The Wieliczka Salt Mine is an important attraction in the Krakow area. It has a long history of tourism: already in the 15th-century visitors were taken underground. Prominent Europeans like Copernicus, Goethe and Chopin also visited. The site nowadays attracts thousands of visitors every day in summer, and group tours are conducted in several languages. Fortunately, I was here in February, when it wasn't too busy. There are frequent minibusses from Krakow to bring you here.

The underground tour takes you on a walk of two km. It passes through 20 caves, many of them adorned with sculptures the miners made. It's quite clean and spacious here, unlike in a coal mine for example. The walls are dark grey everywhere; you can only see they are made of crystals when you hold a light to it. The gangways are held upright by complex wooden structures.

The highlight of the tour undoubtedly is the Underground Cathedral. Everything in it is made of salt: the wall decorations (The Last Supper and other biblical scenes), the altar, the religious statues, the floor and the ceiling. Even the chandeliers are made from salt crystals. This masterpiece was created by three miners in their spare time, taking 68 years of work.