"Warm and wonderful Krakow" Krakow by nomad7890

Krakow Travel Guide: 4,395 reviews and 10,174 photos

Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul - Krakow

Never far from beautiful sights

My concerns of traveling alone to Poland for the first time turned into joy when I arrived in Krakow as it turned out to be a very safe, endearing place. The main parts of the city are easy to reach on
foot. Walking, I found many treasures on the way to the different places I visited.

I concentrated my visit in three main areas: The area around Wawel Castle, the old center of town (Stare Miasto), and Kazmierz (the jewish neighborhood). Perhaps I should extend to a fourth place (mainly due to extra walking distance) - which is the area around the Schindler factory.

The photo shows the church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. There was quite a bit of construction in front of the church so I had to be creative to get a good picture without the cranes and equipment. The statues of the Twelve Apostles are very life-like, almost like you're standing there with them. It is a short walk from the center of town.

I planned my Krakow trip with extensive help from VT'ers and the VT pages and also used the Krakow Tourism site.

Wawel Castle

Side view of Wawel castle

Walking towards Wawel is a beautiful experience as you follow the Wisla into the castle area. The Wawel area is a large complex featuring the hill itself, the castle, the cathedral with the museum, the treasury and armory, and the Dragon's Den.

Wawel should be visited early - some of the buildings close early. In the summer there can also be many school tours which could create very crowded conditions in the cathedral. Personally I loved seeing the different groups of children of all ages. Although I arrived in the morning, it was a little too late to be able to get tickets to enter all the places, so I am looking forward to a return visit, because I loved the parts of the Wawel complex I was able to see.

Many transportation options

I chose to go everywhere on foot, however I plan to return to Krakow at which time I hope to rent a bike to be able to ride some of the nice trails, as well as spend some time riding along the Wisla.

While there I walked from where I stayed near Wawel, all the way back to the Barbican, then I decided to go to Kazimierz. This was all fine, except that after I was done, I decided to visit Schindler's factory which is all the way back on the other side of the river. Even getting there it was ok - but oh, the way back got very long - it was a bit too much walking! I actually got close to the Schindler factory, but it was getting late and it was quite deserted so I decided to go back to the hotel, but no problem, as I am planning to return to Krakow, this will be one of the places I visit on the bike!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Beautiful, warm, endearing - and outstanding pierogi!
Cons:Can't think of any
In a nutshell:How can you explain inner happiness after being here?

Last visit to Krakow: May 2008
Intro Updated Jun 15, 2009
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Don't miss the mushroom and onion pierogies! - Krakow

Don't miss the mushroom and onion... Restaurants (1)

This is a temporary entry for photo of pierogies Mushroom and onion pierogies. more travel advice

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Comments (4)

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matcrazy1 Dec 18, 2009 at 11:57 PM

Wow, you had pierogis on "Pod Anilami" restaurant (Under the Angels). Haha, we had VT-dinner there a few years ago. We can't wait to see you back in Krakow.
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DAO Jul 26, 2009 at 9:52 AM

Nice looking food !
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pollon Jun 26, 2009 at 5:06 AM

yummy pic of the pieorgis, I'll taste for sure next year!!!! Hugs
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codrutz Jun 14, 2009 at 11:41 PM

I bought a Krakow guide already :) it is really interesting there .. I can't wait the VT meeting there in 2010 :)