Krakow, the cultural capital of Poland, is a wonderful city with many interesting sites. Plus it’s inexpensive and easy to navigate. Just about everyone in the tourist trade (and I'd guess 50% or more of residents aged 18 - 35) speaks English. What is not to like about Krakow!
I travelled to Krakow during the summer of 2013 while Krakow was in the midst of a heat wave. The temperatures were in the mid 90’s (F) during my week-long stay except for the last day. My hotel did not have air conditioning as I did not think it would get that hot in Krakow. In spite of the heat, my time in Krakow was very enjoyable. In addition to being a lovely city, Krakow is very inexpensive! Hotels, restaurants tourist attractions are very inexpensive. At the time of my visit, the US dollar was valued at 3.26 Polish Zloty. I spent about $110 per day for the hotel (with a private toilet and shower), meals and all activities (this did not include transportation to and from Krakow, but it did include all transportation during my stay).
My hotel was in an excellent location, about a 3 minute walk to the Main Market Square. A 10 minute walk takes you from the train station to the Main Market Square. There is a large shopping mall almost adjacent to the Train Station, with a large supermarket and every type of shop imaginable. There is also a small grocery store about a 3 minute walk from the Main Market Square (and a 1 minute walk from my hotel) - - be warned though, some of the staff in the store are not very tourist-friendly. A great place to eat breakfast (inexpensively) is just around the corner from my hotel. I even found a laundry named Frania’s Café about a 15 minute walk from the Main Market Square where I washed my clothes before continuing on my trip to Prague. At Frania’s Café, you can enjoy a beer or coffee and use the free wi-fi while your clothes are washing.
When I was in Krakow, I spent a week exploring as much of the city as possible. About half of my time was spent in or around the Old Town, with a lot of that spent in the Main Market Square. In addition to the Old Town, I visited Kazimierz (the Jewish Quarter), Podgorze (near the Jewish Quarter and where Schindler’s Factory Museum is located), Las Wolski (the Forest) and Kościuszko Mound (a very large hill created to honor a national hero - - there are great views of all of Krakow from here). I also went on a tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration camp where 1,500,000 people were murdered by the Nazis during World War II (most of the victims were Jewish).
Krakow is a great city for walking. If you get “temporarily lost”, it is easy to find your bearings with the river, the steeples of the Old Town, or the “Planty”. The Planty is a lovely green space that was created where the Old Town defensive wall was located. Because the Planty surrounds the Old Town and is shaded by lovely trees, it is a great place to stroll. You can walk from one end of the Old Town to another in about 15 minutes (from the Florian Gate to Wawel Castle). I walked almost everywhere I went, except for my trip to Las Wolski, Kościuszko Mound and the tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration camp. The public buses were easy to use and got me to the places that were outside of the center of Krakow.
During my stay, I met a lot of wonderful people - - from France, Italy, England, Scotland, Brazil and of course from Poland. I did not see many people from the United States. The people I met were very friendly (except for the staff at the grocery store near my hotel). The Tourist Information Office in the Main Market Square is very helpful. It is located in the “Cloth Hall” in the Main Market Square. They know just about everything and can help you find directions, get tour or concert tickets, provide maps, and even tell you how to get to the nearby Laundromat. Another great thing about Krakow - - cars stopped for pedestrians, even taxis! After having recently been in Ukraine (where the traffic is very unforgiving toward pedestrians), it was a welcome change.
About the only thing I didn’t like about Krakow were the bicycle riders - - they went very fast, weaving between people in even the most crowded areas. I was afraid of getting hit if I was not careful. Even in the very crowded Market Square many did not seem to care about pedestrians while they sped through the Square.
I referenced several sources before travelling to Krakow, including: Rick Steves’ Eastern Europe, Frommer’s Europe, Rough Guide’s Europe on a Budget, Lonely Planet-Europe on a Shoestring, Europe by Eurail and Let’s Go Europe (all books), as well as Rick Steves’ Europe PBS Television Show (available on DVD) and Dennis Callan on YouTube. Even though I enjoyed all of them, I found Rick Steves material the most informative and thorough.
The information below is a summary of the sites and activities I enjoyed while I was in Krakow.
- In and around the Main Market Square:
- The Barbican (whats left of the defensive wall)
- I walked around the entire Planty (trees and green space after wall taken down)
- Enterered the Old Town by walking through the Florian Gate and down Floriańska Street – the heart of historic (and tourist) district.
- Guided tour of the magnificent St. Mary’s Church that has one of the largest gothic altarpieces in Europe.
- I spent a lot of time around Main Market Square, claimed to be one of Europe’s largest and most enjoyable public areas. Lonely Planet stated (I believe) that it is Europe’s largest Medieval Town Square.
