Malbork Castle — Attraction in Malbork

Had a great time at Malbork Castle! Reasonably priced tickets and it comes with an audio guide which I really enjoyed.

Definitely worth getting the audio guide but I also recommend poking around a bit to look at other things in between the segments of the tour. The guide is informative and entertaining but it doesn't take you through all the rooms or outdoor areas and you could miss out on some gems, like the chapel. There were multiple languages available for the audio guide and it comes as a device on a lanyard with over the ear headphones so you don't need to download anything or bring your own device/headphones. It uses your location in the castle to trigger the audio segments and does a pretty good job of directing you which way to go next (assuming you know your lefts and rights!).

We saw a recommendation of 3-4 hours to see the whole castle. We're fast walkers (and were short on time) so it took us about an hour and a half to get through the standard audio tour. It was also later in the day in winter so there weren't many people about. If we'd had more time, we could have easily spent another hour wandering about. There's also a restaurant and gift shop within the castle grounds if you need a break (or to warm up if you come in winter!).

As it's a castle, most of it doesn't have any form of heating so if you go on a winter day like we did, wear your warm clothes! I'm sure the castle is even more spectacular on a warm and sunny day but we still had a great time in the cold weather and the gloomy skies added to the atmosphere. However, I don't recommend this for a rainy day as you spend a decent amount of time outdoors in different parts of the castle grounds during the audio tour. There was a bit of drizzle when we went and this was fine but there are a lot of stairs, cobbled paths, and wooden walkways which could be slippery on a wetter day.

The castle is not particularly accessible for those who use a wheelchair or have trouble with stairs, uneven floors, or standing/walking for longer periods of time. There aren't many places to sit and the tour takes you up and down several different staircases. However, I did see a sign directing you to talk to a member of staff if you struggle with stairs so there may be a more accessible route to see some of the castle. From what I remember, the exterior grounds of the castle were pretty flat and I don't think you needed a ticket to access those parts so you might be able to get a free and wheelchair access view of only the outside of the castle, but I'm not sure. We bought our tickets at the desk when we arrived and I didn't see what other options might have been available.

The castle itself was pretty easy to get to. We took the train to Malbork from nearby Gdańsk, and took a 5 minute taxi ride to the castle and back from the Malbork train station. The express train to Malbork was about zł 60 per person (the cheaper non-express train was about zł 15 per person) and the taxi cost about zł 15-20 each way. There was a taxi at the station and someone at the help desk was able to call us a taxi to get back.

There are lockers on site to store your luggage and bags, but they are coin operated. We didn't have any złoty coins and weren't able to get coins from an ATM so we weren't able to use them. It looked like a 2 złoty coin and that you'd get the coin back when you put the key back in so I think they're free (if you have the right coin). It also looked like there were places to store a pram or bike if you go into the castle grounds.

Overall I recommend Malbork Castle and I wish we'd had a bit more time to explore...

Malbork Castle – A Must-Visit with an Outstanding Audio Guide

We visited Malbork Castle today and took the long historical route, and I must say—it was an absolutely fantastic experience! We enjoyed every second of it.

The audio guide deserves special praise—it’s hands down the best I’ve ever used. It seamlessly follows your route, offering insightful and engaging explanations about each location while guiding you effortlessly through the castle. No need to search for numbers or push buttons—it tracks your location via GPS and naturally directs you to the next point of interest. A truly brilliant addition to the tour!

A Brief History of Malbork Castle

Malbork Castle, also known as the Castle of the Teutonic Order, dates back to the 13th century and was built by the Teutonic Knights, a German Roman Catholic crusader order. The knights ruled over Malbork and the surrounding region, including Gdańsk (then Danzig), until 1457, when Polish forces under King Jagiellon captured the castle.

Over the centuries, the castle changed hands multiple times between Poland and Germany. Unfortunately, more than half of the castle was destroyed during World War II, but following the war, it became part of Poland again and underwent extensive restoration. Today, it stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the finest reconstructed medieval fortresses in Europe.

Exploring the Castle

Malbork Castle is the largest castle in the world by land area, so be prepared for a lot of walking! Some staircases are quite steep and narrow, so comfortable shoes are a must.

The castle consists of three main sections: • The Lower Castle – A quick introduction as you enter. • The Middle Castle – Home to grand halls and fascinating exhibits. • The High Castle – The oldest part of the fortress with incredible architecture.

We booked the first time slot at 09:00, and for the next three hours, we had the place almost to ourselves. On our way out, we passed massive groups just arriving—so if you want a peaceful experience, come early!

Useful Tips for Visitors • Opening Hours: The castle opens at 09:00, but the ticket office is already open from 08:00. • Booking Tickets: I booked online but never received them by email. However, everything went smoothly at the ticket office—they found my payment in the system and printed our tickets within seconds. • Seasonal Closures: If you visit in March, note that the Main Tower (Wieża Główna) is closed until June.

Final Thoughts

Malbork Castle is an impressive and well-restored medieval fortress, and the historical route with the audio guide is an absolute must. The combination of rich history, stunning architecture, and a top-notch guided experience makes this a 5-star attraction.

Would I visit...

Absolutely fantastic experience! The audio-guided tour was WONDERFUL! The place is INCREDIBLY huge! I would definitely recommend taking it slow (of course, if you are not with children). You've got to break up your visit into two days and finish it with a night tour that starts at 8PM! Make sure you take a good pair of hiking shoes, not sandals! The terrain is delightfully uneven!

The lovely folks at Malbork made sure to provide audio guides in a bunch of different languages. The audio guide is available in lots of languages! You can choose from Polish, English, German, Russian, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Czech, Slovak, French, Italian, Spanish and perhaps more. Once you've bought your tickets, you can pick up your audio guide and it'll be ready for you in the language you want (if it's available).

The audio guide is based on geolocation, so it'll work perfectly for you. It's really helpful because it tells you where to go and you can even repeat the topic if you want to! On two occasions, the audio guide didn't tell me anything (I had an English guide, my husband had a Slovak guide, and it was telling him things when mine was silent). I walked around a bit, but still nothing!

We arrived at 4 PM. At 6:50PM, we were kindly informed that the expositions are closing NOW, but we could still enjoy the beautiful castle grounds. We also learned that the gift shop would be closing at 7PM.

On the webpage of Malbork castle, there is written "The Castle Museum in Malbork is available from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 20:00 (last admission at 17:00)".

We were a lot more disappointed than we expected to be when we found out we weren't going to be able to finish the whole historic route. I'm really into history, so I didn't rush at all. I thought we had plenty of time until 20:00.

I'd love to make a few suggestions for next time! I just thought that it would be really helpful if the audio guide came with a map! As another idea, perhaps there could be a QR code on the back of the audio guide that would take our phone to the online map? I think it would be really helpful if the phone's location could be used to indicate which room we are in, floor by floor, on the map. I would love to see a two-day ticket option because it's quite a lot to do in one day! For those who buy tickets for the historic route after 4PM, it would be great if they could be informed that they might not be able to do everything that day. Or perhaps they could be given the option to continue the next morning with the same ticket (maybe with a specific stamp...