Travel tips for 5 days in Krakow

In July we went on vacation to Poland for a week. We decided to go on a city trip to Kraków. Due to the corona pandemic as a trip by car. Something different after all the air travel in recent years. You can find out how we enjoyed the 5 days in Krakow and what travel tips we have for your city trip in the article.

Travel tips for Krakow

With around 780,000 inhabitants, Kraków is the second largest city in Poland. As the secret capital, as it is called, it is the most important cultural, artistic and scientific center in Poland. This city is full of history and architecture, so you need several vacations to discover everything.

Parking is not easy in Kraków. It can sometimes get pretty tricky at the side of the road if you can't read the signs properly. We've seen quite a few cars with a claw on the front wheel. In addition, there is hardly any free parking space outside of a multi-storey car park during the high season. Hence our tip: just drive into the multi-storey car park, it's not really as expensive as you think! And you can be sure that you are standing correctly and not accidentally in the no-parking zone.

Krakau - Wawel Drache

The Wawel Dragon, located just below Wawel Castle on the banks of the Vistula River, was our first port of call in Kraków. The legend behind it tells of a dragon that terrorized the city. All the knights had tried in vain to put the dragon to flight. A simple man came up with the idea of ​​baiting the dragon with sulfur. He swallowed the bait and became extremely thirsty. He drank so much water from the Vistula that he burst.

A scary beautiful story! Today, a metal sculpture in the shape of a dragon is reminiscent of the legend. This dragon even breathes fire. A great attraction for young and old and therefore very well attended.

Krakau - Wawel Burg

Wawel Castle is enthroned on the Wawel, a 228 m high limestone cliff. The first buildings were built as early as the 10th century. After that, the cathedral and other churches were built. In the following centuries, more and more buildings were added and a spacious castle complex was created. Every building style and every epoch brought with it a new phase of construction.

The courtyard features beautifully reconstructed gardens and pathways. From the castle wall you have a great view over the Vistula. The entire castle complex is a museum. Only the outdoor areas can be admired for free. There is an entrance fee for all interiors, towers and churches.

Kraków - Historical downtown

Surrounded by a green belt, the historic city center of Kraków is absolutely worth seeing. Everything is grouped in an oval around the old and very spacious market square. The Cloth Hall in the center houses small cafes and restaurants. There are also many small shops and souvenir shops inside.

St. Adalbert's Church is a small chapel on the south-eastern edge of the market square and offers a great view of historic Kraków. Because under the church there is a small but fine exhibition on the origins of Kraków. Here you can even marvel at the original old pipes. A little insider tip, because not everyone discovers the steps that lead down to the right of the church.

In addition to art, restaurants and many pigeons, the market has historical buildings and a lot of history to offer. St. Mary's Church is probably the market's most famous landmark and the old town hall tower offers a great view over Kraków.

The idyllic little streets around the market square are peppered with small shops, cafés and restaurants.

In the green belt, the park around the old town, you can relax and leave the big city, big city. For the small hunger in between you will also find the perfect snack here: Chimney Cake (website). The small, rather inconspicuous bakery is housed in an old ticket booth. Here you can find the delicious dough rolls, which for us are a cross between stick bread and Baumkuchen. Either you take the rolling pin with sugar and cinnamon or vanilla, or you take the very special version with ice cream and different toppings. Highly recommended and really delicious. An absolute must when visiting Kraków.

Kraku's Hill

Several artificially raised hills line the area around Kraków. They were built from 1820 to 1823 in honor of national hero Tadeusz Kościuszko. Krakus Hill is one of them. This is a popular destination, especially in the evening at sunset. We too went up to the hill one evening. We were able to park below on a P+R parking lot, but the streets around also offer enough possibilities.

The way uphill is a bit steep and has a few crooked steps. But there is also a slightly longer serpentine path. Once at the top, a magnificent view opens up over Kraków and the actual hill. The mountain on which the mound was created is a kind of plateau. With the city at our feet and the sun in the background, it was picturesque.

Up here you are by no means alone, many young people picnic here and meet up with friends. Many people use this great quiet place on the outskirts of the big city for a meeting and to end the day.

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