Going to Krakow, Poland. Any tips?

[prarieboy]

I'm going to be in Krakow for a week and was wondering if there is any must see places there. I've never been to Poland so I'm really looking forward to this trip.

Anybody been there?

[Locke]

Release the Krakow!

[Eric Vail]

Auschwitz-Birkeneau, the largest of the Nazi death camps, is just outside Krazkow. If you want a sobering day you will never forget, go visit the camp. You can easily find a bus from Krakow that will take you there.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by Eric Vail

Auschwitz-Birkeneau, the largest of the Nazi death camps, is just outside Krazkow. If you want a sobering day you will never forget, go visit the camp. You can easily find a bus from Krakow that will take you there.

That is definitely on the agenda. I was hoping to hear about things that are a little less thought provoking.

Any ideas?

[vanisleflamesfan]

Poland? Let's see... visit the submarine screen-door factory, pick yourself up a nice solar powered flashlight, talk slower, and... ummm... I'm out.

[ma-skis.com]

and contribution complete.

[core_upt]

Krakow is amazing! You can spend a few days in the old town square, which is massive and beautifully lit up at night.
A day trip to the Wieliczka Salt Mine in worth it, especially on a rainy day.
We had lunch here a few times - trendy-ish lounge with great food.
This park, which is a short walk from the old city is nice too. it's used in Schindler's list. More about it here.
Around the same area, the Jewish Ghetto is a must see, just to walk the streets and get a feel for what happened here. There are not a lot of cemetery's left, but we did stumble upon on that had become very overgrown. Most of the gravestones were kick over and destroyed, but the wall that surrounded looked it had been rebuilt after WWII with pieces of headstones that were beyond repair, almost like saying that even in death, these people will protect the graves of others - very eery and somber. I believe it was around here.

Krakow was one of my favorite places in Europe. Amazing history, very nice people, great hearty food and very cheap. Hope you have a great time!

[BlackEleven]

Krakow is definitely a cool city.

Old City is great but quite touristy. To get away from that, you can hit up the former Jewish area, Kazimierz. There are a lot of great restaurants and pubs in this area, which are also patronized by locals.

Eat some Zur soup(sometimes called Zurek). Perogies too. All their food is delicious but that soup really sticks out in my mind. Drink beer and vodka. Vodka comes in all different flavours. All booze and food is dirt cheap.

The salt mine which was mention was worth seeing too.

[CedarMeter]

Płaszów concentration camp is there too. The house Amon Göth lived in is there.. I liked krakow..Very interesting place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak%C3...entration_camp

[octothorp]

Yeah, I liked Krakow a lot better than Warsaw. The central square there was one of my favorite people-watching places in all my eastern europe travels. Also ended up in an underground jazz club (I think it was in a former bomb shelter)... just googling, I think it was this place: http://www.umuniaka.pl/index.html. Not sure if jazz is something you're into, but it was an awesome little venue.

[CedarMeter]

I found this interesting too..The Kościuszko Mound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko%C5%9Bciuszko_Mound

[Locke]

Originally Posted by fotze

You know its poland when an attraction is a mound.

Poland - Come see our mounds and death camps.

Actually I would really like to go to Poland.

Well, they're not hiring you to make the travel brochures any time soon.

[flylock shox]

If you get a nice day, rent a bike and do a tour of the city. I think there are actually some guided ones if that's your thing.

If you go to Auschwitz, make sure you also take in Birkenau. A lot of people don't do that second half of the tour, but I found it much more impressive than the Auschwitz camp.

Don't worry about going to nice places on the main square. They've got some fantastic restaurants there, and even the expensive ones are all about Earl's pricing.

You'll have a great time. Krakow is just a lovely city.