🇵🇱 Krakow

📍 About Krakow

Poland's most beautiful city: perfect medieval center, nearby Auschwitz-Birkenau, and surprising cuisine.

🗺️ What to do & see in Krakow

• ✅Walk the Royal Route: start at the Barbacane (the fairy‑tale fortified gate), pass through the Main Market Square and end at Wawel. Do it at sunrise, when the streets are empty and the first rays of sun illuminate the colorful facades. Wear comfortable shoes: the cobblestones are treacherous.
• ✅Have a coffee at Café Szalona: in Kazimierz, this spot has solid wooden tables, walls covered in books, and coffee so strong it wakes the soul. Order the *kawa po turecku* (Turkish coffee) and a slice of *sernik* (Polish cheesecake). In winter, also ask for a *grzaniec* (spiced hot wine).
• ✅Visit Auschwitz‑Birkenau: not a pleasant plan, but necessary. Take the train from Krakow Główny station (the journey takes 1h 40m and costs about 20 PLN). Bring water, a handkerchief (you’ll cry) and warm clothing: the camp is huge and the wind cuts. Hire a local guide (not an agency one): they’ll share details that don’t appear in books.
• ✅Alternative: Get lost in the Podgórze district. Across the river, this area was the Jewish ghetto during the Nazi occupation. Today it’s a peaceful enclave with street murals, hipster cafés and the *MOCAK* (Museum of Contemporary Art). Climb the *Kopiec Krakusa* (a prehistoric mound) for a view of Krakow from above without tourists.
• ✅Alternative: Do a vodka trail. Not the typical agency tour, but bar‑by‑bar. Start at *Wódka Café Bar* (try the honey‑and‑pepper vodka), continue to *Pauza* (a hidden spot where Poles go to get drunk) and finish at *Alchemia* (a dark joint with live music). Always say *na zdrowie* (cheers!) before drinking.
• ✅Alternative: Go to Nowa Huta. This workers’ district, built by the Soviets in the 1950s, looks like a set from *1984*. It has endless avenues, concrete blocks and an underground church (*Arka Pana*) that communists tried to destroy. Take tram 4 or 10 and walk to *Plaza Centralny*: here elders play chess and youngsters drink beer on stone benches. Few tourists come, but it’s the most authentic Krakow.

🏛️ Must-see attractions in Krakow

• ⭐Main Market Square (Rynek Główny)
• ⭐Wawel Castle
• ⭐Kazimierz Jewish District
• ⭐Schindler’s Factory
• ⭐Wawel Hill and the Dragon

💡 Travel tips for Krakow

• 💡Tram 20 is your best friend: it runs east‑west across the whole city, passes through Kazimierz, the Main Market Square and Nowa Huta, and costs 4 PLN (≈1 €). Buy the ticket at *Ruch* kiosks or via the *Jakdojade* app (avoid the machines: they’re often broken).
• 💡If you’re heading to Auschwitz, wear comfortable shoes and bring water. The site is huge and involves a lot of walking. Don’t take photos with your phone at the entrance or in the gas chambers: it’s in poor taste. If you want a picture of the *Arbeit macht frei* sign, do it from a distance and without smiling.
• 💡Poles don’t smile at strangers, but they’re friendly if you speak Polish. Learn these phrases: *Dziękuję* (thank you), *Proszę* (please), *Przepraszam* (sorry) and *Nie rozumiem* (I don’t understand). If you order coffee in English, they’ll charge you double.
• 💡In Kazimierz, jazz bars don’t start until 9 p.m., but electronic music venues (like *Forum Przestrzenie*) open at 11 p.m. If you want to dance, go to *Pauza* or *Alchemia*: dark clubs where Poles drink vodka like water. Note: they don’t dance until there are at least 50 people on the floor.