Krakow Holidays

What are the best places to stay in Krakow?

Krakow’s Old Town throngs with tourists year-round. Visit Main Market Square, which has horse-drawn carriages and stalls selling traditional ring-shaped obwarzanki bread. Climb the 110 steps of Town Hall Tower for sweeping city views, shop artisan wares in Sukiennice Cloth Hall and admire the Adam Mickiewicz Monument. There are also many pubs, cafes and clubs housed in medieval cellars with vaulted ceilings, plus museums, theatres and churches built in styles including Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic. Stay at the Maksymilian Hotel, a cosy 19th Century red-brick building with an elegant courtyard.

Kazimierz, Krakow’s old Jewish quarter, was destroyed in World War II, then rejuvenated in the 1990s, thanks largely to the interest generated by Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List. It’s now a bustling bohemian area with atmospheric cafes, art galleries, synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and other historic landmarks. Take a sobering trip to the Galicia Jewish Museum, grab a gooey, pizza-like zapiekanka on Plac Nowy and sink a beer aboard a boat bar on the Vistula. Stay at the luxurious four-star Metropolitan Boutique Hotel with its attractive bar/lounge and fully equipped gym.

The charming Kleparz district offers more of a local vibe, plus attractions such as the Womai interactive museum of science and the senses, Nowy Kleparz market square with its colourful stalls and farmers’ market, and nearby Jan Matejko Square flanked by the Academy of Fine Arts and the Baroque St Florian’s Church, and with the imposing Grunwald Monument as its centrepiece. Stop for a super-affordable bite at charming Venetian-themed restaurant Baqaro. Stay at the chic, modern PURO Krakow Stare Miasto next to Krakow Glowny train station.

Podgorze is an area that’s home to exciting new museums and galleries, like contemporary art venue MOCAK. Podgorze is the former site of Krakow’s Jewish Ghetto and was a bleak industrial district during the Soviet era. Visit Ghetto Heroes Square, with its poignant memorial of 33 iron and bronze empty chairs, and the intriguing prehistoric landform the Krakus Mound, said to be the resting place of King Krakus, the city’s mythical founder. Stay at the Lwowska1 Aparthotel which offers modern, air-conditioned apartments with kitchenettes, plus an on-site bistro.