The 31st Summer Jazz Festival Kraków – a jubilee edition – runs June 27 to August 31, 2026, with around 150 concerts across the city. Pat Metheny opens and Miles Davis turns 100. Here’s how to plan your visit.
Kraków’s Main Market Square: the festival’s geographic heart © Jorge Lascar / CC BY 2.0.
In 1996, a Kraków cabaret held a festival to celebrate its 40th birthday in a candlelit stone cellar beneath the Main Market Square. From June 27 to August 31, the Summer Jazz Festival Kraków 2026 arrives as the jubilee 31st edition, with roughly 150 concerts across the city’s concert halls, courtyards, club basements, and open squares. If you have been looking for a reason to visit to Kraków, this could be it.
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The 2026 edition carries extra weight. Pat Metheny opens on the first night. The festival’s midsummer week is devoted to Miles Davis, who would have turned 100 this year. And threaded throughout is Piwnica pod Baranami, the stone-vaulted cellar where it all started — still candlelit, still unique, still home to Kraków jazz.
Pat Metheny opens the 2026 jubilee edition on June 27 © Dorota Koperska Photography / CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Confirmed 2026 Lineup
Opening Weekend: Pat Metheny and Jan Garbarek
The festival opens on Saturday, June 27 with the much-anticipated Pat Metheny “Side-Eye III+” project at ICE Kraków Congress Centre (ul. Konopnickiej 17), starting at 8pm.
Metheny holds more than 20 Grammy Awards and occupies a place in jazz guitar that is hard to overstate. The “Side-Eye” format functions as a rolling masterclass — Metheny at the centre, surrounded by younger musicians he has personally selected. For 2026, that band includes Chris Fishman on piano and synths, Joe Dyson on drums, Jermaine Paul on bass, and Leonard Patton on percussion and vocals. ICE Kraków is a great venue for this: a large, modern congress hall with serious acoustics. Book early, as this will sell.
The following evening, Sunday, June 28, the music shifts register entirely. Jan Garbarek Group featuring Trilok Gurtu takes the stage at Kino Kijów (al. Krasińskiego 34) at 7pm. Garbarek is returning to Kraków after a three-year absence. The Norwegian saxophonist has built a sound via ECM Records somewhere between European folk, classical, and improvisation. His band — Trilok Gurtu on Indian percussion and vocals, Rainer Brüninghaus on piano, Yuri Daniel on bass — is not a jazz quartet in any conventional sense. It is something quieter and stranger.
“Kraków Loves Miles” — July 21–27
The centrepiece of the July programme is a week-long celebration of Miles Davis’ centennial. Two confirmed headline concerts anchor the series:
- Tuesday, July 21: Kenny Garrett Quintet, Kino Kijów, 7pm. Garrett was in Miles Davis’s final working band, and it gives the concert a living connection to the music rather than a retrospective recreation of it.
- Saturday, July 25: Nicholas Payton Trio, Manggha Museum of Japanese Art (ul. Konopnickiej 26), 7pm. Payton is a New Orleans trumpet player in the direct lineage of the tradition Davis himself came from — which makes this concert feel like a conversation across generations. The Manggha setting, a striking modernist building overlooking the Vistula, adds its own atmosphere.
The festival is also programming additional trumpet-focused events in club venues throughout this week, though full listings were still to be published at time of writing. Check summerjazz.pl for the complete “Kraków Loves Miles” schedule as it is confirmed.
Where to Find the Full Schedule
The four concerts above are the confirmed headliners as of April 2026. The complete July and August programme of ~150 concerts had not yet been published.
Announcements typically roll out in waves through spring and early summer. Bookmark summerjazz.pl and either sign up for their mailing list or check back regularly. Alternatively, follow the festival’s social channels for announcement drops. If you are building a trip around specific concerts, the opening weekend and “Kraków Loves Miles” headliners are safe to book now. Everything else should be confirmed closer to your travel dates.
Jan Wróblewski at Piwnica pod Baranami, Summer Jazz Festival © Franek Vetulani / CC BY-SA 4.0.
