Travelling to Krakow for 3 Days: The Ultimate Guide
Travelling to Krakow? Krakow became destination number 5 on our interrailing trip. We didn’t know too much about the city or how beautiful it truly was! We both wanted to visit Auschwitz for the experience, and were blown away how great the city was. Krakow became one of our favourite cities in Europe which we will definitely be returning to
Not only is it one of the friendliest cities, but it also has amazing architecture due to still being untouched by modern buildings. It is majority pedestrianised in the main city, great beer (which Ed enjoyed, unfortunately, Jess is a cider or vodka drinker, oops) and best of all, it's cheap!
The city of Krakow became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 including the historic city centre
Things to Do in Krakow
The Main Square of Krakow
Hard to miss is the main square in Krakow, in the old town. It includes St Mary's Basilica, where they play music from the window at certain times of the day. The Cloth Hall is right in the middle of the square and is thought date back to the Renaissance! There are horse drawn carriages all over the place and why not enjoy a nice lunch in the square?
The Cloth Hall
The Cloth Hall is thought to date back to the 13th-century but also has a 19th-century Polish art museum. It is now mostly souvenir shops which let the history of the hall down I think. Still beautiful though, especially the arches from the outside and the ceiling inside.
The Cloth Hall is pretty much in the middle of the square and you can’t really miss it! Definitely worth a look and admiring the beautiful architecture
The Cloth Market
Originally a place for traders to meet for a variety of exotic exports! Whilst Krakow was exporting items mostly from its salt mines
Thought to be the oldest shopping mall in the world!
Town Hall Tower
Built back in the 14th-century apart from the city hall. The rest of the town hall was demolished in 1820. The tower itself does lean 55cm due to a storm in 1700s!
They have different exhibitions inside which you can take tours of, visit the highest floors for panoramic views of Krakow, and the mechanism of the clock from middle floors
Riding in a Horse and Carriage
A horse and carriage is an iconic site when visiting Krakow. They are literally everywhere and it is not unnormal to have a small traffic jam on the streets because of them!
You can get a carriage ride from the main square and they vary in price depending on the driver. Be sure to ask a few drivers from a few different areas
St Mary’s Basilica
As you walk down streets towards the square, you will notice the tall thin St Mary's Basilica building! A trumpeter plays music from the taller of the two towers, every hour, every day of the year
Today, the Basilica forms a main focal point in the main square and not a sight you can miss
Lunch in the Square
When travelling to major cities the general advice is to stay clear of main squares and big tourist attractions due to the cost of food. Poland is considered a fairly cheap country to visit and therefore food can be really cheap!
In Krakow, lunch in the main square was really good and cheap! We enjoyed a nice lunch with a lovely view for around 20-30euros
The Park Surrounding the City
Around the main city of Krakow, there is a ring path, like a ring road but all pedestrianised and park-like. We spent lots of time walking to places around this path as the trees make it so beautiful and there are loads of seating areas.
You could walk around the outside of Krakow in 1-1.5 hours depending on how fast your walk.
The Jewish Quater of the City
The old Jewish part of Krakow is still full of its heritage, there are multiple synagogues around and nice restaurants around. Before world war II, 64000 Jews lived in Krakow and after the war, only 10% survived with many never returning to Poland
Ghetto Heroes Square: In the square there are 33 monumental chairs and 37 regular chairs. This was the area where families were torn apart, a site of mass deportations to death camps, beating and executions. Today it is a memorial for the atrocities which occurred during this time
Kazimierz Streets: The Jewish streets look and feel different to the rest of Krakow, mostly due to the atmosphere Jewish people left behind. Kazimierz Streets feature in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List
The Old Synagogue: The most important religious centre in Krakow and the oldest synagogue in Krakow
We enjoyed a great lunch, which was soup in a bowl, except the bowl was bread! A Polish way of enjoying soup and it was truly delicious. I ate a lovely mushroom soup and tore off portions of my bowl to dip in!
