11 Things to Do and See (and eat!) in Kraków, Poland

Kraków has been on my list of places to visit for a while, and it made me extremely happy when we finally got to book our flights for a city break in April. We went Wednesday - Sunday, which is probably a little longer than you’d normally go for a city break, but it ended up being the perfect amount of time.

Kraków isn’t the largest of cities, but there’s still plenty to do, see and experience. If you’re like us and live in the UK, the exchange rate is really quite favourable, making it a relatively cheap break (bus tickets cost c. £1 for an hours ride, for example).

We spent about £200 over 5 days for 2 of us, and that included all three meals a day, drinks, snacks and travel around the city!

So, if you’re planning a trip to Kraków in the not-too-distant future, here’s a list of recommendations to keep you occupied of things to do, see and eat.

*********************

Fuel yourself up on brunch

Brunch is one of my favourite things to do, wherever I am, so it’s one of the things that I research and plan meticulously before every trip.

On our first morning, we went to a beautiful little place called Bread & Butter. The interiors, are stunning, the coffee is excellent and the food was even better. I would happily return to Bread & Butter any day of the week!

Our second brunch outing was to Mo-ja Cafe & Bistro, and this place was so good we actually did return on our last day, too. I don’t think I have the words to articulate how divine their coffee was, and their food was so good, we didn’t even snap any photos… we just dove straight in!

I would recommend getting to Mo-ja early if you can. We did as we are natural early risers, but as we were leaving, the queue was out of the door on both days!

Thirdly, we tried Fitagain, a modern space in the Old Town, serving healthy dishes for breakfast and lunch. If I’m going to be completely honest, this wasn’t my favourite place we dined at during the trip, but if you find yourself in the Old Town, the coffee was excellent.

*********************

Visit the Main Square

Designed way back in 1257, and possibly one of the most famous parts of the city, the Main Market Square is a beautiful feat of architecture no matter where you look. With tonnes of bars, restaurants and coffee shops both on and around the square, you certainly won’t be at a loss of somewhere to eat or grab a drink.

You can also take a walk through the market hall right in the center of the square, which in itself is equally stunning. There are lots of side streets leading off the Main Square, also full of restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops and tonnes more, so it’s the perfect place to start your day and have an explore around.

*********************

Wander around the castle

You can’t miss the castle even if you tried. It’s HUGE.

Wawel Royal Castle served as Royal residence for a couple of hundred years, and is now open to visitors. There are a number of different parts to the Castle, including a Cathedral, Museum, Palace and the Dragon’s Den!

There are guided tours available to purchase, and you do have to purchase tickets if you want to get inside the Cathedral, for example. However, there are beautiful gardens that you are able to walk around, bask in the sunshine and enjoy the view without having to spend a penny.

*********************

Get coffee

If you know me, you know it would be a crime for me not to mention the coffee. I live my days by my coffee runs on any day of the week, and a city break is no different!

There are lots of independent coffee spots dotted around the city, as well as the familiar chains such as Starbucks, Caffe Nero and Costa Coffee, so there’s certainly somewhere for everyone.

Being the girl that I am, my order is always a vanilla latte, and has been for the last 12 years, so I like to think I know my vanilla lattes and oh goodness, I don’t know what they put in the lattes in Poland or if they make them differently to the UK, but the coffee was SO. GOOD. So much so, we’ve tried to replicate it at home to no avail. Very tempted to DM one of the coffee shops and ask them exactly how they make their coffee by this point…!

*********************

Walk along the river

The Vistula River runs right beside the castle and actually stretches for miles (651, to be exact!) through the country. If the weather is on your side, it makes for a glorious walk alongside the water in the sunshine.

You can pay for boat rides and river tours if you wish, but we decided to just set off on food and admire the scenery and view of the city as we went along (with stop offs for snacks and refreshments… obviously!).

*********************

Get doughnuts!

The doughnuts. Oh my god the doughnuts.

There’s an array of doughnut and pretzel stalls dotted all around the Old Town and beyond, and I urge you to try at least one. A really delicious way to refuel yourself in the middle of a day exploring such a beautiful city.

*********************

Explore the Old Town

As a girl who loves both beautiful architecture and wandering around new cities, this was one of the things I was most excited about, and I could’ve posted at least another 435 photos if I thought any of you would hang around for long enough (I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t either)!

There are lots of side streets to explore, each lined with shops, cafes and restaurants, so you can wander, take lots of photos, grab yourself a souvenir and refresh to your heart’s content.

There’s also a beautiful park that extends all around the outside of the city, making for a lovely post-dinner walk or stroll in the sunshine.

*********************

Experience the Salt Mine

This was a really great surprise addition to our itinerary, as I didn’t know this place existed! However, I would now recommend it to everyone. It’s a bit of a bus ride out of the city to a town called Wieliczka, but it’s so worth the trip. With it’s history dating back to the 11th Century(!), it’s an absolutely fascinating 3-hour guided tour around the gigantic salt-mine, which included a stunningly beautiful, underground chapel, restaurant and ballroom.

We had a truly brilliant tour guide who told us the history of the salt mine in a witty and engaging way, making us wish we could explore the other 98% of the mine we didn’t cover…!

*********************

Eat at Bianca

If you’ve ever wanted to experience a Michelin rated restaurant, I would highly recommend a visit to Bianca. Again, if you live in the UK, because of the favourable exchange rate, the average price of a dish is between £8 and £12!

As you’d expect from a restaurant of this rating, the service is impeccable, the interiors to-die for, and the food absolutely delectable. A really wonderful way to spend an evening.

*********************

Spend time in your beautiful Airbnb

We stumbled across a gorgeous Airbnb online that was a five minute walk from the Old Town and a few more minutes from the Main Market Square. After one of the particularly long days, we made the most of our temporary home by grabbing some food and snacks from a nearby supermarket, and snuggling up with some comfort food and a good TV show.

Just below our Air BnB, was a row of cafes and bakeries, which was perfect when we just wanted to grab a quick - but yummy! - bite to eat on our way out, too.

*********************

Auschwitz

If you’re planning a trip to Kraków, please, factor in a day to visit the Auschwitz Memorial. I don’t think I can articulate in words how powerful of an experience it is - all I think I can say is go. Just go. It’s so important.

It takes just over an hour to get to the memorial by train from the city centre, and the guided tour you get with your ticket takes around 3.5 hours. So, do make sure you plan in plenty of time. It is 3.5 hours of walking around the memorial, so make sure you wear something comfortable, too!