Philippe.Tk

Krakow City Guide

Krakow holds a special place in my heart as it's where my family comes from and it's the Polish city I've spent the most time in.

What to visit

The Royal Route through the Old Town

A must in my opinion is to walk the Royal Route which will take you through the major sights of the Old Town.

You can start at the SÅ‚owacki Theatre, a very nice Baroque building from 1893. If you can score some tickets you should definitely go!

(The main train station, Kraków Główny, is nearby so if you're starting from there, keep reading!)

Now go to the circular fortress of the Barbican (which was added in the 15th century) and go through the Floriańska Gate (1307) that officially marks the beginning of the Royal Route!

You're now going down the busy Floriańska street which features some very nice façades (as well as many kebabs) and the Jan Matejko House (Jan was a 19th century painter who depicted Poland's history).

In front of you is now Rynek which is the biggest medieval market square in Central Europe at about 200 by 200 meters. It's now surrounded by cafés & restaurants and features Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary’s Basilica). Unfortunately, as of 2025, it's undergoing construction but you can still enjoy its incredible altarpiece and stained glass inside. Every hour a melodious bugle call called hejnał (pronounced "hey, now!") is played. Can you find out why it's abruptly cut off mid-melody?

At the centre of the square lies Sukiennice ("The Cloth Halls") which is a neo-Gothic structure that has served as a market for merchants since the Middle Ages. You should definitely go through it, it can be a great place to buy souvenirs, and also visit the Rynek Underground museum beneath it to learn even more about the history of the square. Inside Sukiennice there is a small branch of the National Museum (closed on Mondays), but the the paintings are not the smallest – you can find there the impressive and famous painting The Prussian Hommage by Jan Matejko (388 x 785 cm).

If you're in the mood for climbing a lot of stairs, you can get a nice view of the square from the Wieża Ratuszowa (the Town Hall Tower) just behind Sukiennice.

You can now leave Rynek through Grodzka street leading you to Plac Wszystkich Świętych (All Saint's square). There you should visit St. Francis Assisi's Basilica and marvel at its Art Nouveau interior by Stanisław Wyspiański.

If you keep going down Grodzka street you'll end up seeing the Church of Saints Peter & Paul which was my favourite church as kid thanks to its striking sculptures of the 12 disciples.

Go through the small square to your right and follow the beautiful Kanonicza street, where Pope John Paul II used to live at numbers 19-21 when he was still Karol Wojtyła. Kanonicza street will allow you to get to the foot of Wawel Castle, arguably Krakow’s defining landmark that mixes Medieval, Romanesque, Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque styles.

It's worth spending half a day visiting both the castle and the cathedral to learn about Poland's history (which is basically Game of Thrones in real life, including the dragons). I highly recommend a guided tour, you can find out more information on ebilet.wawel.krakow.pl

After that you can relax on the Wisła riverbanks below the castle.

The Old Town features a lot of beautiful small churches as well as the the national museum of art which has some great artworks, however it might be better to leave them for a second day of exploration!

Kazimierz

Here's a quote from Schindler's list's Amon Goeth (commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów nazi concentration camp) about Kazimierz:

Six hundred years ago when elsewhere they were footing the blame for the Black Death, Casimir the Great - so called - told the Jews they could come to Krakow. They came. They trundled their belongings into the city. They settled. They took hold. They prospered in business, science, education, the arts. With nothing they came and with nothing they flourished. For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. By this evening those six centuries will be a rumor. They never happened. Today is history.

In 1264, the Duke of Greater Poland Bolesław the Pious granted Jewish people the freedom of worship, trade and travel through the Statute of Kalisz which were ratified by following Polish monarchs, most notably Kazimierz III (Casimir III the Great).

This is considered as the first time legal equality was granted to Jewish people and pre-dates the second one in 1790 in the United States of America by 526 years.

This attracted many Jewish people to Poland and to Krakow, its capital at the time, especially when they had to leave other European countries such as England in 1290 and Spain in 1492 as can be seen on this map: https://i.redd.it/xipq3yrnb5h31.png

The town of Kazimierz was founded in 1335 by Casimir III and immediately attracted a lot of these newcomers to the country and throughout most of the next 600 years ethnic Polish and Jewish cultures coexisted and intermingled in the region. Kazimierz became the main spiritual and cultural centre of Polish Jewry, hosting many of Poland's finest Jewish scholars, artists, and craftsmen.

This is why you can find many synagogues there such the Remah Synagogue and the Old Synagogue on Szeroka street or the Tempel Synagogue.

