If you thought you’d added all the picture-perfect cities in Europe to your must-visit list, here’s one you may have overlooked. Here’s how best to spend your time in Kraków.
With architecture that would sit comfortably as the backdrop in a Wes Anderson film, Kraków’s colourful structures create perfect photographic fodder for visitors. And, looking out over the pastel-hued Polish city, the Wawel Castle offers travellers a chance to step inside the destination’s medieval past.
Polish food may be best known for its meaty, floury and hearty qualities, but in recent years Kraków has become a must-visit for food-loving folk seeking contemporary eats. Vegetarians and vegans will be pleasantly surprised to find an emerging plant-based dining scene, too. These days, wine bars are common, shared-plate restaurants proffering thoughtfully created dishes – that still give a nod to old-world Polish food – abound, and innovative chefs are carving out a new name for their city.
Kraków’s well-preserved Jewish quarter of Kazimierz not only offers the best in Jewish home-style food, but has also become a creative centre, where artists have set up tiny ateliers that dapple the town. Curated street art swathes walls and creatives open their doors to those seeking unique artworks and imaginative objects.
Underneath the surface of this historic and picturesque European city lies a well-concealed, clandestine world. A tour of Wieliczka Salt Mine reveals chandelier-lit chapels, secret chambers and saline lakes, invisible to those meandering the streets of the city above.