The Wawel Royal Castle
The Royal Castle is just outside the main portion of the city. With one of the largest exhibitions of history of the city it became one of the most important museums. They show exhibitions of paintings, fabrics, sculptures, etc and the building itself is beautiful too
It became the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world! Built back in the 13th and 14th centuries and consists of multiple structures around an Italian inspired court yard. The castle is one of the largest in Poland, and represents styles including medieval, renaissance and baroque periods of history
Visiting Auschwitz
Since Jess studied WWII in depth at GCSE at A level, she has always wanted to experience Auschwitz and eventually got the chance to go. Travelling to Krakow allowed Ed and I to spend the day at Auschwitz
Trying to describe it for you guys is hard, there aren't many words to describe it. If you have visited Auschwitz before you'll know what I mean. However, if you ever get the chance to go, then go. It is something so deeply apart of history and something I think everyone should experience. You don't understand the size or the extent of the whole operation and the people affected until you experience it yourself.
I would just suggest booking any trips before you go. We booked the Auschwitz tour with Viator through trip advisor for £34.50 (now reduced to even cheaper!). Each trip included transport there and back, a fully guided tour, and a film which we watched for the journey.
The tour guide was great, they knew everything we needed to know and more. We were also given a headset so she didn't have to shout, and you could hear everything perfectly.
Overall the day ran perfectly from start to finish and we were back in Krakow just after lunchtime. Auschwitz is an important part of European history and an experience for all.
Salt Mines
As well visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau, you can visit the Salt Mines. Often grouped together in one trip throughout the day!
For more than 700 years, 26 shafts were created in Wieliczka Salt Mine. It is thought salt came from these mines before history began, with salt water draining from the springs, it was boiled and then used in Neolithic times. Throughout it’s long history, profit from the mine allowed the creation of the first university in Poland in the 14th century, opened to the first tourist not long after in 1493 and today, the history of that is maintained
Workers manage post-mining voids, manage fresh water leaks and maintain the historic mine
How to Get to Krakow
Travelling by Train to Krakow
European trains seemed much quicker than British trains we’ve experienced. You can reach Krakow from Warsaw in 2.5 hours which for 180 miles, is pretty good.
We travelled to Krakow by night train from Berlin. Our 'night train' ended up on 4 trains overnight the longest being about 6 hours and we only had a seat. If you're going to get a night train then go for a bed, much more comfortable and safer. We travelled by night train from Krakow to Budapest and with a bed was 100% better! But more expensive of course.
Lots of you will be travelling to Europe for a few weeks visiting different places. Have you thought about how you're travelling from A to B? Ed and I had an Interrail/Eurail pass. We could jump on and off trains as we pleased and wouldn’t have had the spontaneity without it!
Depending on the route you’re going to take, buying an Interrail/Eurail pass can be more expensive than buying the route separately. You may even want to split the journey between different modes of travel depending on which is cheaper? Omio compare bus, train and plane costs
Obviously a bus will take a lot longer than a plane, but if the journey is 1/10th of the cost and you have more time, of course you want to spend less!
Travelling to Krakow via Bus
Bus can be one of the cheapest ways to travel throughout Europe. If you're travelling on a budget it can be one of the best ways to save money but also takes the longest
Travelling to Krakow via Plane
By plane is the more obvious option for the majority. Flight time and price depends on where you're flying from, however, from the UK it takes around 2.5 hours, but from the US can vary from 11 to 15 hours!
Therefore price could vary dramatically! If you’re travelling to Krakow only, then flying is clearly the most obvious option for most
Where to Stay in Krakow
Airbnb
When travelling to Krakow on our interrailing trip, it was halfway, the perfect stop to wash clothes! We rented an Airbnb for 2 nights while in Krakow which was perfect. AirBnBs are great for feeling homey, making your own food (packed lunch for excursions), and a place to relax after a long day of exploring! Our Airbnb was 5-10 minute walk from the centre of Krakow and maps and tour books came with the apartment.
