- Krakow
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Poland
Last year, my aunt and I visited Krakow to do our Christmas shopping. While there, we stayed just off the main market square in a neat little hostel. Every morning we were awoken to the smell of fresh food coming from the market below. It was the perfect place to find homemade, tasty foods and drinks for the family. I bought everything from honey, homemade wine to delicious handmade biscuits. It was perfect. The snowy landscape made the hot foods even better, as it warmed you from the inside out. I enjoyed it so much I'm hoping to go back next year.
The Rynek, Market Square, Old Town
Google map: bit.ly/v0TgXw
Last December I took my teenage niece to Krakow. For under £100 we had three nights in a clean, warm, twin room with our own bathroom. Even breakfast was included; it was pretty basic but who cared? We were surrounded by cheap and wonderful eateries and fun bars. Our hostel (better than hotels for meeting other young people) overlooked Rynek Główny, Europe’s largest medieval town square, with its massive underground museum (advance booking recommended) and a lovely Xmas market. Between us we bought loads of interesting presents: parents, boyfriend, grandparents, toddlers, school friends. There was some rubbishy tat, but not much, and Kay still had change from her Saturday job money. And on one day we went to Auschwitz. The tour was very informative and, of course, harrowing. It certainly put the commercial pressures of Christmas into perspective and, as Kay put it: “Made me so grateful to be born when I was, into the life I have.”
mhk.pl/oddzialy/podziemia_rynku (the Underground Museum)
www.hostelrynek7.pl/en_,hostel.php (Hostel Rynek7)
Hala Targowa is a bit off the beaten track in Krakow - I found it by getting lost - but is a genuine market for locals, piled up with produce from nearby farms, and also cheap. I bought 1kg of succulent strawberries for 2zl last summer. Wonderful fruit and veg in mouthwatering displays, as well as flowers with cheese, bread and meat to the side. There's also haberdashery, clothes etc. A short walk away is where pigeon and rabbit swapping goes on in another small market at Plac Nowy twice a week: you have to get up early but it's worth it.
Hala Targowa is to the south-east of Wawel Castle on Grzegorzecka street close to the viaduct. Plac Nowy is in the Jewish Kazimierz district.
Google map: bit.ly/glfOSv
It is a website about Krakow that has loads of useful information - restaurants, pubs, clubs, accomodation etc.
Krakow is a truly beautiful city that I am lucky enough to call home.
People often refer to it as the 'new Prague' and I'm never really sure what they mean by this. It is becoming a popular stag destination but it hasn't grown to a level that overshadows the cultural and historic atmosphere that the city has. Thankfully Krakow hasn't developed the rash and mercantile tourism enterprises found in Prague either. Only time will tell how this will all work out.
Whether you are coming to Krakow on a weekend break, business trip or backpacking adventure a good all-round guide I can recommend is www.cracow-life.com which has all the information you could need. I even find it handy as expat as it lists local news, events and weather.
I think the best time to visit Krakow is in December when the Christmas market is in full swing on the main market square. It's setting in the medieval streets, with a bit of snow thrown in, is perfect for a bit of festive magic.
The Christmas market in Krakow is wonderful and a great tonic for those suffering from the winter blues back home. I’m lucky enough to have been living in Krakow for nine months and in my opinion the old town has never looked as beautiful as it does right now.
After a week or so of preparation the market is now in full swing. Stalls selling spicy mulled wine, roasted meats and grilled mountain cheese served with cranberry sauce help keep the cold at bay long enough to get some good Christmas shopping done.
Those looking for something a bit different for the loved ones back home have plenty to choose from the huts selling festive ornaments, wooden toys, woollen clothing from the highlands and delicious soft gingerbread from Torun. The old cloth hall (Sukiennice) on the market square also has a plethora of stalls hoping to tempt you to part with your cash. Here you will find items such as amber jewellery from the Baltic coast, hand-stitched embroidery and other bits and pieces such as wooden chess sets and even swords!
Shopping aside, it is the magic and the old town and surrounding cobbled streets that make Krakow so special this time of year. I can’t recommend it enough.
Lovely small gallery selling pottery, painting and glassware at reasonable prices. Friendly staff.
ul. Józefa 26
31-046 Kraków
www.theotherway.com.pl/
You can't beat Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) when it comes to looking for souvenirs from Krakow: Amber, silver jewellery, linen table cloths, stained glass, wooden chess sets and decorative glass are among the most popular buys.
On the first floor, there's a gallery of 19th century Polish Art, housing paintings by Jan Matejko, Henryk Siemiradzki, Józef Chełmoński, Julian Fałat, and the Kossak family.
After shopping and sightseening have a rest in the Noworolski cafe, a favourite of a certain Vladimir Lenin during his stay in Krakow.
In the middle of the Market Square (Rynek Glowny).
In the old city, this amazing collection of Polish poster art covers politics, theatre, films and music. The poster for Bladerunner is particularly fabulous (overseas films released in Poland have their own posters). The extremely helpful staff will ship all over the globe.
ul. Stolarska 8-10, 31-043 Krakow;
www.postergallery.art.pl/galeria2.php
Has a vast stock of superb original posters at a fraction of the price you'd pay for their equivalents in UK. Modern Polish poster design is extremely distinctive and stunningly original. Check out some of their film/theatre posters - far superior to anything you'll see in the UK. Friendly owner will enthuse in fractured English about poster design. The posters come rolled up in stiff cardboard tube.
Kramy Dominikańskie, ul. Stolarska 8-10, Krakow 31-043 (a few minutes' walk from central square);
tel: 12 421 26 40;
www.postergallery.art.pl/galeria2.php
Is this your business?Search Been there
