Krakow Short Breaks Guide

Krakow is the second city of Poland with a population of 750,000. It is also one of the oldest cities in Poland having been founded in the 7^th century. It has always been at the centre of academic and cultural life in Poland, having seen a golden age during the Renaissance but sadly owing to its position in centre of Europe has also seen more than its fair share of warring. It has been partitioned by the Duchy of Lithuania, Russia, Prussia, and most recently Germany in WW2 when central Krakow was turned into a Jewish Ghetto by the Nazis. The atrocities committed in and around Krakow were demonstrated in graphic detail in the film “Schindlers List”.

The centre of the city is Wawel Hill from where the city grew from the outset and where you can now find Wawel Castle, one of the main sights, along with the Old Town, and Town Square. The centre of Krakow was one of the earliest recipients of UNESCO World Heritage status in 1978. It is said that the Old Town alone has six thousand historic sites and two million works of art, plus fine examples of Baroque, Renaissance and Gothic architecture. This also applies to the former Jewish district of Kazmierz, whose community were the leaders of the Renaissance in Krakow. Alongside the beauty of the older parts is the stark modernism of the communist era which was central to the cultural conversion taking place at the time.

Krakow is a beautifully green city. There are parks and gardens all over the place, in particular Planty Park, the Botanical Garden, and Park Krakowski. You’ll also find one of the highest densities of Catholic places of worship outside Rome with some 120 churches.

Getting to Krakow
The first place to look should be LOT, the Polish National Airline, which has several departures a day from London Heathrow direct to Krakow. If you live in the UK regions Ryanair and Easyjet operate direct flights from Liverpool, Leeds, East Midlands, Luton, Bristol and Bournemouth.

You may want to travel across Europe by train to experience Krakow as part of a rail tour. In this case you need to contact Great Rail Journeys (01904 734173),or Treyn Holidays. If you would rather book your own trains your best bet is to contact the Deutsche Bahn Rail centre on 08718 80 80 66.

Arriving in Krakow

Head straight for the railway station near Terminal 1 where you can transfer to central Krakow in 18 minutes. There’s a free shuttle bus between the terminals so there’s no need to drag luggage all the way if you land at T2. Trains run from 05:00 right up to 22:50. You can buy tickets on board (about 10 Zloty) but also from automated ticket machines in the terminal and the station itself. If you happen to miss the last train take the night bus 902. The day buses 208 and 292 happen to be the cheapest method for getting into the centre at about 3 Zloty. Taxis can cost from 70 Zloty.

At the time of writing the conversion rate is 5.2 Zlotys to the Pound.

Getting around in Krakow
Much of central Krakow has been pedestrianised making any form of transport redundant if you’re a tourist. You can take a double-decker bus tour these days which in our view is a total waste of time and money. Bike hire is possible if you want to get around. If you happen to arrive by car, find a parking lot and leave it there, it will otherwise be a hindrance.