24 hours in Krakow

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ckc123

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We are going to Poland for a long weekend for a wedding - we will have 24 hours after the wedding to ourselves in Krakow - what should we not miss? Any restaurant recommendations?

Thanks!
 
Most restaurants are in or near the main square as are the touristy bars.

A couple of Irish bars nearby but they are nothing to write home about.

Beer is excellent: Zywiec or Ococim but strong so be careful.

The main square is an excellent example of east european town of the 18th. century. Krakow is fairly rare in Polish terms as it suffered virtually no damage in the war wheras a lot of other "old town centres" in Poland are re-creations most notably Warsaw.

There are a number of spectacular churches in the square including a famous one with a folding altar which was I think the parish church of Karol Wojtyla before he became pope.

The Wawel castle on the hill overlooking the town was the seat of the old kings of Poland and is in excellent condition and well worth a look.

In the square (Rynek)there are extensive indoor markets again original. Amongst the usual tat you get everywhere you can get amber jewellery which is a speciality of the region also reproduction icons and paintings.

If you have more time and a strong stomach you can take a day trip to Auchwitz concentration camp which is nearby. Also there are underground salt mines with amazing carvings made from salt including a full size church carved completely from salt hundreds of feet underground ( not for the claustrophobic though,- there is plenty of space in the mine but the journey down is tight)

Krakow can be virtually overrun by tourists in the summer so early is best to get about.

have fun!
 
Hi

was there about 4 wks ago. There's a Jewish museum in the old Jewish area, 10 mins walk from main square. Worth a look. The square itself is lovely for coffees, beers etc. Pick up a copy of the free Krakow magazine that's in hotels, airports etc. as they have really good unbiased reviews and we tried two restaurants from the mag. Both were excellent and 2 mins off main square. The Salt Mines are about 20 mins away in a bus and take a few hours, all underground so not everyones cup of tea!!

Enjoy

S
 
Thank you for the great suggestions! We are really looking forward to it!
 
The Ariel restaurant in the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz) is a very good venue. The food is excellent and they have a musical performance on most nights in one section of it. If you go in they usually ask you if you want music or not - if there are any tables available - and if you say yes it's about a fiver extra. When we were there three young classical musicians played for about an hour I think and they were fantastic. Steven Spielberg ate here every day during the making of Schindlers List. In the same square, across from the Ariel, there is a small Jewish Synagogue with a graveyard behind it. There is a tiny entry fee charge for the upkeep. In there you will see memorials to all the families wiped out by Hitler. It really brings home to you the scale of what happened and is a suitable alternative to going to Auschwitz.
If you have 24 hours I would give Auschwitz a miss because it is about an hour and a half journey and really takes the full day to tour and then it's another wait for the bus back etc. The Salt Mines are the same. Krakow is worth just wandering around, perhaps taking one of the guided tours of Wawel Castle (there are a few) but it's within walking distance of the main square Rwynek Glowny. There is another very good restaurant (you have to eat more than once in 24 hrs!) called Restauracja Pod Aniolami, ul. Grodzka.35. Well worth a visit.

We're going back there for a week next Sunday!

Enjoy!
 
If you like Italian food & wine you won't do better than Don Corleone's. It's near the Dominican Church & only a couple of hundred yards from the Market Square. If it's typical Polish you fancy then the Amadeus attached to the hotel Amadeus cannot be beaten. Try the crayfish soup there. It is at Mikolajska just a few yards from the Market Square.
 
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