Krakow: 19-20th May 2023
WHERE IS KRAKOW? Krakow is a city in southern Poland.
WHAT LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN THERE AND WHAT'S THE CURRENCY? The official language is Polish with the main currency being the Polish zloty.
3 INTERESTING FACTS: 1) Krakow used to be the capital city of Poland. 2) The city has the largest student population in the country. 3) The city was the first declared world heritage site by UNESCO.
HOW TO GET THERE? I caught a direct flight from London Gatwick Airport with easyJet. There's a direct train from the city centre to Galeria Krakowska, a shopping centre that's just a 10 minute amble to the city centre.
WHAT DID I DO AND WHAT DID I THINK? To be honest, I booked my trip to Krakow so that I could tick off Poland but I had no idea that I was heading to the most amazing compact city that I would have very happily stayed in for a weekend.
I stayed at the Mercure Beke Hotel which is right opposite Galeria Krakowska so very easy to get to both for the airport and the city itself.
Krakow is a very compact city that even I could navigate on the my crutches! In the centre, you'll fnd the main square (Rynek Glowy) which is lined with cafes, restaurants and stunning architecture and gothic buildings like the Cloth Hall. Almost completely surrounded by a park that makes it feel like a really green city, there're interesting attractions such as the Museum of Torture, Lost Souls Alley and the Be Happy Museum. You won't go hungry with a huge cafe culture there plus stalls selling dumplings and pretzels.
It's just a city that's packed with charm and the nicest of people. There's also a fairytale feel to it with countless horsedrawn carriages.
This just felt like an easy trip from start to finish and I also used the Bolt app again for taxis.
Other places to visit including Krakow Observation Balloon though it's very weather dependent and wasn't operating on the day I headed there despite not feeling that windy. There's the beautiful castle which is a stop on the hop-on-hop-off bus route and the salt mines where you can take a 2.5 hour.
Would I go again? YES! YES! YES! Along with Budapest, this is on my list of places to head back to and it really made May a fabulous month for travel.