The Venues
Piwnica pod Baranami
Any account of this festival has to begin here. Piwnica pod Baranami (literally “the cellar under the rams”) sits at Rynek Główny 27, beneath one of the oldest buildings on the Main Market Square. It was founded in 1956 by the poet and impresario Piotr Skrzynecki, and during the communist era it became something genuinely unusual: a pocket of tolerated artistic freedom, a place where jazz carried political weight simply by being played freely. Writers, painters, musicians, and dissidents passed through it for decades.
The space itself — stone vaults, candlelight, capacity of around 150 to 200 people — stays true to its roots and keeps the spirit and style of artistic expression alive.
For Piwnica pod Baranami events during the Summer Jazz Festival, these are among the few occasions when the venue opens to the general public rather than operating as a members’ club. No specific 2026 events had been listed at time of writing — check the calendar on the venue’s official website.
And if you do secure tickets: arrive 30 to 45 minutes early. The sightlines from the back of a full room are not forgiving.
One practical note: access is by stairs and the venue is not fully wheelchair accessible. Contact the venue directly if this affects your visit.
The Full Venue Map
The festival’s geographic footprint is one of its practical strengths. Most venues sit within a 15-minute walk of each other:
- ICE Kraków Congress Centre (ul. Konopnickiej 17) — the festival’s largest room, south of Old Town on the Vistula riverbank. Modern, capacious, excellent for major headliners.
- Manggha Museum of Japanese Art (ul. Konopnickiej 26) — directly adjacent to ICE Kraków; its position overlooking the river makes outdoor-adjacent concerts feel genuinely special.
- Kino Kijów (al. Krasińskiego 34) — a cinema-format concert hall, intimate enough for detail-focused listening.
- Kraków Philharmonic (ul. Zwierzyniecka 1) — one of Poland’s premier classical halls, occasionally drafted into festival duty for the right programme.
- Radio Kraków (ul. Radiowa 4) — a broadcaster’s concert hall with a long history of live performance.
- Harris Piano Jazz Bar (Rynek Główny 28) — thirty metres from Piwnica pod Baranami on the Main Square; a dedicated jazz venue operating year-round.
- Alchemia Club (ul. Estery 5, Kazimierz) — an official festival venue in Kraków’s Jewish quarter, about 15 minutes’ walk east of the Main Square. Alchemia runs a strong jazz programme throughout the year, making it worth a visit on any night of your trip.
- Globus Music Club / Potocki Palace (ul. Rajska 12) — an elegant setting for the right kind of evening.
- Open-air Old Town venues — the festival also uses courtyards and outdoor spaces, most visibly for New Orleans Sunday (see below).
Memorial to Piotr Skrzynecki, founder of Piwnica pod Baranami © Zygmunt Put / CC BY-SA 4.0.
Tickets: How to Buy, What to Pay, and What to Do Now
Tickets went on sale in January 2026. For the opening weekend and “Kraków Loves Miles” headliners, availability at time of writing was already tightening — particularly for Pat Metheny.
Where to buy:
- Ticketmaster — the primary online outlet. Buy Summer Jazz Festival Kraków tickets on Ticketmaster
- Festival office, Karmelicka 52/1, Kraków — in-person purchase earns a 10% discount on all tickets. Worth it if you are already in the city or planning your itinerary on arrival.
Prices: Entry-level concerts start at 27zł. Major headliners at ICE Kraków (Metheny being the obvious example) are likely to fall in the 130–250zł+ range. There is no festival pass; ticketing is per concert.
Strategy: If Metheny, Garbarek, Garrett, or Payton are on your list, do not wait. Everything else, watch the schedule and buy as soon as events are confirmed. Our Early Bird Guide to Kraków’s biggest summer attractions covers broader planning for the peak summer season.
Getting Here and Getting Around
By air: Kraków John Paul II International Airport (KRK) is well-connected from across Europe. For a full breakdown of all transport options including taxis and private transfers, see our guide to getting from Kraków Airport to the city centre.
By rail: Kraków Główny station puts you 12 to 15 minutes’ walk from the Main Square via ul. Floriańska. Train times from major cities: Warsaw, 2 hours 15 minutes; Vienna, around 6 hours; Prague, around 7 hours.
Within Kraków: The festival’s main venues cluster close enough together that you can walk between most of them. Alchemia in Kazimierz is the outlier at 15 minutes east — easy on foot on a warm July evening, or a short tram ride.
