Cracow travel guide

They say you can’t please all of the people all of the time, but Cracow is hell bent on proving otherwise. Poland’s biggest drawing card entices visitors for a gamut of reasons, but whether you’re motivated by history or hedonism, architecture or art, you can’t fail to be impressed by the city. At the height of summer, Cracow throngs with tourists; pavement cafés seem to occupy every cobble of the magnificent Market Square, while street performers ply their trade to tourists.

Situated on the banks of the Vistula River, Cracow is the third largest city in Poland and has one of the best preserved medieval city centres in Europe. Its scores of notable churches, monasteries and abbeys make it a jewellery box of Gothic and Renaissance architecture, and a walk through the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1978, is like a step back in time. The horse-drawn carriages clattering around the streets merely add to the romance in the city centre.

Aside from awe-inspiring architecture and a fascinating, albeit harrowing, history, Cracow is renowned for its raucous nightlife. Regardless of your musical persuasions, the city is a mecca for hedonists, and officials claim Cracow has the highest concentration of pubs, clubs and bars in Europe. This is difficult to dispute when you take a walk around the Old Town at night; the choice of watering holes seems endless. Traditional pubs, live music venues and thumping nightclubs jostle for space with boutique bars and student dives selling cheap shots of vodka. The party goes on all night and sometimes well into the following day. Prices are significantly lower than in Western Europe and consequently the city has become popular with stag and hen parties.

Visitors seeking more sophistication at night won’t have to look far to find it; Cracow’s musical heritage dates back to the 11th century and continues to thrive today in the city’s theatres and opera house. Cracow’s cultural heritage is mirrored in its intellectual achievements; Jagiellonian University is the second oldest in central Europe.

Although Poland isn’t exactly a heavyweight on the world culinary stage, there is much to celebrate about the country’s cuisine. For Poles living under Soviet-influenced communism, food was the last bastion of national identity, and traditional, local cuisine is still proudly celebrated throughout the city. Cracow has a glut of restaurants in which to sample the local specialities and there are food festivals taking place throughout the year.

A short distance away from the city centre, you’ll find the lively Jewish quarter of Kasimierz, which until recently was the armpit of Cracow. However, a major regeneration project has breathed some much-needed life into the area, and today it is arguably one of the most charming parts of the city. Scenes from Schindler’s List were filmed here, although this colourful, easy-going district is barely recognisable from the grim streets shown in Spielberg’s movie.