Things to do in Krakow

Krakow certainly has the ‘wow’ factor. It is a wonderful, cultural city, that has retained all its former glory in its buildings, churches and architecture offering visitors and residents alike a buzzing social scene, concerts in abundance, delicious, wholesome cuisine, a wonderful café culture and an exciting base from which to explore the greater Krakow area and southern Poland.

One of the most enjoyable days out from Krakow is a trip to a UNESCO World Heritage site, located less than 10 miles from the city – the Wieliczka Salt Mine. The total mine stretches for 9 km. from east to west and incorporates 2,000 caves.

It is the oldest mine in Poland and still actively worked. Despite descending some 700 steps to the deepest point accessible to tourists, over the course of a two-hour tour, the journey is well worth the effort. You get to see some of its lakes, its salt stalactites, statues hewn in salt, 3 of its fantastic chapels, where miners worshipped and the biggest underground church in the world, dedicated to Blessed Kinga. This magnificent church is 54 metres long and 16 metres wide and everything in it is hewn from salt; the altar, the floor, the ceiling, the depictions of the Last Supper and the Nativity and all the statues, including the last to be hewn, a statue of Pope John Paul 11 in 1999. It also has a number of huge chandeliers, made from salt crystals. Services are still conducted in the church and it is also used for weddings, while other chambers within the mine can be hired out for parties, concerts, sports events and conferences.

Polish food is tasty and wholesome and for visitors from the West certainly restaurants offer good value for money. In many restaurants you can enjoy a main course for as little as €5.00. On our first evening in a 3 star hotel, arranged for us by www.excitingpoland.com, in the Old Jewish quarter of Krakow, we enjoyed a main course, 2 local beers and a cup of tea, all for €6.00 each. And dare I say the Poles know how to make a good cup of tea – that is with boiling water and not just hot water, as you often get in mainland Europe!

They know how to party too and Krakow’s Market Square, in the old historical centre is home to over 100 pubs, many located in the basements of historical buildings. Local Polish beers like Zywiec and Tyskie are both light and refreshing and exceptionally cheap at just over €1.00 per half-litre.

No wonder Krakow has become a popular Stag party destination. However, it seems that some venues are not as welcoming as they used to be due to excessive drinking and they are trying to find alternative activities to drinking for such groups during the daytime.

Zakopane, on the other hand is actively encouraging Stag parties. It is located some 60 km. from Krakow, in the picturesque Tatra Mountains, which abounds with possibilities for outdoor activities during the day, both summer and winter. You can choose from trekking and hill climbing to paragliding and mountain biking in summer or skiing, snowboarding or even a snow safari in winter. Zakopane also knows how to party and has its own Highlander style of music, serves food in abundance and parties till dawn. There’s Vodka and beer aplenty – though I wouldn’t advise it before going to the slopes!

Of course, if it’s open for Stag parties, why not for Hen parties too? It has all the requirements, though is not necessarily suitable for the high-heeled variety, but with the added bonus of good value shopping in the huge market area at the bottom of Krupowki Street is certainly a contender in the Hen party destination stakes.

When you do visit Krakow make sure to take a trip to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp, situated about 40 miles west of Krakow. It is a must – in order to more fully comprehend the suffering that was imposed on so many of our European neighbours such a short time ago in history. This is not what you would call a pleasurable tourist day out, but one made in solidarity with victims from 21 countries that suffered at such brutal hands.

Since 1979 Auschwitz has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site – a place of universal significance, which indeed it is. It will touch you deeply, especially as you view the heaps and heaps of children’s shoes that belonged to some of the children that lost their lives in this fatal camp.

It is also interesting to see Nova Huta, the first Communist town, built around the beginning of the 1950s as a model from which subsequent Soviet towns would follow. All the buildings are typically grey, communist blocks, built in a regimented, orderly manner without a trace of individuality about them. At the height of the Communist era up to 300,000 people worked in the enormous Lenin Steelworks in Nova Huta; people from all over Poland came to Nova Huta for work in the Steelworks and were housed in the newly built Communist town. Now about 5,000 people work there, and it is owned by an Indian company. Besides the Steelworks there is little industry left in the area and Nova Huta itself is inhabited mainly by old people, many of whom have lived all their lives in this area of Krakow.

The diversification within Krakow and its surrounding areas are just some of what gives this city its unique ‘wow’ factor, and why up to 3 million tourists passed through Krakow-Balice airport in 2007, and up to 8 million visitors are expected during 2010.

Hotels in Krakow

Choose from a selection of recommended hotels in Krakow. You can book online with the hotel directly and pay only on checking out.