Wieliczka Salt Mine

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Wieliczka And Bochnia Royal Salt Mines (1978). Salt Worked Here From The 13th Century To 2007, Leaving Nine Levels And Hundreds Of Kilometres Of Galleries, With Chapels And Sculptures Carved In Salt, The Largest Being The Chapel Of St Kinga · Wieliczka, Lesser Poland

Salt was dug under Wieliczka from the 13th century until 2007, and the mine that remains is one of the oldest industrial sites in Europe still open to the public. The tourist route is a guided walk of roughly two kilometres through a few of the upper levels, starting with about 800 wooden steps down a shaft to around 135 metres below the town. The surprise is how much the miners made of the rock: chambers hung with timber, lakes of brine, and chapels and statues carved straight from the salt, whose walls are grey and look more like stone than crystal. The Chapel of St Kinga is the centrepiece, a church-sized hall with altars, reliefs and chandeliers all worked in salt. Everyone must go with a guide in a set group, and the pace is the guide's. The air stays cool all year, so bring a layer even in July. The mine is about 15 km south-east of Krakow and easy to reach, so it is busy; booking ahead is the real trick.

Danilowicza 10, Wieliczka, on the south-eastern edge of Krakow, about 15 km from the Main Square, Wieliczka, Lesser Poland, Poland

Open every day of the year apart from a few holidays such as 25 December, with the tourist route running from early morning until late afternoon or early evening, and longer hours in summer than in winter. Entry is only by timed guided tour, with tours in Polish running most often and tours in English, German and other languages running at fixed times through the day; the language you want may only run every hour or so. The tourist route takes about two to two and a half hours. The miners' route, a more active tour with a helmet and some crawling, has its own limited departures and needs separate booking. Confirm the day's schedule and any closure on the official site before travelling; do not rely on a printed timetable. There is no free entry to the underground route, though a small street-level area and cafe in the entrance building can be used without a tour ticket.

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