What the city limits at night, from takeaway sales to Kazimierz terraces, what the three alcohol permits cost, what the bill and the team cost, and when Kraków fills.
Kraków’s night has two homes. In the Old Town, Floriańska Street runs from St Florian’s Gate to the Main Market Square past shops, restaurants and clubs. In Kazimierz, pubs and clubs sit among galleries, workshops, small hotels and the flea market on Nowy Square, and Slay Space puts on drag shows by the river. It is a city of students as well as visitors: every May the mayor hands the students the key to the city for Juwenalia. And the clubs run late. Coco Music Club stays open until 06:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
No law we could find sets a closing hour for bars and clubs in Kraków. The city’s night rule stops takeaway sales instead. Alcohol permits come from the Mayor of Kraków (Prezydent Miasta Krakowa).
The bar and club lane runs through the night because the city’s night rule stops takeaway sales, not service on the premises: alcohol to take away may not be sold from 22:00 to 06:00 in any district. Terraces in the Kazimierz cultural park close at midnight, or at 01:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of a public holiday, from April to October, and an hour earlier from November to March. A court has annulled the resolution behind these terrace hours, but the ruling is not final and the city has appealed.
The national alcohol act lets a council limit only night sales of alcohol to take away, between 22:00 and 06:00.
MoreWhat happens outside still counts. A permit can be withdrawn when public order is disturbed at or near the venue at least twice in six months and you did not notify the authorities.
Source: Alcohol actAlcohol sold to be drunk elsewhere may not be sold from 22:00 to 06:00. The city guard says the ban applies in every district of Kraków, and that breaking it is a criminal offence.
MoreDrinks served for drinking on the premises are outside the ban. Any bottle or takeaway sales stop at 22:00.
Source: City guardIn the Kazimierz cultural park, terraces may open from 07:00 to midnight Sunday to Thursday and to 01:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of a public holiday, from 1 April to 31 October. From 1 November to 31 March they close at 23:00, or midnight on those nights.
MoreTerraces on the municipal market at Plac Nowy follow the market rules instead.
Source: Terrace hoursThe regional administrative court annulled the resolution that lengthened the Kazimierz terrace hours. The ruling is not final and the city has appealed, so the longer hours still apply.
MoreIf the appeal fails, the shorter hours that applied before return. Check the cultural park’s page before planning a terrace season.
Source: Court appealSelling alcohol needs a permit from the mayor, one for each strength: up to 4.5% alcohol and beer; over 4.5% to 18%, except beer; and over 18%. Cocktails made with spirits over 18% need the over-18% permit.
MoreA bar pouring beer, wine and spirits needs all three. Each permit is tied to the named business and the named premises.
Source: Alcohol actA permit for drinking on the premises runs for at least four years. Changes to the details in it must be notified within 14 days.
MoreThere is no market in permits: a new business or a new site needs its own.
Source: Alcohol actA business starting out pays 525 PLN for each of the two lower permits and 2,100 PLN for spirits over 18%, before the permit is issued. Existing sellers pay a share of the previous year’s sales instead: 1.4% for the lower two once sales pass 37,500 PLN, and 2.7% for spirits once they pass 77,000 PLN.
MorePay in three instalments by 31 January, 31 May and 30 September, or in full by 31 January. A missed instalment lets the permit lapse, and you wait six months to apply again.
Source: Alcohol actBuy alcohol only from producers and from businesses that hold a wholesale alcohol permit.
MoreAlcohol from an illegal source is one of the grounds for withdrawing your permit.
Source: Alcohol actA permit is withdrawn for selling to minors or drunk guests, selling on credit, alcohol from an illegal source, or repeated disturbance of public order at or near the venue that you did not report.
MoreAfter a withdrawal you cannot apply again for three years.
Source: Alcohol actAlcohol may not be sold or served to anyone under 18, to anyone showing signs of drunkenness, or on credit or against a pledge.
MoreWhen in doubt, staff may ask for a document that shows the guest’s age.
Source: Alcohol actArmed guarding, escorting valuables and the direct protection of people need staff entered on the police list of qualified physical protection workers. Entry needs proof of education, full legal capacity and no conviction for an intentional offence. Security firms need a concession from the interior minister.
MoreAsk the police or a licensed security firm whether your door team’s tasks need the list entry.
Source: Security actA bar or club needs a permit from the Mayor of Kraków for each strength of alcohol it sells. The city council fixes how many permits there can be and where alcohol may be sold.
The council fixes the maximum number of permits and the rules on where alcohol may be sold. Where applications exceed the cap, the site farthest from the nearest outlet comes first, then the applicant with the fewest outlets.