Unfortunately the vast majority of the 60,000 Jewish Poles of Kazimierz were murdered by Nazi Germany and her allies during World War II, and only a few hundreds remained afterwards.

However there has been a renaissance since the end of the 1980s with initiatives like the Jewish Cultural Festival every June, many museums and restaurants as well as many Jewish people moving into the neighborhood so you should definitely check it out!

Kazimierz also features the Corpus Christi Basilica which was founded by Casimir III in 1335 and is an impressive Gothic church with Baroque elements. It features the largest organ in Krakow and is also where I got married! Here’s a virtual visit of it: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=X6xX1QdrxkG

Other noteworthy sights include: -The Baroque Skałka Church ("Small Rock") -The Wolnica market square -The Jan Karski Monument. Jan was a member of the Polish underground army during WW2 and was instrumental in sourcing data for the 1942 Polish report to the UN titled "The Mass Extermination of Jews in German-Occupied Poland".

Overall Kazimierz is a very artsy neighborhood with lots of nice restaurants, bars, clubs, markets and shops that I'm sure you’ll enjoy!

The Nazi German Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps

The somber and emotional visit of the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camps where more than 1.1 million people (including 960,000 Jewish people) alongside one of my great-grandfathers were murdered is possible from Krakow. I would say it requires close to a full day but there are some quicker tours that could allow you to do it in half a day.

The Salt Mine of Wieliczka

The mine was very important in the history of the region and if you have a tad more than half a day available to you, I highly recommend you visit it with one of the tours organised there. A nice bonus is that the temperature down the is a very pleasant 18 degrees all year round!

What to eat

Most Polish meals start with soup. My #1 pick is rosół, which is (usually) a chicken broth with noodles and vegetables.

I highly recommend you also try pomidorowa (a tomato soup usually done on a rosół base), żur/żurek/barszcz biały (made from soured rye flour or wheat and often served with eggs, sausages and potatoes) and grzybowa (mushroom-based). Barszcz czerwony made from beets is another classic.

Small salads called surówki are often served as a starter and/or a side dish. They usually involve beets, cabbage and pickled stuff.

After that you most definitely need to try some pierogi (dumplings) either savoury ones such as z mięsem (with meat), ruskie (potato & cheese), z kapustą (cabbage and potentially mushrooms) or sweet ones with fruits. It could even be a meal on its own if you take a few to make a tasting session!

Two recommendation on where to try some:

You can often find sausages (kiełbasa) and schnitzel-like cutlet options (like kotlet schabowy), usually served with potatoes and the aforementioned surówki.

Placki ziemniaczane (potato pancakes) are very nice, especially when served with gulasz (a Hungarian stew of meats and vegetables) or sour cream, however be careful as they might be quite hefty!

Another hefty dish is bigos which is composed of meat cuts stewed with sauerkraut, shredded fresh cabbage and spices.

When it comes to street food, you have to get at least one zapiekanka (a long open sandwich that is toasted) from the OkrÄ…glak on Plac Nowy in Kazimierz.

Another classic is an obwarzanek (bagel/pretzel) from one of the blue carts around Rynek (the Old Town).

Oscypek is a smoked cheese made of sheep milk from the Tatra Mountains, it's often pan fried & served with żurawina (cranberry jam) on the side.

For dessert kremówka is very Krakowian, it might be easier to find in bakeries (cukiernia/piekarnia such as Lajkonik, Nakielny, Buczek, Awiteks,) than in restaurants but some do have it. Otherwise I also love szarlotka (apple pie) and sernik (cheesecake) which are quite common dessert options.

Where to eat

Traditional food

The best place to get traditional Polish food in a culturally immersive setting, and for a great price, is probably to go to a bar mleczny ("milk bar") which is a canteen that serves home-cooked meal. I can recommend:

In Kazimierz I can recommend Polska Restauracja

For slightly fancier traditional options around town:

Two "modern" (and pricier) options are:

International food

The international food scene is rapidly developing in Krakow (and more broadly in Poland), here are two recommendations:

Cafés

Cafés I recommend:

Drinks

For some vodka-tasting the Pijalnia places around town are good. They have both classics and more cocktaily options, and you should be able to get some pickles there too which are a must when drinking! Vodkas I recommend: Biały Bocian, Żubrówka, Soplica (which also makes liqueurs that I love), Wyborowa and Ogiński.

Another option, that I often visited in my youth, is Szototo near the central square which offers a lot of colourful shots.

Polish people also very much enjoy beer, a great place to try Tyskie is Bunkier Café which is a tank beer bar in which the beer comes straight from the brewery's conditioning tanks to the tap. Other Polish beers include Żywiec, Żubr & Lech.

General advice