I am super excited to be writing my first city break trip from London, which I took to Krakow, Poland. It was a quick 2 days, but I don’t think you need much more than that to get a good feel for this historical city. For those who don’t know, I am a US expat living in London while I work as a pediatric nurse for at least 2 years. I am working to visit as many European cities as I can while I live here.
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How to Get There
From London, I found a round trip flight for £70 with Ryan Air flying from Luton. Thank you GoogleFlights! Getting to Luton is a bit annoying, so I’m not sure I would do that again. But it was a solid flight deal, so I can’t complain too much. Take a train from St Pancras station to Luton for about £20 one way or Uber if you prefer. I took an early flight at 6 am, which was rough, but got me to Krakow at 9:30. Doing this gave me the whole day to explore the city and find some good food.
Where To Stay
I stayed at a super cute b&b called Garden Loft Apartments right near the old town, which was perfect. I took a bus from the airport to the neighborhood I stayed in. It cost literally £1. Before my early check-in, I went to a cafe nearby called Lajkonik Bakery – everything was in Polish so I was happy because I got to try a typical Polish pastry. However, I had to ask the woman working what everything was because it was hard to tell! Delicious and would recommend, I also got a latte here that was quite good. After an early start, it was just what I needed before venturing out to explore old town.
Day One
Rynek Główny
After an early check-in and a little pick me up from the cafe, I started off spending day one in the Old Town of Krakow. Let me just say, this is such a cool area! There is a market in the middle of the square called Rynek Główny. It goes 7 days a week until 8pm and has any kind of souvenir you can think of. I, of course, bought a magnet for my collection. Along with a pair of green amber and silver earrings. Amber is considered the national jewel of Poland and is meant to bring the wearer protection and healing.
St. Mary’s Basilica
The second and third photos below are of St. Mary’s Basilica which is on the northeastern corner of the square. It is free to go in and look around, you can light a candle if you wish for a small donation, and there are pews to sit in if you wish to pray or sit in silence. It is a beautiful work of art. I definitely recommends a quick stop.
Where to Eat Lunch
This may be a typical tourist answer, but I wanted to have Pierogi (handmade Polish dumplings) while I was in Poland, and nded up in one of the many Pierogarnia Krakowiacy cafes. They are all over Krakow, but I figured it would be a decent spot to try the local delicacy and have a pint. I tried the potato and bacon one as well as the mushroom and cheese. They were both decent, but I could only eat a few of them and they come with 8 on a plate! I wanted to try a couple flavors, but it is a lot of food and the texture is a bit… slimy. I probably wouldn’t order them again, but give them a try!
Wawel Royal Castle
Take a walk from the old town square to Wawel Castle in the afternoon. There is some really incredible post-war architecture around Krakow. One of my favorites being the church in the 5th pictures above. The castle itself is situated on a hill and is a nice walk to a pretty viewpoint over the Vistula River. Sunset here is gorgeous, but I got there a bit late to actually go into the castle. If you have time I would absolutely recommend doing so. It looks beautiful. Tickets start around £9 and you can choose the tour you’d like to do here.
Where to Eat Dinner
I decided to have a little rest after walking around so much and the early start to the day. But I stumbled upon a really nice looking steak restaurant on the way home and ended up going back around 8pm. Mr. Beef really lived up to expectations on the filet that I ordered. This was a higher cost meal, but I decided to treat myself and was not disappointed. I also ordered a side of fries and their garlic mushrooms along with a glass of Merlot. Am I becoming a wine drinker?! I was too stuffed for dessert, but this was a really great place and nice ambiance even if I was the only solo diner in the whole restaurant!
Day Two
Another early start, but one that was well worth it. I spent the entirety of my second day in Krakow taking a bus tour to Auschwitz and Birkenau. It’s about an hour and a half west of Krakow. After, the bus took the group to the salt mines in Wieliczka which is about 45 minutes southeast of Krakow. This was a very long, emotional day, but honestly if you have time for it, I 100% recommend doing it. History has to be remembered, and they have done a great job preserving the memorial to ensure that happens.
Auschwitz – Birkenau Memorial
I didn’t take many photos in Auschwitz or Birkenau because I personally felt it was a bit disrespectful to do so. This was just me, there were people taking videos the entire tour. However, there are a few areas where the guide will tell you to keep phones and cameras away. If you decide to go to the memorial, I would definitely recommend having an in-person guide. Ours was able and happy to answer our questions and explain things more.
Did you know some of the survivors of Auschwitz and Birkenau became guides at the memorial when it opened to the public only a few years later? I was honestly shocked to hear that… I’m not sure that I would have been able to go back there after being imprisoned. It was also so cold and windy the day I was there. Thinking about those prisoners in a thin pair of pants and top. It really put things into perspective, how the elements could be used as a form of torture for the prisoners.
The atrocities that happened in these death camps are truly unimaginable, but again, it’s important that we remember what happened. Taking this specific tour was an excellent way to remember and mourn those who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
Warning: there are a lot of triggers throughout the tour such as real human hair found after Auschwitz was liberated. The tour I took also showed a video while we were driving to Auschwitz-Birkenau. It showed real footage taken after liberation; dead bodies of all ages were shown which made it very difficult to watch. We were also allowed into one of the gas chambers at the very end of the tour in Auschwitz.
Lunch Time
The second part of the day was the Salt Mines which were much different, but also really interesting to see. There is an hour and a half or so drive between the two sites. Honestly it allowed time to take a nap and recover from the emotion of the first part of the day. Once in town where the Salt Mines are, we had time to get lunch. Our bus driver had a recommended Polish place to have lunch, called Restauracja Kopalnia Smaku.
The food here was really great! Huge portions – I was unable to eat it all! I ordered the pork tenderloin with potato pancakes and salad, plus a pint of Tyskie, a Polish lager. Potato pancakes are a common Polish side dish. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but they were really good!
Wieliczka Salt Mines
I truly had no idea what this part of the tour was about because I didn’t research it. Since it’s a two in one tour I chose to do both. You can do them separately if you don’t want to do both. Even though it was a long day, I’m glad I did it that way. Especially with only 2 days in Krakow.
The Salt Mines are actually really cool to see. If you are at all claustrophobic or afraid of being under ground, this tour is NOT for you. It’s also a lot of stairs, but only on the way down. There is an elevator out at the end. I walked about 20k steps on this day, so heads up on that as well. Anyways, we went down over 130 meters and that’s only the third level of the mines. You can see in the photos that everything inside is made of salt. The floor, the walls, all the sculptures and even the chandeliers are made of wood and salt crystals.
You can even lick the wall if you want to take a taste – I, of course, did! The amount of sodium in the blocks kills any bacteria that may be in there, so it is safe. The salty air is also really good for asthmatics and there is a treatment center just for that down in the mines.
Back in Krakow
The bus dropped me off near Old Town around 6pm so I decided to go out for a drink. I found a place that had a 2-for-1 happy hour going on. I’m not lying when I say I had one of the best espresso martinis here! And that is after spending months searching for the best one in NYC! I met a girl on the tour who came along to the bar. We chatted for a few hours before going our separate ways.
Before heading back to my room, I stopped for a yummy Napoletana pizza at Pauzza. Then had to pack for an early morning getting to the airport. I decided to Uber to the airport the next morning because it was easier for me. The uber was only £10, so I was happy with that. Otherwise, you can always catch the bus back!
I would love to return to Poland and see some of the other cities there! Have you been to Krakow?
