visitors it is quite a walk around the camp so be prepared

The most heartbreaking yet educational place I've ever been.

My deepest respect to those that endured this hell on earth, either never leaving alive, or surviving but being forever scarred.

Left in tears but wiser for the experience

The place reminds us that when the state decides to do something it can. This was killing on an industrial scale.

The buildings have different exhibits to show the way they had to live and what was taken from them even after death.

One room had so much human hair that was taken from the killed people. This was then used to make blankets and socks for submariners among other things.

You cannot imagine the suffering and hardships suffered by the many hundred thousands of Jew, Polish, LGBTQ, Gypsies, priests and monks and anyone considered an enemy of the state.

This is a harrowing experience. But a must. You need a good guide and we had one. Everyone should visit this place to pay respect. I have been and will not return. This is an evil place and it is correct the birds don't sing.

Visiting Auschwitz is a profound and sombre experience that leaves an indelible mark on one's soul. As one of the most infamous Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz stands as a stark reminder of the atrocities committed during the Holocaust.

Walking through the gates adorned with the chilling phrase "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work Sets You Free), one is immediately confronted with the magnitude of suffering and loss that occurred within these walls. The preserved barracks, gas chambers, and crematoria serve as haunting monuments to the millions of lives that were brutally extinguished.

The museum at Auschwitz offers a comprehensive and sobering insight into the camp's history, detailing the systematic dehumanization and mass murder that took place within its confines. Exhibits display personal belongings, photographs, and testimonials of survivors, providing a poignant reminder of the individuals behind the staggering statistics.

While the experience is emotionally taxing, it is also a vital one. Visiting Auschwitz is an act of remembrance and reverence for the victims, a commitment to never forget the horrors of the Holocaust, and a solemn pledge to strive for a world free from hatred and intolerance.

Security checks at the entrance before you enter. The tour is in groups of around 30 people, and one group leaves in succession. Ifs fast pace and uneven ground.