Source: Alcohol actProof of your legal title to the premises; the building owner’s consent if the premises are in a block of flats; and the sanitary inspector’s decision approving the premises.
Source: Alcohol actName the permit type, the business, the address of the premises and where the alcohol will be stored. Apply for each strength you plan to sell.
Source: Alcohol actThe municipal commission on alcohol problems confirms that the site complies with the council’s rules. From 1 January 2027 it must answer within 30 days, or its silence counts as a yes.
Source: Alcohol actPay before the permit is issued: 525 PLN for each of the two lower permits and 2,100 PLN for spirits over 18%. The permit then runs for at least four years.
Source: Alcohol actIssued by the Mayor of Kraków (Prezydent Miasta Krakowa)
General information, not legal advice. Laws and licence conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the City of Kraków before acting on it.
In Kraków the spirits a table orders count twice: once on the bill, and again in next year’s permit fee, which rises with this year’s alcohol sales.
| Minimum spend | zł 2,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 10%, added by the venue | zł 200.00 |
| VAT on alcohol 23%, included in the prices | zł 411.38 |
| Guest pays | zł 2,200.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Prices include VAT. The standard rate is 23% and the main reduced rate 8%, which covers catering.
Source: VAT ratesCatering takes 8%, but drinks served with it take 23%: a binding ruling from the tax information service names vodka, whisky, rum, gin and beer, and coffee, tea, water and fizzy drinks. So alcohol and mixers at the table are 23%, and food made in the venue 8%, with a few dishes excepted.
Source: VAT rulingAsk a tax adviser how VAT treats a club’s entry charge and a mandatory service charge. The example taxes the service charge at the drinks rate.
Source: VAT actRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
zł 20 to zł 60
Typically about zł 40
No Kraków club publishes a door price on its own page, so this is a general estimate for a Thursday to Saturday club night, generalised from the Prague and Budapest figures and converted to złoty. Headliner and festival nights cost more.
zł 500 to zł 2,000
A typical table, about zł 1,000
No Kraków club publishes a table minimum on its own page, so this is a general estimate for the lowest table, generalised from the Prague and Budapest figures and converted to złoty, before the service charge. Prices include VAT.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Poland sets its minimum by the month, with a separate hourly floor for contract work, so check which one covers each person on the rota.
Minimum wage zł 4,806 a month, since 1 January 2026Source: Minimum wage 2026
The minimum wage is 4,806 PLN a month from 1 January 2026, about €1,101. Contract work has a minimum hourly rate of 31.40 PLN, about €7.19.
Source: Minimum wage 2026From 1 January 2027 the minimum rises to 4,950 PLN a month and 32.30 PLN an hour.
Source: Minimum wage 2027
Kazimierz terraces keep their longer hours from April to October, so that is the season to staff outside. In October comes Unsound, the electronic and experimental music festival based in the city.
Two public holidays in the first week of the year.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
No city-wide dates
Terraces in the Kazimierz cultural park may stay open to midnight, or 01:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves, until 31 October.
Official siteTwo public holidays in a row.
Official siteTwo public holidays two days apart.
Official siteThe students’ festival. The mayor hands students the key to the city on the Main Market Square, then concerts and events fill the streets for days.
Official siteA public holiday that always falls on a Sunday.
Official siteA public holiday.
Official siteMidsummer, run by the city and its festival office, with concerts by the Vistula and events across the city into the night.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
A public holiday. When a holiday falls on a Saturday, staff are owed another day off.
Official siteNo city-wide dates
The electronic and experimental music festival with its headquarters in Kraków.
Official siteTwo public holidays ten days apart.
Official siteTerraces in the Kazimierz cultural park close an hour earlier until 31 March: 23:00, or midnight on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves.
Official siteThe market by the Town Hall Tower on the Main Market Square draws residents and tourists from around the world every year, with stalls for gifts and food into the new year.
Official siteChristmas Eve, Christmas Day and the second day of Christmas: three public holidays in a row.
Official site
In Kraków the district can set your terrace hours. Kazimierz mixes pubs and clubs with galleries and a flea market, and its cultural park decides how late the tables outside stay open.
Galleries and workshops, restaurants, pubs and clubs, small hotels and hostels, and the flea market on Nowy Square.
The Old Town street from St Florian’s Gate to the Main Market Square, with shops, restaurants and clubs.
The heart of the Old Town, which Kraków Travel calls the most expansive market square of medieval Europe.
A former factory district whose murals mark Schindler’s factory and the culture and creative businesses based there now, MOCAK among them.
