{"id":13987,"date":"2022-04-06T07:26:49","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T11:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exploringed.com\/?p=13987"},"modified":"2022-11-09T05:50:23","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T10:50:23","slug":"poland-krakow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exploringed.com\/poland-krakow\/","title":{"rendered":"Krak\u00f3w \u2013 Enchanted Royal City"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
Krak\u00f3w is the most beautiful and alluring city in Poland. It was once the seat of the Polish Kings and escaped WWII with minimal damage. As a result, medieval streets, buildings and monuments are intact and surrounded by bars, pubs, clubs and restaurants. It has world-class museums and many universities, providing a rich cultural environment amidst a college-town atmosphere.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> While Polish people are quite aware of the city\u2019s appeal and visit in huge numbers, foreign visitors are relatively few for such an incredible place. Most non-Europeans have little idea of the city\u2019s treasures and lively atmosphere. This is changing but everyone should see Krak\u00f3w with their own eyes!<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Krak\u00f3w is located in the south-central part of Poland and is close to other great cities of Central Europe. It\u2019s only 240km\/150mi from Budapest, 300km\/180mi from Warsaw, 330km\/205mi from Prague and 460km\/285mi from Vienna.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Krak\u00f3w has direct train and highway connections with all of these places.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In August and September 2021, my wife Khadija and I went on a\u00a0 <\/span>five-week drive through Eastern Europe<\/span><\/a> and visited many of the great cities of the region. We definitely wanted to go to Krak\u00f3w and spent four days there.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Krak\u00f3w is very safe and may be more so than other major cities in Poland. Here, as everywhere you travel, employ basic safety precautions and use common sense to avoid problems..<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In comparison to other major European cities, Krak\u00f3w is less expensive. As Poland\u2019s currency is the Z\u0142oty (the Polish letter \u0141, aka L-with-a-stroke, sounds the same as W) and not the Euro (which inevitably brings higher prices).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Most attractions are in the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the adjacent Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter), so it makes sense to stay in one of these two sections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> We stayed in the boutique <\/span>Hotel Indigo \u2013 Krak\u00f3w Old Town<\/span><\/a>, which occupies an interestingly renovated, old building and has a small gym (a big plus for me). <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t It\u2019s a five minute walk to the Barbican, which is a good place to start your visit to the Old Town. There are several restaurants nearby, as well as a tram station for several lines. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Here\u2019s a map of some of Krak\u00f3w sites worth visiting. Be aware this post only mentions some of our favorites and there are far too many to include.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The center of Old Town, where most attractions are, is pedestrian only. Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) and the parts of Pod\u00f3grze of interest are within a 30-minute walk.<\/span><\/p> The tram is a good alternative. You can get a 20-minute tram ticket for just 2.8 Z\u0142oty (about US$0.65) for Zone 1 which is for the city.<\/span> Zone 2 is for locations outside of the city which few tourists go to. There are longer periods for single rides, as well as 24-hour, 48-hour, 72-hour and 7-day cards. Preschool children, adults 70 years or older and people with disabilities can ride for free. You can buy tickets at the stations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Krak\u00f3w traffic is congested and not fun to drive in. Our car remained parked except when we went to the Wieliczka Salt Mine. You can take a bus there which includes the admission ticket.\u00a0<\/span><\/p> Krak\u00f3w has many free walking tours (tips expected) in English. We took two from Krak\u00f3w City Tours, one of the Old Town and another to the Jewish Quarters with our informative guide Magda.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t It rained most of the time we were there but it didn\u2019t distract us and provided some interesting images.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t There\u2019s no shortage of excellent restaurants in Krak\u00f3w. We enjoyed a very good, traditional Polish meal at the warmly decorated and quiet <\/span>Jarema<\/span><\/a>, close to the Barbican. Our waiter Daniel, who was studying languages and spoke good English, relayed considerable information on Polish culture.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Two others worth noting: <\/span>Gruzi\u0144skie Chaczapuri<\/span><\/a> in the Old Town, serving Georgian cuisine and in <\/span>Kazimierz<\/span>, the cozy, eclectically-furnished\u00a0 <\/span>Moment Resto Bar<\/span><\/a> offering meals and drinks all through the day.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The center of Old Town is encircled by Planty Park, which has interesting memorials and art pieces, such as<\/span> the <\/span>Statue of Jan Matejko in a rectangle.