When arriving in Krakow we came straight from a traumatic night train and the hosts happily met us earlier. Communication through the app was great and overall a great experience to kick off our walking boots for the day at only £41 per night.
We were quite apprehensive about staying in an Airbnb at first, but the hosts made it feel so relaxed and welcoming, and since then we have stayed in multiple Airbnb's!
Hotels and Hostels in Krakow
There are also many great hotels in Krakow. Due to being inexpensive, and with lots to explore, its a perfect city for a short city break or apart of a larger trip.
You can book hostels for around £15 a night, 3 stars for approximately £30 a night, and 5 stars for about £100-120 depending on the area. Many great places to stay in Krakow are in very close proximity to the city centre!
Obviously I try to save as much money when travelling, who doesn't?
Eating and Drinking in Krakow
The god of TripAdvisor is always our go-to for any meal out anywhere, and lots to chose from! When travelling to Krakow you must try Pork Knuckle and their range of beers!
C.K Browar
This pub is just outside the main Krakow centre. It was recommended to me by a family friend and had huge test tubes of beer (only way can describe it!). They even come with a tap to pour your own pints! Great for groups or even if you want to drink with extreme ease.
The food here was great too, including pork knuckle, amazing meat platters and other Polish favourites which they will wrap up for you to take home when you can't finish it all! Pork Knuckle is literally that. A mini pork joint for one and you can't go to Krakow and not have one. Worked out at 38 Zlotys which is £8, rather unbelievable considering it is huge!
Ed also enjoyed C.K Browars mini beers. I drank Strawberry Daiquiri's which were 14 Zlotys (£3!) so obviously drank a lot of them and maybe I didn't walk in completely straight lines on the way out...
Morskie Oko
Looking for more delicious Polish Food? Then come here! We ended up eating lots of pork knuckles while in Krakow, here included, which Ed and I enjoyed a nice evening of more Polish food and cocktails.
We shared a platter starter, both had a pork knuckle with 2 sides, 3 beers and 2 cocktails resulting in 140 Zlotys which is £35-£40. I would have expected about £60-£80 or maybe more in Britain for what we received and delicious too.
We sat outside in this restaurant which was nice as it was a lovely evening, the only downside was that there was a big group of boys/men drinking loudly but that can't be helped and didn't ruin our night.
Pork knuckle is also known as ham hock! The German version of pork knuckle is cured and slightly boiled, whereas in Poland, it can be grilled on a BBQ
Alcohol
The one thing I found irritating, is that there was always lots of beer, often spirits and sometimes cocktails. Unfortunately, Jess doesn’t like beer or wine (unless it's free at a wedding), however, does love a pint of cider and hardly anywhere in Poland served it.
However, we didn't find this just in Poland, we found this in other destinations too. But never mind, the cheap cocktails were great.
How Much Does it Cost to Visit Krakow?
When travelling to Krakow, you want to see as much as possible right? Although in Krakow there are many paid excursions and tours a lot you can do for free or by yourself!
Although we had a post office travel money card, we forgot Poland doesn't use Euros... we ended up converting £250/$350/€282 for the 3 days. This we used to buy all souvenirs (a buff for magnets) and eat out for every single meal.
Both lunches we ate in the Rynek GlÓwny main square and enjoyed the horse and carriages which went past. Lunch costing approximately £25 in the main square was a definite highlight of the trip.
Overall you can get a lot for your money in Poland and overall a cheaper 3 day trip than other destinations.
Krakow turned into one of our favourite destinations on our trip. Great places to stay, amazing Polish food to eat and drink, and lots to do which can be done for free or in groups.
If you decide to do more excursions and tours they're all reasonable. Krakow is one of our favourite cities we have ever visited, due to the cost, the beauty of a city, it isn't too big and the comfortable feel
