Krakow

The pearl of Poland

A city that took me by surprise with it’s warm and welcoming atmosphere-

I visited this Polish city in June 2023 to explore it’s history and culture with my camera in my hand.

Little did I know how much I would come to like this Polish jewel and its people. I spent five very pleasant days in the former capital.

What to see and do in Krakow

Cloth hall

  • Main Square - The largest medieval city square I Europe. Spacious and full of life surrounded by cozy, but sometimes overpriced, restaurants.The heart of the city.

  • The Cloth hall - On the main square.At first you will think that it is a castle from a fairy tail but actually it is a market place. On the upper floor there is now a museum but on the bottom it is still in use as a market.

  • Wawel Royal Castle - A residens for the kings of Poland for centuries and when Krakow was the capital of Poland, until 1596, the country was ruled from this castle. The building is very beautifully situated with the river Wisla on one side and the old town on the other. Walk around and explore the area or take a guided tour.

Wawel Royal Castle

  • Schindler’s factory - visit Oscar Schindler’s factory where he rescued more than 1200 jews from the Nazis during World War II. Watch the blockbuster movie by Steven Spielberg before you go and then explore the place in real life,

  • The jewish quarters - Experience the former Jewish district of Kazimierz. Before WW2 this is where most of the jews in Krakow lived but when the Nazis came people fled or got killed by the germans. Now it’s a districts with many cafes, restaurants and small shops. Many of them have a jewish theme. The Old synagogue, the oldest in Poland, is now a museum that is interesting to see but don’t forget to take a sneak peak in the other synagogues as well.

  • Auschwitz and Birkenau - About an hours drive (70km) from Krakow is the biggest and most horrifying of the German Nazi death camps. I have a separate page about it. If you visit Krakow, this day tour is a must. Book it here.

A rabbi taking a selfie in Krakow

Auschwitz

Other places of interest

  • Sightseeing Cruise - See the city from a boat on the Wisla river.

  • Wieliczka Salt Mine . UNESCO-listed and one of the worlds largest underground mining museums.

  • Food walk - a guided walking tour through the flavors of traditional Polish cooking.

  • Tatra Mountains - I haven’t been there myself but it looks amazing.

Do’s and don’ts in Krakow

Even though the Czech capital is a safe city there are somethings to avoid or be careful about.

  • Be aware of pickpockets - Nothing that is unique for Krakow. Unfortunately they appear in all major citys and tourist destinations. Keep your belongings close in crowded areas.

  • Dodgy places after dark - There not so many scammers in Krakow except people, often polite young girls, that try to lure you in to a shady club. It could be strip clubs or illegal bars. Don’t go, you will be ripped off or even mugged.

  • Use cash - They appreciate cash in Poland. In tourist restaurants and shopping malls it is totally fine to use credit cards.

  • Don’t drink in public - It is illegal to drink in public in most places in Poland.

  • Jaywalking - Pedestrians have priority at zebra crossings and is there a traffic light you should follow it. Anywhere else you could be fined if you are crossing a street with traffic.

  • Show respect about religion - Of course Poland have freedom of religion but most people in the country are Catholic Christians with different degree of devotion. Don’t talk about religion and if you do show respect for the Catholic Church and especially the former Pope John Paul II who was from Wadowice which is close to Krakow.

Language

They speak polish in Krakow and probably most people will understand Russian. Don’t expect everyone to speak English, most younger people do and in tourist areas they will understand English even if they don’t speak so much themselves.

It’s always good tho know some phrases in the native language, they will appreciate it.

  • Hello - Witam

  • How are you? - Jin dobrze

  • Thank you - Dziękuję

  • Cheers - dzięki

How to get to Krakow

From inside of Poland or neighbouring countries the easiest and most convenient way is to go by train.

I took a night train from Krakow to Prague last summer which was comfortable and easy.

Multiple countries have a direct flight to Krakow. If you are coming from outside of Europe you probably will have to change flight somewhere.

If you need to rent a car I highly recommend Rentalcars.com to get the best deal.

Book your flights here

Where to stay in Krakow

This is easy. You want to stay in walking distance from the old town square.

Last time I was in the city I stayed on the other side of the river, opposite the Wawel castle and I had a 15min walk to the square.

There are plenty of accommodations you can choose, from hostels for 20€ to luxury hotels.

I usually book my hotels via Agoda or Booking and I often compare the sites to get the best deal and to read reviews.

 

Horse carriage old town square

Inside the Cloth hall after hours

Public transport in Krakow

The south Polish city is a very walkable so if you are staying in the city center and don’t mind stretching your legs you don’t have to read any further in this section. But if you want to explore things a bit away from the old town or your accommodation is further away you still have plenty of options.

  1. Take the tram. It is easy and it goes everywhere.

  2. Take the bus.

  3. Take a taxi. I had no problems with taxis in Krakow except a language barrier sometimes. If that happens write your destination on your phone or show the taxi driver a map and you will be fine.

If you want to go from the airport to the city center I suggest that you take the train. The trains are affordable and comfortable. I you stay far away from the train station there are always taxis ready to take you to your destination.

I highly recommend downloading the app Jakdojade. That will figure out the route you should take from where you are to where you want to go. And it shows how you should walk between bus stops and trams as well

What to eat in Krakow

Polish food could be described as a cross between Russian and German cuisine but with their own twist.

The most famous dishes would be

  • Pierogies - or “Polish dumplings”, filled with things like potato, onion and/or different kinds o meat. Sold everywhere. Why not learn how to make your own.

  • Bigos - A stew with meat, sometimes sausage, and sauerkraut.

  • Kotlet schabowy - similar to a German schnitzel

  • kielbasa - Which translates to sausage and there are different kinds. My favourite is Kielbasa Wiejska (hunter sausage), a smoked sausage with garlic, black pepper and salt

  • Soups - They are common in Poland. Made with beetroot or mushrooms or chicken or… There are so many choices.

As mentioned before, restaurants in tourist areas like the old town square will bi pricier than in other areas but the price difference is not so big that you should avoid them.

A small tip is normal, 5-10% on top of the bill usually.

Soup

Kebab

Krakow is a big city and of course they have restaurants with influences from other parts of the world like Scandinavia and Greece.

I found a good Turkish kebab and a decent Chinese restaurant on my visit.

Don’t forget to try Packzi, A jam filled doughnut. Delicious.

Drink? Beer and Vodka.

The Polish like their vodka and it’s often flavoured. Often the restaurants will give you a small complementary shot of vodka. most common in Krakow seems to be with cherries. How it tastes? well, like vodka with cherries.

Cherry vodka and beer

Thank you for reading my travel blog about Krakow.

I hope you found it interesting and helpful.

Use the form, under contact, if there is something that you think should be added to this site.

Cheers

Roger