- Cloth Hall, in the center of Main Market Square, built during the Renaissance and formerly one of the major centers of international trade
- I had a guided tour of the magnificent St. Mary’s Church that has one of the largest gothic altarpieces in Europe.
- The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art in the “Cloth Hall” at the Main Market Square.
- Church of St. Adalbert, the oldest church in Kraków (10th century). I saw a chamber orchestra at the church.
- Mary Magdalene Square, a few blocks from Main Market Square, was Krakow’s main square hundreds of years ago.
- St. Francis’ Basilica, a beautiful Gothic church, contains some great art and stained glass windows. It was Pope John Paul’s home church while he was archbishop of Kraków.
- Archbishop’s Palace, the building that was Pope John Paul II’s residence when he was the archbishop of Kraków. He used to greet people from the window over the stone entryway.
- Church of Saints Peter and Paul, built in the late 16th and early 17th century, one of the earliest Baroque buildings in Krakow
- St. Andrews Church, one of the best surviving Romanesque structures in Krakow. It was built as a defensive church.
- Tour of Wawel Castle and walk around the Castle Grounds walk. The Castle complex is considered by many to be the most important cultural and historical site in Poland.
- Wawel Castle, originally built in the 14th century under Casimir the Great
- Wawel Cathedral, originally built over 900 years ago, is the sight of many royal coronations and burials.
- Inner Courtyard: designed in the Renaissance style by young Florentine artisans
- Along the outer wall there are great views of the Vistula River and greater Kraków.
- Leonard Da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” is displayed at a location in the Inner Courtyard. This may be the most famous painting in Krakow.
- Wawel Castle Grounds – walking along the paths and gardens within the castle grounds provide an enjoyable experience and is not crowded in many places
- Royal Private Apartments provide elaborate chambers for the members of the royal family and its guests
- Riverfront Park, between the Jewish Quarter and Wawel Castle. It was a delightful place to simply relax, with beautiful views of the castle complex.
- Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) is about a 20 minute walk from Main Market Square. I took a tour (walking) with “See Krakow” tour company. It was quite inexpensive (60 zl per person?) and the guide (Phillip) was great! We saw:
- Ghetto Heroes’ Square, a monument memorializing the Jewish population that was forced into the Ghetto prior to the destruction of the Ghetto
- Old Cemetery (Stary Cmentarz)—This small cemetery was used to bury members of the Jewish community from the 16th to the 19th centuries. It was desecrated by the Nazis.
- New Cemetery (Nowy Cmentarz)—A larger cemetery that has the graves of those who died after 1800.
- Synagogues—There are six different synagogues in Kazimierzitors that allow visitors. I saw a Kleshmir concert Isaac Synagogue.
- Kazimierz Market Square (Plac Nowy)— This square is much different than the Main Market Square in that it is used predominately by the neighborhood rather than toursist. A great place for shopping, people-watching, or a quick, cheap, and local lunch - - I tried a “zapiekanka”; it’s kind of like a large, inexpensive pizza on French bread – it’s delicious but must definitely be (carefully) eaten with 2 hands.
- After the tour, I saw a Kleshmir concert (Jewish folk music of the 19th century) in one of the Jewish synagogues
- Near Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter), I toured the Schindler’s Factory Museum . It was made famous by the Spielberg’s movie “Schindler’s List”, and is about 10 minutes beyond the other Kazimierz sights—it’s just across the bridge.
- I went to Las Wolski (Krakow forest) by taking bus number 134. It leaves from ‘Stadion Cracovia’ near the Błonia and drops passengers off at the Zoo in the centre of the forest. There are many walking and biking trails; however all of the signs are in Polish.
- Kościuszko Mound, a large, tall artificial hill created to honor the national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko. You can walk to the top for grand views of the countryside and of all of Krakow. I also took bus 134 to get here. It drops you off about 1 to 2 miles (straight, no turns) from the mound, but the walk uphill is beautiful.
- Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration camp took the entire day. I used the “See Krakow” package guided tour (I believe it was about 130 zł per person - www.cracowcitytours.pl; it included an air conditioned mini-bus transportation from Main Market Square). This very memorable site is very large, and the indoor exhibits are quite crowded. I didn’t realize that of all the people who arrived at the concentration camp, 75% were immediately gassed; only about 25% were sent to work in the camp; the vast majority of workers died from disease or starvation. And though I knew the camp was liberated by Soviet troops, I did not realize that the troops were from the Ukrainian military.
Krakow is a wonderful city, friendly city, steeped in culture and history. Being easy to navigate and very inexpensive, it's a great place to visit.