Kazimierz’s clubs make the list, but most of the rooms below are in the Old Town, where Gorzko Gorzko and Prozak 2.0 share the top.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gorzko GorzkoClubOld Town · Plac Szczepański 7Source: Search estimatesSource: Gorzko Gorzko | Fri and Sat | Polish wedding disco | Not listed | 450 |
| 2 | Prozak 2.0ClubOld Town · Pl. Dominikański 6Source: Search estimatesSource: Prozak 2.0 | Wed to Sat from 22:30 | Not listed | Not listed | 450 |
| 3 | Klub 30ClubZwierzyniec · T. Kościuszki 3Source: Search estimatesSource: Klub 30 | Fri and Sat, 21:00 to 04:00 | House and retro | Not listed | 300 |
| 4 | Shine ClubClubOld Town · Starowiślna 16Source: Search estimatesSource: Shine Club | Fri and Sat, 22:00 to 05:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 300 |
| 5 | Teatro CubanoClubOld Town · Jagiellońska 10, 31-010Source: Search estimatesSource: Teatro Cubano | Every day from 18:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 250 |
| 6 | Coco Music ClubClubOld Town · Szpitalna 38Source: Search estimatesSource: Coco Music Club | Thu 22:30 to 05:00, Fri and Sat 22:30 to 06:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 200 |
| 7 | Klub Piękny PiesClubKazimierz · Plac Wolnica 9Source: Search estimatesSource: Klub Piękny Pies | From 16:00 on weekdays, 14:00 at weekends | Not listed | Not listed | 150 |
| 8 | Slay SpaceClubKazimierz riverside · Bulwar Kurlandzki, opposite Podgórska 16Source: Search estimatesSource: Slay Space | Parties and drag shows Fri and Sat, 22:00 to 04:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 70 |
| 9 | Space ClubClubOld Town · Szewska 4Source: Search estimatesSource: Space Club | Thu from 23:00, Fri and Sat from 22:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 70 |
| 10 | Mash RoomClubKazimierz · Plac Wolnica 10Source: Search estimatesSource: Mash Room | Fri and Sat to 03:00 | Not listed | Not listed | 60 |
Ranked by monthly Google searches worldwide for each venue’s name with Kraków, as Ahrefs estimates them. Few rooms publish a capacity, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site or socials show open are listed.
Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Most of Kraków’s visitors are Polish, and far more now come just for the day than in 2019.
These figures describe Kraków and its visitors, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
We found no law that sets a closing hour for bars or clubs in Kraków. What the city does limit is alcohol to take away, which may not be sold from 22:00 to 06:00 in any district. Drinks served for drinking on the premises are outside that ban.
Not to take away. Alcohol sold to be drunk elsewhere may not be sold from 22:00 to 06:00 in every district of Kraków, and the city guard treats a breach as a criminal offence. Bars, restaurants and clubs can keep serving on the premises.
Apply in writing to the Mayor of Kraków for a permit for each strength you sell, with proof of title to the premises, the owner’s consent in a block of flats and the sanitary inspector’s decision. The municipal commission confirms the site meets the council’s rules, and you pay the fee before the permit is issued.
A business starting out pays 525 PLN for beer and drinks up to 4.5%, 525 PLN for drinks over 4.5% to 18%, and 2,100 PLN for spirits over 18%. Existing sellers pay 1.4% of the previous year’s sales once they pass 37,500 PLN, or 2.7% for spirits once they pass 77,000 PLN.
From April to October, to midnight Sunday to Thursday and to 01:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of a public holiday; from November to March, an hour earlier. A court annulled the resolution behind these hours, but the ruling is not final and the city has appealed, so they still apply.
18. Alcohol may not be sold or served to anyone under 18 or to anyone showing signs of drunkenness, and staff may ask for a document showing the guest’s age.
At least four years for drinking on the premises. It is tied to the named business and premises, and changes must be notified within 14 days. A permit withdrawn for a breach bars a new application for three years.
Armed guarding, escorting valuables and the direct protection of people need staff on the police list of qualified physical protection workers, and security firms need a concession from the interior minister. Ask the police or a licensed firm whether your door team’s tasks need the list entry.
The standard rate is 23% and the reduced rate 8%. Catering takes 8%, but drinks served with it, alcohol included, take 23%, so alcohol and mixers at the table are 23% and food made in the venue is 8%. Prices include VAT.
4,806 PLN a month from 1 January 2026, about €1,101, with a minimum of 31.40 PLN an hour for contract work. From 1 January 2027 it rises to 4,950 PLN a month and 32.30 PLN an hour.
No Kraków club publishes a door price or a table minimum on its own page, so about 20 to 60 PLN for a club night and 500 to 2,000 PLN for the lowest table are general estimates from Prague and Budapest.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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