It is a place of twinkling lights, of castles in the air, of cobbled streets, cosy bars, alluring markets and snowy vistas but, if it’s perishing cold outside at home, why would anyone pay good money to fly somewhere even colder?
Although that’s a fair enough question, there is more than one very convincing answer because, even in the depths of winter, Krakow, Poland’s second largest city, has a mind-blowing history like nowhere else on earth.
You can choose to spend a few days here in pure hedonism or mix entertainment with its grim history. Either way, there’s more than enough of both to justify your time here, whether for a few days or a whole week.
Coming down to earth for a moment, prices in its many restaurants and bars will welcome you back to the 20th Century and as for the taxis … well it’s hard to pay more than a tenner wherever in the city you’re travelling (the trams are even cheaper as there don’t appear to be any checks!).
Fast train
Landing in Krakow Airport, you’re only a few yards away from a fast train to the centre of town. The flight takes about three hours from Dublin (Ryanair, Lufthansa and Swissair) starting at €65 return. Jet2, EasyJet and Ryanair fly from Belfast for about the same.
With prices like that, it’s not hard to see why nine million global travelers flowed through Krakow Airport last year.
Four-star hotels in the studentish Jewish Quarter start at €40 per night. Check out the Hotel Kazimierz (https://www.hk.com.pl/pl/hotel-kazimierz-2/ telephone +48 12 421 66 29) in the centre of the action.
Just around the corner, the largest of the city’s festive markets is located in in the heart of the Old Town (Rynek Glowby) beside the magnificent “Cloth Hall” (Sukiennice) and the beautiful Saint Mary’s Basilica (see photo).
In the run-up to Christmas, the city council spends a fortune lighting-up its main streets – guaranteed to ignite the spirit of Noel. And speaking of spirits, Krakow has manfully refused – so far – to inflate the prices of its vodka (and other drinks) to Western European levels.
A word of advice here. Everywhere you use your debit card, they will ask you if you wish to pay in Euro or the Polish Sloty. Choose Slotys and shave a bit off prices (rule of thumb – about four Slotys to the Euro).
The most expensive meal we had in the city during our December 2025 stay was at a comfortable restaurant rejoicing in the fully-justified name “Mr. Beef”. Huge main meals for three with several glasses of Prosecco and copious vodkas and cokes came to €130.
At the slightly cheaper Bazaar Bistro (https://bazaarbistro.pl/) in the Jewish Quarter, we paid 252 Slotys (€62) for three main meals, a Negroni cocktail, two glasses of Prosecco and several vodkas (I lost count).
For around €20 (€15 concessions) you can take in a classical concert at one of the most beautiful churches in Krakow given by the Orchestra of Saint Maurice at Saint Peter’s and Paul’s church on Grodzka Street (the night we were there, the repertoire included Mozart, Vivaldi and Handel, simply glorious).
Dark history
If this feast for the senses is not sufficient to persuade you to visit Krakow, perhaps one of the most hideous events in history might do the trick. Auschwitz-Birkenau is about 45 miles from the city (1.5 hours by bus) and – as ubiquitously said – it’s something you should do once in your life.
If you can’t face that (and you need a strong stomach, let’s face it) then the factory upon which the film Schlinder’s List was based is a short walk from the city centre. It’s now a museum and well-attended, year-round, so remember to book your ticket in advance.
Close by the museum is the old Krakow ghetto where chairs, placed at random on a town square, commemorate those who were shipped off – not to Auschwitz but mostly to Płaszów (closer to the city), where they were duly murdered.
Beside the River Vistula, we took a sunset ride on a vast Ferris-wheel (the “Krakow Eye” roughly €10 pp for three circulations) with views over the castle and the city’s many spired churches (we saw the city’s rush-hour as well and were glad to miss that).
One not-to-be-missed tour is by tram to the outskirts of the city and Nowa Huta, a remnant of Soviet occupation. Built as an “ideal” suburb to house workers at the nearby steel factory, its reverence for Lenin has been replaced by admiration for US President Ronald Reagan, after whom its main square is named.
Whatever you do in Nowa Huta, do not on any account miss eating at the Stylowa Restaurant where you can order a good, old-fashioned plate of chips and fried eggs, washed down with the finest vodka. Buy your gifts and souvenirs in Nowa Huta also – far better prices than downtown.
Other items on the menu included “Bull Guts”, “Fried Beetroot” and a coffee described as “Burning Philosopher” (we enjoyed the incinerated metaphysician but gave the guts and beetroot a miss).
If you have time, Warsaw, the capital of Poland, is three hours away by fast, comfortable, easily-bookable train and a city tour here, along with a visit to a museum commemorating the Warsaw Uprising is highly recommended.
Warsaw is much larger than Krakow with massive glass skyscrapers cheek-by-jowl with onion-domed churches reminiscent of the Kremlin in Moscow and is worth a day out as is a trip from Krakow to the pretty ski-village of Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains.
Winter or summer, Krakow is beginning to enjoy mass tourism but remains a good-value and fascinating place to visit. See it quick before it, inevitably, turns into Prague and is over-run.
WHAT’S HOT
- The architecture of the Old Town is eye-candy like few other European cities.
- The choice of authentic hotels, cafés, bars and restaurants is astonishing – and the prices are a steal.
- It both feels and actually is one of the safest cities in Europe.
- It’s easy to get around either by public transport (trams) or taxis.
WHAT’S NOT
- Krakow Airport has to get its passport control act together. An hour in a queue (if you don’t have an EU passport) is not a welcoming experience.
- Dragging a wheeled suitcase over cobbles? Nah.
- Be very careful crossing roads – watch out for trams that can be silent but deadly – although drivers generally do respect pedestrians.