Timing and weather: July is peak tourist season in Kraków. Book accommodation early — the city fills up, and hotels near the centre will be in demand. Daytime temperatures run 24–28°C; evenings typically around 20°C (for rainfall patterns, what to pack, and month-by-month comparisons, see our Kraków weather in July guide). A light jacket is worth packing, especially for Piwnica pod Baranami, where the stone cellar maintains its own cool temperature regardless of what is happening outside. Dress code across the festival is smart-casual; nothing formal is required.
Ul. Miodowa in Kazimierz — Kraków’s best pre-concert dining street © Zygmunt Put / CC BY-SA 4.0.
Beyond the Concerts
New Orleans Sunday
Every July since 2001, the festival has taken to the streets for New Orleans Sunday — a free, all-ages outdoor event spreading traditional jazz bands across the gardens, courtyards, and cafes of the Main Square and surrounding streets. Thousands of people come. There is a parade. It is, in the best possible way, completely unpretentious, and it is the most accessible point of entry the festival offers. The exact 2026 date had not been announced at time of writing — check the Summer Jazz site for confirmation.
The Kazimierz Jazz Scene
Alchemia (ul. Estery 5) programmes jazz year-round, not just during the festival. A few streets away, Drukarnia (ul. Nadwiślańska 1) is another reliable spot. If you are spending several days in Kraków, Kazimierz rewards an evening of wandering. The neighbourhood has a texture that the Main Square, for all its grandeur, does not.
Pre-Concert Dinner
Resist the temptation to eat directly on Rynek Główny before a concert. The restaurants facing the square charge accordingly for that view. Head instead to Kazimierz: ul. Szeroka, ul. Józefa, and ul. Miodowa offer genuinely good food at significantly better value, and the 15-minute walk back to the Main Square venue cluster is entirely pleasant. Our Kraków restaurant guide includes an area map if you want specific recommendations before you go.
The Planty and Wawel Castle
The Planty, the green ring of gardens circling Kraków’s Old Town, is at its best on a July evening when the sun sets after 9pm. Build in time for a slow walk before an 8pm concert. If your schedule allows a morning or afternoon excursion, Wawel Castle is ten minutes’ walk from the festival hub — book interior tickets in advance at wawel.krakow.pl, particularly in peak season.
Beyond the Festival
There is a type of jazz festival that exists entirely inside a venue: you arrive, you listen, you leave. The Summer Jazz Festival Kraków is not like that at all. The 31st edition brings an exceptional lineup. But the added draw is the accumulated weight of everything that has happened in these venues across the decades. The city’s stone streets, river light, and candlelit cellars are folded into the programme.
- Information: Summer Jazz Festival Kraków official site.
- Tickets: Ticketmaster.
- Festival office: Karmelicka 52/1 (10% in-person discount).
Where Are These Places Located?
Find these locations on the Visit Kraków Google map:- Open the Visit Kraków map
- Click on a marker and it will give you the name of the landmark, with a brief description and links for more information and directions. You can pan, scroll, and zoom around the map, or use the + or – buttons in the bottom left of the map to zoom in and out
- You will see the list of places on the left hand side, sorted by category. Scroll down or use the map search (the magnifying glass icon) to find the place you want
- Click the name of the place in the list. Its location pin will be highlighted on the map.
- Each category is on a different layer, which can be switched on and off. So you can just see the Hotel or Restaurant pins, for example
- If you are using the map on your phone, open the map and then search for the name of the place. The map will then zoom in on its location
Map pins are color coded:
- YELLOW: Kraków Sightseeing
- GREEN: Kraków Transportation
- DARK RED: Restaurants in Kraków
- ORANGE: Michelin Restaurants in Kraków
- LIGHT RED: Kraków Bars / Clubs / Music Venues
- BLUE: Kraków Hotels
- PURPLE: Shopping In Kraków
Article prepared April 2026. Schedule and ticket availability subject to change — verify current listings at summerjazz.pl before travel.
Things To Do In Krakow
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:: Need inspiration? Check our Kraków Itineraries for two-day, three-day, and four-day trips, as well as our Things To Do In Kraków guide for ideas of where to do and what to do.