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t In the center of the Old Town is Europe\u2019s largest market square, the size of nine American-football fields, with Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) dating from the 14th century<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Inside there are numerous sellers and traders of crafts and souvenirs.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Many stalls sell amber stones and jewelry, a legacy of Krak\u00f3w being on a busy trade route with the Baltic Sea, where sea amber is mined. Under the building is a dimly lit museum of excavated medieval merchant stalls and exhibits on the city\u2019s history. It\u2019s certainly worth spending an hour here.<\/span><\/p> Perhaps the most striking building in the Old Town is St. Mary\u2019s Basilica. The foundation was constructed in the 13th century and the initial church was built in the next century. It has been expanded and modified ever since and the two-tower church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The interior is magnificent and the Gothic triptych altarpiece carved from linden wood is considered a Polish treasure.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t On every hour, a trumpet is played from the tallest towers and stops in mid-stream, to commemorate a 13th century trumpeter who was shot while sounding the alarm before a Mongol attack on the city.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The Princes Czartoryski Museum has a superlative collection of paintings by European masters and numerous items from Polish history. The museum\u2019s highlight and pride of Krak\u00f3w is Leonardo da Vinci\u2019s Lady with an Ermine, one of his only four female portraits (one being Mona Lisa).<\/span><\/p> I liked this amazingly decorated clock.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Even in a city with so many splendid churches, this Baroque, white marble one stands out. It was built during the Counter-Reformation fervor of the 16th Century. The twelve apostle statues in front of the prominent metalwork were actually added in the 18th century.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t This extremely important castle in Polish history is a complex of buildings with fabulous artistic and heritage collections. The castle derives its name from the Wawel limestone hill and borders the Vistula River.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t There is so much to see, including the cathedral, national treasury and medieval armor collection, that you could easily spend a day or two.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The one thing that no one should miss when visiting Krak\u00f3w is the 16<\/span>th<\/span> century Belgian Tapestry collection. It consists of 137 pieces of Polish historical symbols, biblical scenes and particularly fanciful landscapes with mystical animals.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t By the river, is the bronze statue of the Wawel Dragon on a limestone rock. It\u2019s hugely popular with tourists as it breathes fire at least every five minutes (or sooner if an SMS is sent).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t You can also see the Dragon\u2019s Den for a small admission, which is uneventful but does lead out to the statue.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Krak\u00f3w was once surrounded by a defensive wall and the Barbican was the main entrance. It\u2019s the most preserved one in Europe and a common meeting point for walking tours. Normally, the inside is open from April to October, but was closed when we were there.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t The Barbican was connected to the St. Florian Gate via a drawbridge, now by a cobblestone path. The gate is a rectangular Gothic tower and was another part of the city fortification. <\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Underneath the gate is a model of the medieval streets under a 1257 charter based on the Magdeburg Law which regulated urban planning (this is an interesting topic for history buffs).<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t While we were on St. Florian Street, which starts from the Gate, we saw Krak\u00f3w students in uniform. They looked happy, maybe because they haven\u2019t started studying yet.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t Krak\u00f3w has over 150,000 college students from September to July, but they hadn\u2019t yet converged on the city and may be fewer this year because of Covid.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\tWhere is Krak\u00f3w?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Why We Went to Krak\u00f3w<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Is Krak\u00f3w Safe?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Is Krak\u00f3w Expensive?<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Where to Stay in Krak\u00f3w<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
How to Get Around Krak\u00f3w<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Where to Eat in Krak\u00f3w<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Old Town (Stare Miasto)<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Market Square (Rynek)<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Princes Czartoryski Museum<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Saints Peter and Paul Church<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Wawel Royal Castle<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Barbican and St. Florian Street<\/h3>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter)<\/h2>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t